I wasn't planning on talking about the Seinfeld show two weeks in a row, but something happened this week that made me think of the "Reservations" episode of the popular television sitcom. Sunday was Grandparent's Day and I placed an order last week for flowers to be delivered to my Mom on Saturday. I know the order went through because I received an email confirmation letting me know. For many of us, once an order is placed, it becomes a "set it and forget it" moment...in other words, you trust that the company you paid to process, complete and deliver your order will follow through. When we didn't hear from my Mom on Saturday, I had a feeling something had gone wrong. When I contacted the floral company on Sunday morning, I was told that even though they received my order and my payment, they had neglected to process the order. It was extremely upsetting and frustrating to hear that there was absolutely no way that they could get the flowers that I ordered for my Mom delivered on Grandparent's Day. I went right into dialogue from the Seinfeld show, "So you know how to take a reservation (order), but you don't know how to hold a reservation (order)!" Needless to say, I had to find another floral company who would be able to process a same-day-delivery (for a large surcharge, of course) and I promised the first company that I would no longer do business with them and that I would use the power of my pen to warn others about their terrible customer service.
Have you ever been in a situation which required follow up, but you did not do so because you trusted that everything was all set, or you procrastinated, or you simply forgot? I can think of many instances where this could happen:
The lab promises to send your blood work report to your doctor;
Your doctor electronically sends your prescription to the pharmacy;
You promise your doctor that you will call if your symptoms persist;
The physical therapist gives you exercises to work on at home;
You are given "after-care" instructions following a procedure.
If you do not follow up on what others promised to do for you, or follow through on what you committed to doing, you could be compromising your health and well being.
I recently found out that NBC News and MSNBC keep a complete team on "stand by duty." I have been watching the networks for years and I had no idea that this was done. This week they are covering the storm developments of Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas and Georgia. When one of their shows is being anchored from a remote location, they apparently keep an anchor at the desk in New York who is dressed and made up and hooked up to a microphone in case the remote feed goes down. The NYC anchor may never get on air. The person is "on-call" in case of an emergency.
I love the concept of having a team on stand by! I can conceive of so many times when this would come in handy! Your son's soccer game just went into double overtime, call the stand by team and tell them to get dinner started. You forgot to pick up the prescription that you are scheduled to start taking today, text the stand by crew and let them know they need to spring into action. I am sure you can think of many more jobs for the stand by team!
The extreme weather keeps the topic of emergency preparedness regularly at the forefront. Governors are urging residents to heed the warnings, get out of harm's way and follow up with the instructions they have been provided to remain safe. It goes without saying how important it is to be prepared for emergencies. I think it is equally as important to be prepared for life's every day issues. We need to make following up and following through part of our personal preparedness plan. This is especially important since most of us probably don't have a stand by crew waiting in the wings like NBC.
Let's all make an effort this week to put this plan into action. Make a list of things that require your follow up and start checking them off one by one. You will be doing more than just creating a checklist, you will be taking big steps towards helping yourself to live your healthiest and best life. If you don't, it may be more than just flowers that get lost in the process.
By the way, the company that didn't follow through on the order I had placed was BOUQS.