Our subdivision provides water to residents via several wells. During a cold snap in Texas, our subdivision lost water pressure late one night, so I called the provider/contractor to ask them if they could fix the problem. Apparently, I reached an answering service rather than the provider/contractor, since it was after regular working hours.

I dialed the phone and waited a long time for somebody to answer. Finally, I got a recorded message and music. Lots of music. Terrible selection. More music…

Eventually, somebody answered.

Me: “I am in [Subdivision], and we have no water pressure. Can you get somebody out here to check the pumps?”

Service: “Where are you?”

Me: “[Subdivision], [zip code], near [City, State].”

Service: “We have no outage for that area.”

Me: “We are a subdivision of [number] residents. Has nobody called you with the same complaint?”

Service: “Yes, we have several calls from that area.”

Me: “Is that enough to report an outage?”

Service: “Wait a moment.”

About five or ten minutes of agonizing music…

Service: “The technician says it is frozen pipes.”

Me: “Last year, we had temperatures of four degrees Fahrenheit for a day and a half, and the pipes did not freeze. The outside temperature is now twenty degrees Fahrenheit, and it has been at that temperature for only a few hours. I really doubt the underground pipes froze that quickly. The technician is located seventy-five miles from here, in a completely different area, so they cannot state that our pipes are frozen. Can you get somebody out here to check?”

Service: “The technician says the pipes are frozen, and there is no need to go there. There is no reported water outage.” *Click*

I called several neighbors. They all had the same problem and had already called or promised to call the water company.

Twelve or more hours later, the tech arrived to investigate the problem. It was NOT frozen pipes. Apparently, a circuit breaker tripped at the pump station. Meanwhile, external water bibs that were left “on drip” froze, since there was no pressure to let them drip, and the water stagnated in the bibs. And, during the outage, we had no drinking, shower, or “flush” water.

During the outage, I volunteered to let people use my drippy nose as a substitute for their drippy faucets, but nobody took me up on that offer.

I’m an electrician and I go around to customers’ homes when they’re having power issues. I’m working into the evening on Christmas Eve, with most customers being generally horrid that they had to wait until December 24th to have someone come by, but I am doing my best to make sure as many issues are fixed as possible so our customers can enjoy their Christmases.

I am at my last customer of the day, scheduled as such as she happens to live very close to me. It’s a very old lady, who opens the door to let me in, explaining that she pays for her electricity using a top-up meter, but the meter has been faulty lately.

Customer: *As I am repairing the meter.* “Would you like a cup of tea?”

Me: “No thank you.”

Customer: “What about a mince pie? It’s Christmas and they’re making you work so late on Christmas Eve.”

Me: “It’s okay, madam. I am just happy I can fix your power issues before the big day.”

Customer: “Thank you! I was worried my Christmas Dinner in the fridge would be ruined.”

I check the fridge to make sure that it is working, and I notice the only items in there are a loaf of bread and some eggs. I try not to make a comment, but it’s obvious that I have noticed the sparse contents.

Customer: “It’s all I can really afford these days. The pension doesn’t cover as much as it used to.”

Me: “Is this all that you have to eat for Christmas?”

Customer: “No, no, I have a can of baked beans in the cupboard.”

Me: “You’re having beans on toast for Christmas?”

Customer: “And a mince pie!”

Me: “Do you have anyone bringing you food over Christmas?”

Customer: “It’s just me. All my children live abroad now.”

Me: “I… see.”

I finish the requirements of my job, making sure she has power, and I head home as soon as I can. I inform my husband of the situation as soon as possible, and he agrees we need to do something.

We drive back over together, and she is surprised to see us.

Customer: “Is there a problem with the meter?”

Me: “No… Mrs. [Customer’s Name]. This is my husband, and if it’s okay with you, we’d like to invite you to Christmas Dinner tomorrow with our family – if you didn’t have plans, that is.”

It takes a moment for what we asked to sink in for the old lady. She is a juxtaposition of being overly British and not wanting to be a bother, but also a lonely old lady who is in desperate need of some company.

Customer: “I… I… don’t know, I…”

Me: “You see, we only live five minutes down the road so we could come by and pick you up for lunch. And we could have you back to your house whenever you feel like coming back home.”

Customer: *In tears.* “I… I… I think I would like that very much.”

Me: “Wonderful! My name is [My Name] and this is [Husband’s Name]. We’ll be by tomorrow at 11?”

We agreed and the next day we came to pick her up. She had made an effort to be dressed in her Sunday finest – not necessary at all but I think she enjoyed it.

