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As my editor and many of you have told me over the years, whenever I go down the yellow brick road, a road less caustic then the one I usually travel, you don’t like it. You seem to prefer me baring my teeth like a wolf or a rabid dog going after those who make our daily lives miserable. To be honest, I find it satisfying as well. Railing against the injustices of life can be very cathartic.
Getting that pent up anger out of your system can be good for you and your heart, well that, and blood pressure medication. If I didn’t have this little avenue to get rid of it I don’t know what I would do, probably have a stroke. On the other hand, sometimes the pressure of having to get this column done by deadline can have the same effect. As a matter of fact, I didn’t have to take blood pressure medication before I started writing this column, so I guess it’s a double-edged sword. Sigh.
But with all of those knuckleheads out there, the bad drivers, the people who stand too close behind you in line at the supermarket, the store clerk who has no idea of what the words “customer service” means, there are those people who go about their daily business without fanfare or kudos. They treat their customers, the people they serve, and people in general, the right way. They do what they say they are going to do and once they have done it, they don’t wave a flag and say look at me and what I have done. They just get up the next day and do it again.
There are many of them, as we have seen in the past weeks in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Actually, we haven’t seen the people that I am referring to because they are not the ones on TV and in the newspaper. They are the people we don’t hear about, the ones who feel that that the only gratitude necessary is in the deed itself. They are the Good Guys.
So when I see people doing a good job, I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the little things that they do, even though they would probably prefer that I didn’t. I feel that I must mention their good deeds the same way I hold up and fillet people who have an adverse effect on our lives.
Let’s start with Dennis at EZ Lube, the oil change place over on Rosemead Boulevard near Las Tunas Drive. I started going to EZ Lube despite the fact that the property it sits on is the site of a place that I sorely miss, The Shrimp Boat Restaurant. The Shrimp Boat was a place that I grew up with that served the best deep fried seafood I have ever had in a setting that was true 60’s. So when I started going to EZ Lube it was with mixed emotions. But my first experience at EZ Lube was good, so I continued to patronize it despite a couple of management changes.
After Dennis became manager I knew that as long as he was in charge I would continue that patronage. Dennis is the embodiment of what customer service is all about. He makes every person who drives in feel as though they are his one and only customer and he demands nothing less of his staff. He has established a well-oiled machine. They get you in and out of there in a snap without making you feel as if you are getting any less for your money in the process. If Dennis ever leaves EZ Lube he could easily hire himself out teaching customer service.
Next is Michelle at Temple City Florist, the unassuming little flower shop that has been serving the community since 1963. Michelle and her Uncle Bill took over the shop after her grandmother, Nan, passed away last year. She has been working hard to grow the business despite the ever increasing number of flower shops that continue to pop up in the area. Her grandmother was a fixture in Temple City. For years she did her best to serve the people in the San Gabriel Valley offering fair prices and quality work.
Despite the rising prices in the flower industry, Michelle and Temple City Florist has maintained Nan’s philosophy of not gouging the consumer, especially the students at the local high schools. As any parent of high school age children will tell you, with every dance comes the need for corsages and boutonnières. Michelle’s opinion, as was Nan’s, is to keep it as affordable for the kids as possible, no matter what. My family met Nan and became customers of Temple City Florist when shopping for my daughter’s first formal a couple of years ago. Not only were the prices the best in the area, but coming from a long family line of florists, I knew quality work when I saw it and this was it. Michelle has not only maintained the low prices, she has also carried the mantle of Nan’s impeccable quality, despite the cost to her and her business. Caring more about the people in the community than in the almighty dollar is a rare quality to find.
Then we have Agnes at S’N’S Postal Center. Agnes is far and away one of the nicest people I have ever met. Coming from someone like me who doesn’t like many people is quite an accolade. I have been going to S’N’S for all of my shipping needs for years and I have never once entered without being greeted with a smile and a friendly hello. She is always happy and friendly with every customer I have seen her interact with. A feat I wish I could master.
Apart from being a good businesswoman, and offering a service for those of us who prefer not standing in line at the post office, Agnes has a secret that she wears on her sleeve. She has an undying love for the community that she serves and gives back to every chance she gets. Though she has done it quietly for years, recently she has demonstrated it multiple times.
Even though business has been slow for her, as it has been for many of us, when she was approached by a local school that was trying to get new computers for their students, she stepped up to the plate. The school had worked out a deal with Hewlett Packard to get computers for a discounted price. The school then turned to local business owners for donations to pay for them. Agnes, without hesitation, gave them the cost for one of these computers.
Next, in the wake of the hurricanes, the school district decided to help in the relief efforts and was sending goods to the areas stricken. They asked Agnes if she could help them with packaging materials. She not only donated a generous amount of these materials but as a cherry on top gave them a monetary donation to boot. I only wish that there were more people like Agnes in all of our lives.
As any of you who read this column on a regular basis knows, one of my favorite chew toys is our local city government. Pointing out their faux pas is many times so easy that the articles basically write themselves. For the first time in my memory, or at the very least my memory since I began writing this column, has someone actually come through on something that they said they were going to do.
A few weeks ago I read a little article in this very paper about the redevelopment and sprucing up of Rosemead Boulevard that has long been a blight on our community. It is the first impression when you enter our city and the last impression you have as you leave on its largest thoroughfare. This stretch of highway has long been one of my pet peeves, so I was overjoyed as I read that this was finally going to be a reality.
Then it struck me. When our current Mayor, Dan Arrighi, was running for city council it was his vision to make this area a more appealing gateway to our city. I remembered that when he was asked about what his vision would be for the city in the candidates’ forum, this was the area he offered up as what he would like to see done. When I heard his ideas I thought they were great. But to be honest, I never thought they would become a reality in my lifetime.
But he proved me wrong. Even though we are only in the beginning stages of all the changes that are to be made, the first few have already made a dramatic change in the look of the area. No longer are there commercial size trucks being dropped off and parked for days on end making Rosemead Boulevard look like a trucking way station. With the new parking regulations being posted, street cleaners are finally able to clean the street on a regular basis changing what often was a heavily littered area into a clean one.
It was refreshing to see a local elected official bring a campaign promise to fruition. I’m sure he had the backing of the rest of the council to bring his vision to reality, but it was his vision. So many times elected officials either ride the coattails of the people who preceded them or live off of things that they did in the past. Mayor Arrighi is the one councilman in recent memory that not only talked the talk, he walked the walk. A rarity in local government. Make that government at any level.
I’m sure that with the convenient memories that most people possess, they don’t remember what Mayor Arrighi said when he was running. I wanted to remind those who may have forgotten, and those who didn’t know to begin with, that somebody who ran for office didn’t forget what they said as soon as they were elected.
I’m sharing what I’ve observed about four good guys that have impacted my life, and I’m sure that you have some in your life as well. So when you see good deeds being done, and it seems like nobody is noticing, be the one who steps up to give them an “atta boy.” Everyone likes to be appreciated even though they may fly under the radar when doing their good deeds.
Ok, enough with the nice. I promise I will start sharpening my teeth for next week.
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