car

Kill 'em with Kindness

What an interesting morning!  On my way to work, I was about to take a right turn on a major street.  While looking left, I guess I let my foot off the brake a little bit and rolled right into the car in front of me.  Insta-accident!  It actually wasn't that bad.  She had a couple of scuffs on her bumper but I got out the car and asked her to pull into the business next to us so we were out of traffic. I think initially she was very upset.  She told me she was going to report the accident so that she doesn't have to pay for the damage.  I did the wrong thing and thought to myself , what a B***CH.  What I didn't realize, the actions I was about to take would change the scenario immensely.

car-accident-cartoon

The accident was completely my fault.  I wasn't paying attention.  I offered to give her a copy of my insurance since I can just print out another copy and the information is on my insurance app (yes, there is an app for that).  She explained herself and said, "I'm so sorry, I don't want to be a pain but my car is leased and I just don't want to pay for it in the long run.  If your insurance covers it, that's all I want to be done."  I realized, this lady is just struggling like the rest of us and I had no right to judge the content of her character.

So, I called my insurance company and filed a claim.  After all was said and done, she asked me to talk to her insurance company not realizing that I've already spoken to mine.  I was more than happy to help.  She explained that there was no reason to get the police involved if everything was taken care of without them.  What a relief!  Then she thanked me for being so nice and helpful.

Just to think, being super kind and understanding can help diffuse a situation.  Accident's happen.  Finding the solution to the problem is really what needs to be done.  I believe some dwell on what happened, get angry about it and leave the resolution until the end.  You can't help the past, only the present.