I’ll keep this short and sweet, knowing that you’re probably getting ready to deep fry a turkey and check “Endure excruciating yearly visit from mother-in-law,” off your list. Yes, it’s Thanksgiving. But instead of pilgrims and football games, I wanted to share something that happened to me yesterday and show why, thanks to you guys, I’m having one of the best Thanksgivings of my life.
I won’t go into all the sordid details, but I’m living here in the Philippines and my bank, Wells Fargo, screwed me over royally, arbitrarily cancelling my ATM card and leaving me stranded and money-less in a far off country. Even worse, they refused to do anything to help fix the problem, instead reciting “company policies,” and transferring me to an even less-helpful department, who immediately would contradict the previously-stated supposed policies. In the end, I've received better customer service in prison, but this isn’t about Wells Fargo so I’m NOT going to be negative. I WON’T say that you should never bank with Wells because they have a bunch of cranky and heartless automatons from the planet of Fucktard working there (to be fair, at least the 39 people I spoke with over my tedious 7-hour phone siege.) Nope, you WON'T find me ranting about soulless, bloated corporations lacking all accountability and common sense. Not gonna do it – I’m going to stay on the sunny side of the street because something came out of it that I will never forget – and makes this the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had:
YOU.
I won’t go into all the sordid details, but I’m living here in the Philippines and my bank, Wells Fargo, screwed me over royally, arbitrarily cancelling my ATM card and leaving me stranded and money-less in a far off country. Even worse, they refused to do anything to help fix the problem, instead reciting “company policies,” and transferring me to an even less-helpful department, who immediately would contradict the previously-stated supposed policies. In the end, I've received better customer service in prison, but this isn’t about Wells Fargo so I’m NOT going to be negative. I WON’T say that you should never bank with Wells because they have a bunch of cranky and heartless automatons from the planet of Fucktard working there (to be fair, at least the 39 people I spoke with over my tedious 7-hour phone siege.) Nope, you WON'T find me ranting about soulless, bloated corporations lacking all accountability and common sense. Not gonna do it – I’m going to stay on the sunny side of the street because something came out of it that I will never forget – and makes this the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had:
YOU.
Upon posting a furious (and little bit panicked) explanation of the circumstance on Facebook, I was blown away by everyone’s response. My Facebook friends, some of whom I’ve never even met in real life, circled the wagons (pun intended) and offered to help in every way imaginable. People even volunteered to wire me money! I was amazed - people I’ve never met were offering to drop everything and send me their hard-earned cash with no questions asked?! That’s just incredible, especially in this day and age of cynicism, shyster-ism, and all other ‘isms that just plain suck.
The messages of support kept coming;
“I’ll wire you a few G’s, just say the word.”
“I can Western Union money to you right now to get you through the week,”
“Are you OK?”
“What else can I do to help?”
My old friend, Stephen, who is President of a big international company and even busier with family obligations and two daughters, actually got on the phone with Wells Fargo on my behalf for over an hour trying to find me a solution!
“I’ll wire you a few G’s, just say the word.”
“I can Western Union money to you right now to get you through the week,”
“Are you OK?”
“What else can I do to help?”
My old friend, Stephen, who is President of a big international company and even busier with family obligations and two daughters, actually got on the phone with Wells Fargo on my behalf for over an hour trying to find me a solution!
Thankfully, I had to yell and scream until 3:30 am to persuade Wells to set up an emergency wire (of my own funds and at my own expense, of course) which I picked up at a skeptical Western Union office here in the Philippines this morning. WF promised to send me a new ATM card (we’ll see if that ever shows up) but the point is that YOU guys were amazing. You’ve renewed my faith in the human spirit and given me a lot to be thankful for this Third Thursday.
You've reminded me:
To always believe in humanity over corporations, politics, and greed.
The best investment you can make is in people and friendships, not banks.
That at this moment I don’t want or need anything else in my life.
Crappy things are always going to happen in life, but there is beauty in the symphony of our response.
Other than writing this blog to thank you, I feel the best way to repay your kindness and generosity is by offering the same sentiments to the wonderful people I meet around the world, who really need our help. Through them, I can promise that the waves of your good karma will keep flowing on.
Thanks again and happy Thanksgiving.
See? I got through all of that without being too negative or saying anything I’ll regret. That wasn’t so hard, was it?
Love and hugs, your friend forever,
Norm :-)
P.S. Oh, and Wells Fargo?…y’all can eat a big bag of dicks.
You've reminded me:
To always believe in humanity over corporations, politics, and greed.
The best investment you can make is in people and friendships, not banks.
That at this moment I don’t want or need anything else in my life.
Crappy things are always going to happen in life, but there is beauty in the symphony of our response.
Other than writing this blog to thank you, I feel the best way to repay your kindness and generosity is by offering the same sentiments to the wonderful people I meet around the world, who really need our help. Through them, I can promise that the waves of your good karma will keep flowing on.
Thanks again and happy Thanksgiving.
See? I got through all of that without being too negative or saying anything I’ll regret. That wasn’t so hard, was it?
Love and hugs, your friend forever,
Norm :-)
P.S. Oh, and Wells Fargo?…y’all can eat a big bag of dicks.
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