Ah. This is heart-warming. Well, it warmed my heart anyway.
This is all true.
So, as you may know I work at a place where we have an audience which is sometimes daunting, especially when you get the following e-mails:
"I was phoned by my employer late last night to tell me that my hours are being cut again to 50hrs per month.For me that is the last straw,I can no longer afford to live on what im earning.
When I send this im going out to the car & im going to kill myself,I just don't see any way out of this mess.I have no debts,all my outgoings are necessary to live a basic life & now that has been taken from me as well.
I spotted it in the inbox and thought 'ah shit...' and quickly sent back something in response.
I sent the e-mail from our audience response account so my identity is obscured - it's to avoid us getting into a one-on-one arguments for example.
I have to admit that my response is a fairly standard cut-and-paste job but I made it a little more sincere. Just in case.
Hi,
You sent us a pretty distressing comment and I wanted to drop you an e-mail in response.
If you're feeling in despair or suicidal, it could make all the difference to talk to someone about what you're going through. You could talk to your GP/family doctor, or to someone who is trained to help. Medical professionals and counsellors will be more equipped to help you deal with the problems that you may be experiencing.
Please try to speak to your GP, or talk to someone at the Samaritans, their contact details are below: ... etc.
All the best,
Bob
Then, this morning an e-mail is forwarded to me by someone else who's subsequently been into the inbox and saw a response to the one I sent:
"Hi,
Lately due to events in my working life I have felt my life was going down the toilet faster than a politician could put in an expense claim (& that's fast).
I was really at a low point then yesterday I received an email from someone who iv never met & their concern reminded me that its not all doom & gloom (Thank-you).
Yeah things are bad but they will improve because we as humans are adaptable,resourceful & above all the majority of us really do care about each other."
That's nice.
Wednesday 28 January 2009
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7 comments:
First thought when you said this was - Bobbies a Saffer - do they let people with possibly strong national/regional accents be Sammies. Would getting through to someone who it is not the easiest to understand on the phone - not meaning you in particular - you have a lovely lilt except when your putting it on - but some accents have more of a reputation than others for being difficult on the phone. I used to find Dell technical support in Dublin as difficult to understand as when they were in Bombay.
Well done on making a difference though. Especially in these times where you hear stories similar to the one from a few weeks back where someone was trying to talk a jumper down from the top of a building and the crowd below started shouting "Jump"
Fleets: What's a Sammie? A Samaritan? I don't work for the Samaritans!? Huh... There are so many hard stories at the moment so I did my bit.
It's pretty macabre that they all shouted jump - but then I guess black humour can be funny... Yeah?!
I just made that jump about whether you could be a Samaritan - theres a rather annoying advert at the moment where they introduce their friends as Sammie.
Bless...our Bobbie has a heart! :-)
I'm glad you did that Bobby! It is rare these days that someone takes the time to focus on one person and sometimes it's that one saving grace that could save someone's life! You are a saint! :) Hope you're well!
Bry
Suddenly my license fee seems well spent!! Well done Bobby, carry on.....
I've often heard that people who were going to end it all didn't because of an act of kindness from a stranger. Good job.
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