Asked and Answered

First Thought

I get very excited when people write in asking me for advice. Today however I received a letter where Wendy solved her problem and needed absolutely nothing from me.

Verbatim Reprint

Dear Ask Amy,

I wanted to write to you about a situation that I successfully resolved today. 

A large pine tree was uprooted in a recent windstorm and was leaning on power lines in the backyard. I called the power company who sent a truck to the house. Hubs talked to the tree people, who said they intended to drive their very large truck over the rain-sodden yard to remove tree. Hubs said that was unacceptable as it would leave large ruts in the lawn and destroy the garden. Tree people said that was the only option and asked if we were refusing service. Hubs said yes. Tree people went to sit in their large truck outside my house.

Hubs informed me of the situation and was very upset. I did not know how to resolve this as I want electricity, my lawn not destroyed, and my Hubs happy all at the same time. I remembered your fine advice and decided to start by asking questions. Is it possible to remove tree without huge ruts in lawn? Who else has had this problem? How did they deal with it? Who could answer these questions?

I then made breakfast and called the power company because breakfast always helps. I feel this is very important though I don't remember if it is enumerated in your book. I outsmarted the automated system by yelled "representative" at every voice prompt and I actually got a human on the phone. I explained the problem very nicely and asked her what we could do to solve this. She had no idea but found a supervisor who was happy to send a smaller truck and planks so the tires didn't sink into the yard. 

Everyone was happy, no one yelled, and breakfast was delicious. Thank you for your excellent book which helped me solve my problem.

Signed,

Windy Wendy in Wisconsin 

Closing Remarks (from me)

1. Please provide more detail regarding your breakfast order.
2. Yelling "representative" sure does fast track things.
3. Asking for a supervisor at the right moment helps too. 
4. Planks so the tires don't sink was a good idea.
5. My advice is so good, I don't even have to be there to implement it.