I had made a big mistake. I wanted to take my daughter berry picking for the first time at a nearby farm. I had checked the website the night before to confirm hours of operation and to see what was ripe for picking. The following morning, after a drenching overnight rain, we loaded into the car and off we went to the farm. Upon our arrival we were told the rain had flooded the fields and they were cancelling all PYO for the day. This information had been listed on their website that morning but I didn’t think to double check. Oh no! We were 30 minutes from home without any other plan.
Fortunately the staff quickly posed two other suggestions in an attempt to salvage our morning plans. The farm had a play yard with some really cool imaginative play options and a petting zoo and both were open for business. We ventured to the play yard first but quickly realized every surface was still wet. My mom went to find a staff member to ask for some paper towels but instead Donna came outside and for the next 30 minutes proceeded to clean surfaces, organize play accessories that were out of place, make sure the bikes were out (and dry) and the water feature was turned on. One could argue that these tasks were part of Donna’s job (on her daily checklist) but she did the work with a smile, with kindness and continuously checked in to see what she could do to make our experience better. We were the only ones at the play yard most of the morning and it would have been easy enough to just shut down this portion of the farm as well.
Once we were finished at the play yard my daughter was excited to see the animals featured at the petting zoo. Unfortunately all the coin operated feeding dispensers were either broken or out of food. We quickly transitioned to other areas of the “zoo” and my daughter rebounded. When we bumped into Donna a short time later she asked about our experience and we proceeded to tell her about the dispensers. She immediately turned on her heels and brought back six corn cobs along with a sincere apology.
I’m one lucky momma because without Donna’s empathy, kindness and remembering her purpose our day at the farm would have been a missed opportunity. We can’t wait to return!
Q – Have you ever had a bad experience turned around simply because of someone’s kindness and prompt action?