Sunday 30 November 2014

Trust; every good turn deserves another

Whilst chatting to a client over lunch one day she said something that stuck in my mind. We were discussing generosity and trust. I can’t remember how we got on to the topic now but what stuck in my mind was that when an item she had sold on Gumtree was going to be collected, Catherine would leave it outside and trust that the person would put the money through her letterbox. Having been told by friends that this is very generous and trusting her response was ‘every good turn deserves another’ and she believes that you can pass that trust on to others.  So here is my tale:

I needed to buy some new down lighters for our bathroom. My husband had reminded me on Friday night that the electrical store closed at midday on Saturday and not to be late and miss it. When my teenage daughter finally descended from the depths of her room we set across from Wantage to Didcot to the electrical store. On the way I stopped briefly in the charity shop to drop off a few bags of clothes. When I got to the electrical store it was ten past twelve and the shop was closed. I had it in my head that the store closed at lunchtime but had forgotten (despite being reminded) that it closed at midday not 1 o’clock. Another potential customer also did the same and to my surprise the large DIY store Travis Perkins had also closed. Now this may have been a good thing to do many years ago but now most people are at work during the week, the only time they have to shop and do DIY is at a weekend so why do they close at midday on a Saturday? Aren’t they losing out on potential business? Perhaps this is another blog for another day.

On finding the store was closed I was then thinking of other towns with other electrical stores that might be open. We were heading over to Wittenham Clumps for a walk and Wallingford wasn’t too far from there. So I searched the internet and found Flex Electrical Wholesale. Now worried they might also be closing I called to check. Matt answered the phone and said he would be closing soon but would wait on for me. Down a small lane it wasn’t easy to find but he did wait. I showed him the type of light I needed and he disappeared to come back with two that he had for some time. He also had the bulbs I needed. He generously said I was welcome to have the lights as they’d been in the warehouse for a while and I could give him a couple of quid for the bulbs. To my embarrassment, as usual, I had very little cash in my purse and it wasn’t worth paying for them by card. He said ‘don’t worry about it’ which made me feel terribly guilty, not only had he waited for me he was now saying I could take away the things I needed without paying. It didn’t sit right with me, he’s in business and should be paid for the goods, especially as he had helped me out.

Remembering Catherine’s words that had stuck in my mind, I promised to return in a couple of weeks time next time I was due to visit a customer. True to my word, next time I went to visit Catherine at her office I stopped by Flex Electrical and gave Matt some money. It was much more than the lights and bulbs were worth but I didn’t mind. He said it was very kind and I replied that he had been very kind to me and helped me out and I appreciated it. And as a parting comment, I asked that if anyone ever asks him to recommend a bookkeeper that he remember the name Blueberry Business.

Every good turn deserves another. So what will you do next as your good deed for the day?


Trust and integrity are values that bookkeepers must live by. If a business owner is in a mess, stressed out or feeling out of control, they need someone not only who is capable but also someone they can rely on and trust. Blueberry provides bookkeeping services to sole traders and small businesses.

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