Just left an Old Navy here in Allentown Pennsylvania where I bought some khakis. With my career in aviation it is extremely important for me to look pressed and professional at all times. The pants I was about to purchase were unacceptably wrinkled for my particular situation. I asked an associate if they could help and she called in "Dave" from the stores management team(I think), Dave was extremely eager find a reason to not help, I truly hate saying it but it does appear true. He finally told me that they had a steamer but it was "broken" because the tank was missing. I explained to him that I to was a proud owner of a "Jiffy Brand Steamer" and that even if the tank (essentially a water bottle) was missing you could still use it. You just pour some water into the little area where it sits, you would then have about 10 minutes of steam. Dave pretty much wasn't hearing it and essentially appeared to 'short circuit' and quickly went to get "Kelly" from the back.
Now that my problem had been escalated to the stores upper management (I presume) I was finally ready to get some relief. At first Kelly also explained that the machine was not working and hadn't been used in months. I will admit I found it hard to believe that a clothing store wouldn't have a steamer operational, but this was indeed the case.
I can now see why Kelly was anointed "manager", she got a look in her eyes that I could only describe as "determined and caring". She truly wanted to help and after I explained my familiarity with the particular unit we took a walk to the back and she brought out the steamer from a very special secret closet . I noticed that there was a ton of lint inside of the little water well and I proceeded to clean it out.
It is certainly not her fault if she is not super mechanically inclined or experienced in steamer repair. She offered to help but I said "I got it", Kelly asked "how can I help" and I said "kindly get me some water". While Kelly was getting the water I turned on the machine. About 10 seconds later she appeared with about 1 quart high quality H2O (always make sure to use distilled water to prevent calcification). I poured the water in and pretty much instantly we had steam. I proceeded to steam my pants and Kelly made the important suggestion that I take the sticker off the leg, so that I wouldn't have ruined it with the adhesive.
Kelly made it so that I could appear professional while flying and represented her store and company with DIGNITY AND RESOLVE.
Like Amelia Ehrhardt, Chuck Yeager and the Wright brothers Orval and Wilbur, Kelly is also a hero to aviation. She makes sure pilots look good and professional! read more