About a month ago, I ordered some Moro blood oranges - my favorite citrus in the world - from a grower in Arizona. The only box size available is 18 pounds, and it's not cheap.
I had been nervous about layoffs for months, but after the holidays passed, I made a resolution to stop worrying and enjoy the good fortune of being employed. So I decided to get the oranges. (I still winced when I saw how much the shipping would be!)
A couple of weeks later, when I lost my job, the first thing I did (even before telling anyone else) was to cancel the oranges, which wouldn't ship for a few more weeks. Between the cost and the shipping, it was more than I felt I should spend. I'd be starting my period of incomelessness on the wrong foot by splurging on something I could get at the grocery store.
They were nice about it, didn't try to talk me into keeping the order or buying something cheaper, and wished me luck. That, in itself, was a relief to me, and I made a mental note to place a guilt-free order next year if I had a job.
Sunkist blood oranges showed up at the supermarket last week. I bought a few. They were all flawless on the outside, but on the inside most of them were already past their prime after sitting on the store shelf unrefrigerated for a day or two. I still thought they were fine - a slightly withered blood orange is better than none at all - but I wondered how much nicer a fresh one would be.
When I came back from my errands today, there was a big box of blood oranges on my doorstep, with a note from the grower asking me to please accept the gift and good luck with a new job. The box was crammed full of blood oranges.
I picked a squashed-looking one with particularly scarred skin and cut it open. It was beautiful and juicy and perfect.
The McClendons sent me a big box of fresh oranges for no good reason other than to brighten my day - in fact, there's enough here to brighten a few weeks. It worked, and now they have a customer for life, too. (For the record, they also sell other citrus, dates, and honey.)
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They rock! I'll have to check their site out.
ReplyDeleteWow - that's amazing. Made my day to hear this.
ReplyDeleteThat's AWESOME. Nicest thing I've heard all week -
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful story. As I was reading, I was thinking "I'm going to buy Julie some oranges," and then - wham! Wow.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is amazing! Talk about valuing their customers!
ReplyDeleteWow - after a week or so of not really paying attention to the blogosphere, that was a great story to come back to.
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