Friday, April 11, 2008

A Story About Trust


So I am in Cleveland, Ohio for the weekend. Some call Cleveland "The Mistake by the Lake" (as it is right on the north shore of Ohio on Lake Erie) ... I tend to call it "Hartford next to Lake Erie, minus the bars".

After wandering around downtown Cleveland this afternoon, I was forced to stop into a Subway for lunch. I ordered my usual 6" sub, and made it a combo. While attempting to pay with my UNH Mastercard, I witnessed the credit card machine begin to fail ... Of course I don't have any cash because I am traveling.

The owner then does something amazing ... Realizing that I have no cash he says "It's OK ... take the sandwich and just pay me tomorrow when this is up and running ... I trust you."

Do I HAVE to go back to this Subway tomorrow to pay for this sandwich? No. Will I? Of course. Why? Because it is the right thing to do. The Subway owner knows that there is a pretty good chance that I won't be back to pay for the sandwich that he gave me ... but his branch of trust to someone that he doesn't know shows me that he deserves my returning of the favor.

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