Compassion and Power

... NL Power, that is ;-)

We had a massive storm last week - I am sure this is not news to you. You will also not be surprised to learn that most of the island suffered power outages - from St. John's through to Port-aux-Basques. And that brings me to today's post..... on compassion.

Perhaps you are thinking "what is the connection?"...

Well, let me tell you:

Like many folks, I lost my power but still had my smartphone and was facebooking. There, many others who were in the same boat as I were updating on their storm activities ... on their lack of power, when it came back on, when it went out again, how they were staying warm without it, how they wished it would come back on, how long they were without it, etc. All fine and dandy.

The posts that shocked me though were the ones that said:

COME ON NFLD POWER! THIS IS EFFING RIDICULOUS! 

or

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! 

or

NL POWER - TOTALLY UNDEPENDABLE...

People! Have some compassion! Nothing in this life is perfect, and in a storm like the one we had last week, I'm not yet sure they have invented the system that would not have had some issues! It was a bad storm, it caused damage, it took a long to repair that damage.

I am sure the Power company did not want to have their customers down.... it is just counter-intuitive! Surely, they will investigate the cause behind the system troubles and determine whether they could have been avoided/make upgrades if so....Why? because, any business wants to keep its customers happy... and, in this case, safe!

But even more importantly, lets consider the effect of these harsh words on the NL Power employees and lines-people who were working 'round the clock to get power back on for YOU. 

YOU were home, albeit in a cold dark house, but heck you WEREN'T outside in 100kn/hr winds and 52cm of snow trying to restore power!

YOU were with YOUR family while THEY left their families (in similar situations to yours) to try to fix it for us all!

YOU could nap, cozy up in a blankie, snuggle with your kids, play board games by candlelight. THEY were cold, wet snow and wind burning their faces, perhaps frustrated at not being able to solve the problem, perhaps stressed out from the sheer volume of the task, perhaps worried for their babies at home....

Their spouses were without their support when tending to children and the household in a raging tempest, and were likely worried for their safety on treacherous roads!

I have heard some say Sure, but they get paid overtime or they chose the job..... does that make the task any less daunting? Does that change the circumstances they were working in? Does that mean they wouldn't rather be somewhere else during a storm?

We are all in this life together, we must remember to be kind.  NL Power is not an IT or a THEY. It is a group of employees. And those employees are human. And they deserve our respect, our kindness, and our compassion when they are doing their best. If you were one of them, or your child was one of them, wouldn't you want a bit of understanding?

Treat others as you would want to be treated, as you would want your child to be treated... they way you tell your children they should treat others!

... It is a simple concept!

image floating around Facebook

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I am not, and never have been affiliated with Newfoundland Power or any of its employees. 

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