Drop a good pebble

A British family were on holiday in a rented motor-home in the USA. Travelling through California they visited the Magic Mountain amusement park close by Los Angeles. Mid-afternoon, halfway through what was turning out to be a most enjoyable day at the park, Mum, Dad and the three kids came upon a particularly steep plummeting ride. In the queue, the ride attendants strongly warned everyone about the risks of losing hats, spectacles, coins and keys, etc., and these warnings were echoed by large signs around the ride.

"Do not lose the keys," said Mum sternly to Dad, "Do you want me to put them in my bag?"

"They'll be fine," said Dad, patting his pocket.

During the ride, Dad lost the keys. "I've lost the bloody keys," said Dad.

Due to the fact that the motor-home was a replacement vehicle resulting from a breakdown earlier in the holiday, there were no spare keys. And there were six keys on the lost bunch: ignition, front doors, side door, fuel tank, propane tank, and storage cupboards. "This is a nightmare," thought Dad.

The park attendants (who were extremely helpful ) drove the family back to the motor-home, suggesting the least damaging ways to break into it.

Fortunately a window had been left slightly open, enabling the middle son to be put in and to open the doors from the inside. "At least we have somewhere to sleep tonight," said Dad, but Mum and the kids were in no mood for irony.

Inside the motor-home Mum and Dad discussed what to do. They were stranded.

Middle son (all of six years old) said he'd got a key - said he'd found it - but no-one was listening properly. "Perhaps it will fit, I'll get it." (The optimism of young children of course knows no bounds.)

Not thinking for one second that little lad's key would fit, Dad tried it.

Incredibly the key fitted the ignition - and the driver's door. Middle son is a hero. It seems he'd found the key in a cupboard when packing his clothes soon after the motor-homes were swapped after the first vehicle broke down.

The family decided they might as well go back to the park and enjoy the rest of the day. "We'll sort out the keys in the morning," said Dad, relieved, but with no clue as to how. "At least we have enough fuel in the tank to get back to the camp site."

The next day back at the camp site, Dad calls a local locksmith to see what can be done.

"I might be able to make new keys from the locks, if you bring the vehicle to me," says the locksmith, so the family drives to the locksmith, whose business is in a small shopping centre in the California countryside.

The locksmith looks at the motor-home, and says he'll try. "If you come back in an hour I'll know better what I can do for you."

The family go to the nearby shops and a coffee bar to pass the time. Dad returns to the locksmith to see how things were going. The locksmith says he thinks he can make new keys for all the locks, but it will be a long job.

In fact the job takes the locksmith most of the day. The family hangs around the locksmiths, visits the shops again, and generally makes a day of being at the little shopping centre. While working on the locks and the keys, the locksmith talks with the family about England, about America, about the rides at Las Vegas, about motor-homes, about business, about locks, about families and kids, about lots of things.

Late on in the afternoon the locksmith says that he's nearly done - "But you have time to go get something to eat if you want. When you come back I'll be done." So the family go to a burger bar for something to eat.

An hour later the family return to the locksmith's shop. It is now 4pm and they've been at the shopping centre since 10.00 in the morning.

When Dad enters the locksmith's shop the locksmith is smiling. He puts two new gleaming bunches of keys on the counter. "Here you go - a new set of keys for all the locks, and a spare set too," says the locksmith, "And I tell you what I'm going to do..."

Dad offers money, gratefully.

"You know, I've had such a great time with you guys today," says the locksmith, "You can have these for free."

This is a true story. It happened around ten years ago. The company is Newhall Valencia Lock & Key, in the El Centro Shopping Center, Canyon Country, California. This little company gave the family an experience that transcended customer service.

It is not suggested that that great customer service is about giving your products and services away. Obviously that's not a particularly sustainable business model. But there are times when you'll see opportunity to do something really special for a customer, or for another human being, and when you do it, the ripples of your 'good pebble' can stretch around the world, and last for years and years. So, within the boundaries of what's possible and viable for you, drop in a good pebble whenever you can and make some ripples of your own - adapted from www