Writing Boots

I'm having a deliciously retro customer experience with the Automobile Association of America, who I've been calling to reverse an inexplicable (and, with a 300-mile journey in a 45-year-old truck in the offing, alarming) cancellation of my paid membership.

Already I've been informed that "I'm only telling you what it says here, Mr. Murray."

I've also been told in no uncertain terms that the reason my account has been canceled is that I have moved to Denver. (You can imagine my surprise!)

And then I've been transferred into the upper reaches of the AAA bureaucracy, where a recording told me all agents are busy and to leave a voice mail, so they can call me back within 24 hours. No issue-tracking number, no nothing. The car club of the Fifties, today!

Add to this AAA's antique regional silos, and we have what promises to be a fascinating time-travel adventure into the Customer Service of Yesteryear.

I'll add to this post as developments warrant.

***

Update: A nice man called from the 21st century called and has apparently fixed the problem right up. Of course, I'm disappointed. But it will be good to have that membership nailed down when I set off next Friday on my Lindbergian journey to Cleveland.

Was it only the Johnny Walker Black Saturday night that made me appreciate this poem, which appears on the menu at Gene and Georgetti's steak house (the boldface is in the original)?

1. Laurie Meyer worked in communications in for Walgreens for 28 years, rising from Walgreen World editor to VP.

2. When she retired last month, her overworked staff found time to put out an eight-page, four-color special issue of Walgreen World: "Our Chief Storyteller Retires."

3. In a world of cheap LinkedIn remmendations, Laurie was lauded by 16 former colleagues, ex-CEOs, communication industry observers and longtime vendors.

The other day at lunch I told Laurie that I cried when I left Ragan Communications last year.

Most people laugh when I say that. Meyer nodded and told her own story about how utterly soul-connected one's relationship with one's employer could be.

And, in the minds of Laurie Meyer and me, should be.