This is a message of hope, fellow COVID quarantiners,
directly from my email inbox to you. If you thought you were in this alone,
nothing could be further from the truth. Hundreds of thousands of people are
here for you and me in these challenging times.
They work at places like your credit card company and your local
auto dealership.
Why, just the other day I heard from the nice folks at
Sunrun Solar, a company I ended up not buying our solar panels from,
letting me know that their “top priority is the health and safety of our
customers and employees,” and also that they are open for business.
Good to hear, in case I ever don’t need solar panels from
them again.
Early on in the pandemic, Southwest Airlines contacted me to
let me know “while many things are changing, our commitment to your Safety and
providing travel flexibility has not changed.”
That’s a load off my mind, here at home, where I am required
by law to stay.
TurboTax reached out to let me know their “hearts and
thoughts go out to each and every one of you,” and also, “you have our
commitment to continue providing you with the products and services you depend
on.”
TurboTax is my rock in these taxing times.
Barclays got ahold of me to tell me that “staying in touch
with you is important to us.” I’m pretty sure I don’t have a Barclays credit
card. Nevertheless, they let me know that “as the situation with COVID-19
evolves, things are changing rapidly,” and wanted to be sure I had “all the
information you need to manage your account as easily as possible.”
Shouldn’t be a problem.
Verizon Wireless sends me daily emails, checking in to make
sure I know their commitment to me has never been stronger. They also
selflessly let me know about all the money they have given to charities around
the globe. We have teenagers, so I guess I should say, all of my money
they’ve given to charities around the globe. To really show me they care, they’ve
also been giving me free data that expires in a month.
Since none of us have left the protective umbrella of our
home Wi-Fi signal since the beginning of March, free wireless data is super
handy right now. For Verizon.
Our life insurance company, Legal & General America, shot
an email over the other day to tell me that “as the global impact of COVID-19
evolves, we remain committed to the health and well-being of our customers.”
Umm, yes, I would assume so. You’re a life insurance company
after all.
And what string of email platitudes would be complete
without hearing from the fine folks at Lifetouch School Photography? Of all the
emails I received, theirs was by far the most uplifting in its selflessness. “At
Lifetouch, we love being a place where you can capture memories, stay connected
to your loved ones, and build community. In the midst of COVID-19, and school
closings, we will continue to be that place where you can share & connect.”
Yep, as soon as school closed, I immediately logged onto my
Lifetouch account to maintain my sense of community connection. Their email had
handy links to “some helpful articles on how to navigate this season together.”
Strangely, the links all went to Lifetouch’s own website,
where the “articles” mostly encouraged me to take lots of pictures of my kids while
I’m at home. Also included above and below each helpful season-navigating
article were links that would allow me to purchase old school photos of my kids
that I never asked Lifetouch to take in the first place, that they are
conveniently keeping for me in their archives.
That was nice, but a thought kept occurring to me. I mean, I
know they only sent me this email because they care deeply about my health and
wellbeing, but why would a company that wants to take my kids’ pictures for me
be encouraging me to do it myself?
And then I remembered… Oh, yeah, Lifetouch is owned by
Shutterfly. It all makes sense now.
Like I said, this is a message of hope. We aren’t navigating
these troubled waters alone. Your inbox is proof that plenty of people out
there care deeply about you and your plans for your stimulus check.
See you soon,
-Smidge
Copyright © 2020 Marc Schmatjen
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