She got to meet our children, our overly-affectionate dogs, my husband’s parents, and grandmother (the two older ladies have a nice long natter all afternoon). We ate turkey, roast vegetables, and a huge Christmas Pudding, plus enough snacks and sides that half the family had mini carb-comas in the afternoon.

When it was time for gifts, we gave her a card, and inside was a voucher for the local supermarket worth £100. She tried not to accept it, but she finally did albeit with more tears.

Our new friend and neighbour ended up staying until 11 pm before we drove her home, and agreed to take her shopping with her voucher the day after Boxing Day.

In the following weeks, we now have her over to our house once a week for dinner and to play with our dogs, and we take some shopping to her now that we know her tastes and dietary requirements. We also sneakily top up her electricity meter when we are putting her shopping away so that she isn’t without power.

We’ve arranged a Sunday lunch once a month with her and my husband’s grandmother at our home also, who also appreciates the company, and it turns out that even though one is from the middle of England and the other is originally from Barbados, they have a lot in common to talk about!

We can’t wait to see what we can do for her for Easter.

This story is part of our Highest-Voted-Inspirational-Stories-Of-2023-(so far!) roundup!

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I work as a contractor replacing water meters for the city. The utility company calls the homeowners and offers them free new water meters, and I get to install them.

I get to a house with a woman who has a “cheater pipe” installed. This is basically a pipe that bypasses the water meter, so she’s not paying for the water she’s using.

I aim to be nice, and instead of calling the police, which I am required to do, I say:

Me: “I’m going to have to remove this pipe to install the new meter.”

Homeowner: *Flips out* “I knew I shouldn’t have agreed to the new fancy meter!”

Me: “You have no choice; it’s required, and eventually, they’ll just come in to do it or shut your water off. Better we do it now and avoid any hassle.”

Again, I am trying to SAVE her, but nope.

Homeowner: “You’re being threatening! I’m calling the cops!”

I washed my hands of her and let her call the cops. The cops showed up, and I explained my side and showed them the cheater pipe bypassing the meter. They arrested her on the spot while I installed the new meter. She was screaming while being handcuffed that I had done this to her, and I’m like, no, lady, you’ve done this to yourself.

My electric bill is automatically pulled from my bank account on the fifth of each month. On the seventh, I get an email saying I have a past-due balance of $0.70 and will be charged a $5.00 late fee with my next billing cycle. I call the company.

Employee: “Thank you for calling [Electric Company] billing department. This is [Employee]. Could I have your account number and the account holder’s name?”

Me: “I am [My Name], and the account number is [number].”

Employee: “Thank you. How can I help you?”

Me: “I got an email saying I had a past-due balance, but—”

Employee: “Yes, I see that. Would you like to pay now?”

Me: “I was billed for [amount]; I paid [amount] through automatic billing. Where is this extra $0.70 coming from?”

Employee: “You must have paid less.”

Me: “Okay. I’d like to talk to someone else.”

Employee: “I can do that, but they’ll only tell you the same thing.”

Me: “I’ll hold.”

I listen to ten minutes of hold music.

Supervisor: “Hello, thank you for holding. How can I help you?”

Me: “Yes. I was billed [amount], which I paid by automatic withdrawal from my banking account, but now I have an overdue bill of $0.70 and a fee of $5.00.”

Supervisor: *Heavy sigh* “I understand. Our system went through an update around the time the automatic billing was drafted. I am so sorry. I can’t give you any credit for future billing, unfortunately, but I can erase this issue.”

Me: “That’s good enough for me. Thank you for fixing this.”

Supervisor: “Thank you for being so understanding. You’re not the first to have this issue, and I’m sure you won’t be the last.”

Me: “Well then, good luck with the rest!”

The next billing cycle came around, and I was credited $10! I don’t know how the supervisor made that happen, but I’m glad he did.

More and more companies in my area have recently outsourced calls to call centres and introduced automated call services where you have to answer questions to a robot voice before being connected to an actual person. Unfortunately, due to the call centre agents not actually being involved in the work, the service quality has dropped significantly.

One day, I need to call my electricity provider. I wait a few minutes, and then someone picks up the phone.

Employee: “Hello! This is [Employee]; you’ve reached the [Electricity Provider] helpline! How can I help you today? Because, you know, I actually can help you. We don’t outsource our calls! I actually work for [Electricity Provider], can answer all your questions about all our products, and know what I’m doing!“

I cracked up laughing; he sounded so enthusiastic! To be fair, he really did know what he was doing and found a quick and creative solution to my unusual problem. I wish all helplines were like this one!