My last blog was not an overly positive one. Well, it was in part but in general, the car window being smashed and the long drive home in sub-zero temperatures on Tuesday was not the best! The week has been somewhat disrupted due to this incident – as you can well imagine. Work plans have had to be put to one side in order to call insurance companies, cancel credit/debit cards, try to get the car fixed (thank goodness I have a garage for safe storage of the trusty vehicle in the short term) and so many more jobs which you suddenly have to learn how to do. A bit like FWL work really!
I am now fully aware of the sound my car alarm makes. Go near the broken window – wind or person – and the alarm goes off. Four times in 24 hours now…. What a shame I could not hear it through the church walls on Tuesday night. Yesterday was the day for mass planning – Plan B (alternative plans) for everything this week in case my grounding (inability to use the car) was longer than I was prepared to wait, i.e. 48 hours max. All cards were cancelled within an hour or so of returning to the car and replacements ordered by the time I finally hit the sack on Tuesday/the-wee-small-hours-of-Wednesday. All meetings were re-arranged so they could all take place online – not ideal but better than cancelling entirely. Thank heaven for modern technologies.
The main problem I experienced yesterday was the total inability to do anything without a credit or debit card. Autoglass would not book an appointment without payment of the insurance excess (indeed, to be honest, even with the payment, they were nothing short of useless). Ordering replacement hair gel? Almost impossible on Amazon. You need a card to make a payment! Reporting your driving licence stolen and requesting a replacement photocard…. £14, “and how would you like to pay?” Erm…. cheque? Cash? Neither is accepted. So, thankfully, I was able to borrow a card from Ma & Pa FWL so as not to be a total social pariah!
Positives from this experience are few and far between but I have been overwhelmed by the support from the FWL team and other business colleagues, friends and associates worldwide. Barclays Bank have always been my ‘bank of choice’ and have not let me down. In fact, they have exceeded expectations and managed to supply a replacement debit card within 24 hours. That is simply outstanding service.
The police forces of Berkshire and Wiltshire have also excelled themselves – forensics within eighteen hours and five telephone calls since the event took place, including one this evening to tell me that someone had been arrested for theft from vehicles. Don’t get too excited…. none of my property as yet but you never know. Delighted that they care enough to put so much time into what is certainly a minor crime in the greater scheme of things. And Direct Windscreens deserve an award…. where Autoglass fail, Direct Windscreens succeed in every area of customer service. Glass ordered within twenty minutes of my call and within 24 hours, window replaced.
This week cannot end soon enough for me. I could do with next week being much better please! Mojo back and the magic wand in hand…. MD of FWL is back on the road and back in the game!
