Learning the value of everyday challenges

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Never accept anything (including challenges) by face value alone as it is often deceiving. Be discerning, probe deeper and be critical to uncover only the truth that is found hidden within. Face alone has no value at all.

YESTERDAY, my family and I went out to a pizza place to claim our free promotional dinner from points earned using our credit card. My kids love pizza and we are excited to have one for dinner that evening until our excitement was temporarily interrupted by the news – the promotion has already ended.

My wife and I looked at each other from disbelief and informed the clerk that somehow they made a mistake because we knew the promotional mechanics as read to us by another clerk from another store branch. Despite the repeated rejection by the clerk for our claim, I continued to object her rejection as well, though in a nice way, and insisting that there were some miscommunication somewhere. We know we were right to make such objection and we are not letting up on this.

The talk was getting repetitive and the line was getting longer. It was easy to just give up and not come back to that pizza place ever again but I resisted the temptation; so we forged on. Eventually, I talked to the store manager and insisted that they somehow misunderstood or misread the mechanics and that they should honor my claim for free pizza. The store manager excused himself to read the memo again and came back five minutes later with a very apologetic and pathetic look.

Lesson Learned

Its easy to walk-away from small setbacks like this since the cost on my part is small. However, having known the fact (truth) and considering the people who will benefit from it (my kids), I pushed on a little further to get what is rightfully ours in the first place. In this case, I’ve learned not to take things by face value while enduring a little discomfort to succeed on everyday challenges like this. In the end we got what we wanted without disregard to governing rules, principles or sever any relationships relationships.

About the author

Daniel Dumaraos is primarily a technologist, a lab scientist and a businessman who loves to write as his favorite past time. He blogs primarily on topics that centers around Business Leadership, Personal Finance and Parenting. Visit his blog at http://www.dumaraos.com.

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Tags: change, daniel dumaraos, dumaraos.com, human relations, learning, relationship

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