Who Is Responsible?

I read in today's newspaper about a small business owner who is on the brink of bankruptcy because of a completely unforeseen circumstance.  They've run a nursery for 14 years and paid all their power bills on time but once, while away for the winter, one bill of $345 went unpaid due to an oversight by the owners.  The power company shut off their power in the dead of winter which caused broken pipes and destroyed plants to the tune of half a million dollars.  Who is to blame here?  I unequivocally believe the power company is totally at fault for not having the decency to give a little slack to a long time customer who always paid his bills on time previously.

A few years ago, while I was wintering in Florida, my gas company decided it was right to turn off the gas to replace a meter.  I had a gas furnace so, if my neighbor hadn't seen what was happening, my pipes would have burst and destroyed my house.  Steve took care of my house while I was away so he was able to go inside and relight the gas furnace before any harm was done.

Common sense by the power and gas companies would have been useful here.  It seems more and more that people are losing that trait and it's causing sometimes devastating effects.  If I had a customer who'd paid their bills on time for 14 years and suddenly missed one, I'd make it a point to check further to see what was wrong.  If I ran a company that could turn off someone's heat in the middle of the winter, I wouldn't do it until I knew someone would be home to turn it back on.  It's only common sense.

Every day I see drivers swinging their vehicles all over the road endangering themselves and anyone else in their way.  They're either drunk or on their cell phones...selfish people!

I think the people who work for these big corporations forget that their customers are ordinary people who rely on their services and to disrupt them can cause untold and unnecessary loss.  In the same vein, dangerous drivers forget that they're not the center of the universe and their actions can cause the death of innocent people.

A little common sense would go a long way in making this world a better one.