Tale of Two Bracelets

Friday, January 1, 2010

My Christmas odyssey began in late spring.

We all have someone in our life who is difficult to buy for. My nemesis is Ronni Dunmire. She told me of a bracelet at Eve Avery's that she had fallen in love with but could not justify buying. I rushed to the store to purchase the bracelet, only to discover that someone else had already done so.

Reinventing the lost art of customer service, Eve told me she would try to get another at market. Market came, but she was unable to find the bracelet. Then Sharyn, who works at the store, said she had a friend who owned the bracelet and if we were unable to locate another, was willing to sacrifice hers for my friend.

We had now surpassed customer service and had entered the realm of truly good people. Periodically, Ronni would stop into Eve's to see if she had located the bracelet. Eve would assure her she was trying and then would call and let me know Ronnie had stopped in again.

In November, Eve called to say she had learned the bracelet was discontinued and that dishearteningly, Sharyn's friend's bracelet had been stolen from her desk at work.

That bracelet was not meant to be, but undaunted Eve located a similar one. When I entered the store she had two beautiful bracelets lying on the counter. One she had chosen for Ronni, the other I could not resist buying for myself. I believe when Ronni hears the story of her Christmas bracelet she will be just as thrilled with the "not quite what she wanted" as she would have been with her first choice.