Everyone was apologetic; but all suffered too!

Two separate but related stories today. Last Sunday, as we do every Sunday, we headed off to the Hall where we hold our Church services to help set up. The other family (Who do most of it anyway) were already there and were already in the process when we arrived.

As I was (incorrectly it turned out) predicting a low turnout that day, I remarked on the number of Chairs already out. Only to be told that they were not putting them out but putting them (and about 20 long folding tables) away. At the same time they were muttering under their breaths (or was that me?) about other people using the Hall and not packing up after themselves. As well as the 20 or so tables, they had every chair on the premises out, something like 200, whereas we never have out more than 40 or 50.

So there we are a small group going off to the hall expecting all to be as it should be and finding it not so and having to put most of it away before we could set up for our own purposes! I think it fair to say that we were not particularly pleased with this situation.

Next story. Three mornings later I receive a phone call and a voice says, “Walter? This is Perter Sellers. You don’t know me.” Which was true enough, as I didn’t, nor had any idea how he had my number and name until he explained.

It turns out it was his party who had put out the Tables on the previous Saturday. Not for that night but for the following Monday (New Year’s Eve).

Apparently he had been told that no one was using the hall in the meantime and so set it up on Saturday and rocked up on Monday Morning to just throw some table cloths on in readiness for final setting up for Monday night, only to find it all put away again. They also did some muttering to I am told!

At first they were mystified as to what had happened, but eventually found one of my Business cards and a flyer advertising our Church there, and put two and two together and thus he rung up to apologise.

He was very apologetic, and so were we, when we found out the true situation. Had we known in advance we could have made some changes ourselves to accommodate them, but as we didn’t, we all wasted time; either in having to set up twice (for them) or having to put away someone else’s chairs (for us). All because they had received false information in the first place! What about you when you give out information?

Do you take the trouble to check all the facts or do you take short cuts or rely on memory. In our case we have had the hall booked for every Sunday Morn for the previous 15 months and already booked for the next 12. Yet someone still didn’t notice or recognise our Booking. Yet had they done so, no one would have had to feel apologetic and a whole lot of time and energy (In their case 3 hours, each time) would not have been wasted.

So please when you give out any and all information, please do your utmost to see that you are up to date with all the facts so that others do not suffer because of YOU.