CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio (WJW) — How far would you go to keep a promise to satisfy a customer?
“It was exactly 1,250 miles,” said Ardeshir Agahi. “It was 23 hours.”
Ardeshir and his wife, Gayle, own a UPS Store in Chagrin Falls and were faced with a dilemma last week.
A customer needed paintings shipped overnight, but due to some unusual circumstances the Agahis realized the paintings would never make it on time.
“We had made a promise to our customer and I wanted to make sure I did everything I could to make good on that promise,” said Ardeshir. “So I packed the car … my 2011 Subaru, and headed down to Florida.”
Ardeshir departed the store around 10:30 a.m. Thursday and arrived in Naples, Florida, around 9:30 a.m. Friday.
After safely delivering the paintings, he didn’t stick around for a thank you; rather, he got back in his vehicle and headed home, making it in time to open the store with his wife Saturday morning.
“She was extremely supportive, because we are business partners as well as almost 30 years of marriage so we decided that’s the right thing to do,” said Ardeshir.
“I was a little worried … actually I was a lot worried, I tracked him all night on my cellphone,” said Gayle, chuckling. “When he was here Saturday morning I was really surprised; I thought he’d go home and to sleep but I was happy to see him.”
The Agahis don’t know if the customer is aware the measures they took to deliver the package, but say it doesn’t matter.
“That’s really not important,” said Ardeshir. “Really, I didn’t want to burden him with any of that. I just wanted to do the right thing.”
The Agahis don’t want any special accolades and just hope others are inspired by their story to be kind.
“These days, because of COVID-19 and all the stress that goes with it, I just think an act of kindness goes a long way,” said Ardeshir.
“We just have to help each other to get to the other side of this,” added Gayle.
