I have been working in Philadelphia for the last two days staying at the Airport Marriott. I parked my
rental car in the airport garage next to the hotel and took the 2×3 ticket that emerged from the automated machine. I checked into the hotel received a tag for my car showing I was a guest and I promptly forgot about that small 2×3 card.
Yesterday as I gathered my belongings to go to work I began to look for that small card…I figured that I must have left it in the car as that is what I usually do…no big deal…it shouldn’t be a problem.
I got into my car and wound down the spiral exit to get out of the garage….as I approach a booth…I didn’t see anyone in it…so I assumed the bar would automatically go up…no such luck…as I back up I see a head peering out of the booth….”I need your ticket!”
I look in the car…sure that I had put it on the visor….negative….”I can’t find it…is that a problem?” “No, I will take care of it”….a few minutes later I had 2 pieces of paper to get out of the airport parking…piece of cake….or so I thought. I exit the garage to 25 pay booths….most are closed…a few say credit card only….finally I find one that says “Open”…
I pull up to the window and a crusty old man says…”Ticket”…I hand over the tickets that the woman gave me in the garage….”that’s not the ticket…got to have the ticket”…..”I don’t have the ticket…they gave me these tickets to give you”, I said. “Got to have a ticket”….”They said the ticket I gave you would work”…now I’m not feeling any love and I am getting a little miffed…”Give me your license and ownership of the vehicle” he says….”I don’t have registration because I don’t own the car”…his eyebrows are now raised and he has a wrinkle in his forehead as he leans out the booth…”It’s a rental?”…”You can’t leave without proper identification”….10 minutes pass…and he is still taking notes…he go outside of his booth and makes a sound as if he is howling…I am wondering what in the world is going on….I am going to be late and my frustration has moved to irritation, he continues to yell and finally a man appears (his supervisor)…following another five minutes they finally allowed me to leave the premises. What a frustrating way to start the day…all because of a 2×3 card that I couldn’t find.
This morning as I felt the hotel you better believe that I had my ticket…I knew where it was…IN THE CAR….I wind down the exit knowing my exit will be a breeze! As I look for an open booth…there is none…not again…suddenly a man emerges and I roll down the window…I think he see the frustration on my face. “Good morning” he says with a large grin on his face.
Talk about night and day…his attitude diffused my irritability as he proceeded to find someone in a booth. He was jovial and did everything he could to remove the frown from my face as I explained my difficulties from the day before. In a few minutes I was on my way with a much better start to my day.
Two people crossed my path…two lasting impression were engraved in my mind…Everyday we have the ability to make someone’s day better or make it lack luster. It is our choice. Something for me to consider…maybe I could have made that cranky man in the booth smile if I hadn’t gotten irritated…my mother always said “You catch more flies with honey!” Have you got honey in your disposition today?
Travel Tip: Keep those parking tickets in the visor of your car…that way they are never lost!
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