A Gumptionista in San Diego fights and wins!

Happy July everyone! I hope you all had a nice 4th and are enjoying the summer.

I just received an update from a friend in San Diego, who recently asked for some advice on fighting a vendor.

"Dear Gumptionista:

I took your advice and sent a certified letter to the President of the company that did the electrical work for San Diego Gas and Electric and broke my thermostat! Guess what??? Today, I got a call from the original person who told me he was denying my claim, that they are now promptly sending me a check to cover the cost of my broken thermostat!! WOO HOOO!!

Thanks, Gumptionista for the awesome advice!"

My recommendation, as always, is to send a certified letter to the President of the company and do not take no for an answer. If you have to threaten that you will report them to the Better Business Bureau, blog, or Twitter about the issue, do it.

40th Birthday Gumptionista

I’ve been single as long as I can remember. Whenever I am involved with someone, it never seems to be around Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or my birthday. Funny how that works out! I was the last to turn 40 out of my closest girlfriends, so I had already attended their surprise 40th’s at country clubs, fancy restaurants, or their beautiful homes. When I turned 40 in July of 2007, I wasn’t sure how I was going to approach it. There were a lot of things I wanted to get done, which I knew were not going to happen in the 6 months leading up to my birthday (get married, lose 50 lbs, run a marathon, write a novel, start a business, etc.). Approaching 40 made me not only think about what I hadn’t accomplished, but also what I had accomplished. I worked in the entertainment industry in my 20’s, became a business professional in my 30’s, I finally finished my last semester of college and graduated from my old school, the University of Rhode Island at 38, and walked in my graduation. I even threw myself a graduation party at my parent’s house, just as I would have done had I graduated 16 years earlier. I’ve lived a really good life, with or without that special someone. I define who I am; no one else can define you.

After all of this reflection, I decided to throw myself a big 40th birthday party. No, I didn’t have a boyfriend or husband to throw me a party at the country club, but since I was throwing the party for myself, I did have control over how, when, and where it was going to be planned. So what if I didn’t have someone else throw me a party? So what if I wasn’t married or involved with someone at 40? I was honoring me, who I had become at 40, and celebrating that. My party was held at the Elks Lodge across the street from my apartment. I made my invitations from scratch, and included an old picture of me at my 5th birthday party. I planted an idea in my sister’s head…why not e-mail the invite list and ask them to send a note about how they know me and our experiences together. It was not about my friends telling me how wonderful I was, but it was about them reminiscing about old stories, and how and why we are in each other’s lives. I wanted this book as a keepsake. Luckily, my sister did put the book together, and it was the best gift I could’ve ever received. I still pick it up and read it from time to time. My Dad, who is a very proud, manly man, even sent in an unforgettable note. As tough as I am, I am also very sentimental, and it was an unbelievable gift.

I have about 10 close girlfriends, whom I’ve known for 20 years. We are all part of the same group and celebrate our birthdays together. I don’t know how it worked out this way, but our birthdays all fall on a different month. We decided to celebrate with just our small group every month by a potluck brunch or Saturday night wine and cheese, and celebrate the bigger birthdays (21, 30, 40) with a bang. As my 40th was approaching, I decided that I would register at Crate and Barrel and Amazon. I knew that my friends and family would buy me a nice gift for this special birthday, so why not get something that I wanted? I figured I might never get married, so it was finally my chance to register. I’ve been to everyone’s showers, bachelorettes, weddings, baby showers, kid’s birthday parties, and bar mitzvah’s. It was my turn. Ask and you shall receive. It was a great party, and I got some wonderful gifts from the registry. It’s too bad that as 50 comes in a mere 8 years, I might be registering again!

Dear Gumptionista

My sister surprised her fiance with two tickets to Hawaii for his birthday last year, and intended to use the tickets for their honeymoon. A few months ago, she found out that the airline who she bought the tickets from went bankrupt. When she told me what happened, I think I was more upset then she was. I suggested she write a letter and fight for her money back, but she didn't think it was going to go anywhere. I insisted that she take action. The fact that someone can take your money without delivering on the goods, is completely unacceptable. My sister did send off a letter that I drafted for her, but I never heard what happened. I only assumed that it hadn't gone anywhere. On Sunday, I was very excited to get this e-mail from my sister.

"Dear Gumptionista: Thank you, thank you thank! Your advice worked! I faced a terrible dilemma. I bought plane tickets to Hawaii for my upcoming honeymoon, but when I went onto the airline's website one month before our trip to check on our flights, I faced a screen that said "this airline has filed Chapter 11 and all flights are cancelled. Click here for more information." The airline was neither willing to transfer any flights to sister airlines, nor refund any purchases. I was devastated! This was my h-o-n-e-y-m-o-o-n. I e-mailed you for help and you gave me sage advice: Send a letter to the CEO asking for a refund and explaining my personal situation, and do not take no for an answer. I was hesitant because I thought there was no way I would see any money back. It seemed overwhelming to "fight" a bankrupt corporation. I usually don't do this type of thing. But, for once, I was fired up by the "Gumptionista's" words, and I followed through. It took a total of one e-mail, one file claim, and a little patience (6 months to be exact). Sure, the company sent me endless court documents about the current bankruptcy case. But, my claim stayed unfazed and intact.

Yesterday, after a long day of work, I came home to find a full refund check in my mailbox! Maybe now I will go on a honeymoon. Thank you, Gumptionista!-a fan."

If you can get a full refund from a bankrupt corporation, then anything is possible. Fight, fight, fight for what's right!

Gumptionista Under Pressure

The hit and run accident I was involved in was a few years ago on the 5 freeway in Los Angeles. I had pulled off the freeway to the nearest Starbucks, because the traffic was horrific, and I was easily looking at a two hour commute. My drink of choice is usually an iced coffee, but that day I really felt like something sugary and sweet, so I went for the java chip frappuccino. I no sooner got back on the freeway, and I was rear-ended by a large SUV. It happened so fast that I didn’t even realize I had been hit. The frozen coffee drink was now over my head, and in every crevice of the front seat of my car. I must’ve squeezed the cup when I got hit, because the straw ended up in the side pocket of the passenger door. Unbeknownst to me, the make of my car is known to shut down under impact, so I was stalled in the travelling lane during rush hour traffic. Because the person that hit me didn’t see me pull over, he assumed he was off the hook, and fled the scene. Everyone was honking and yelling out their windows at me, not realizing I was stalled. I lost my cool, swung my car door open, stepped out of my car, my hair still dripping in frappuccino, and waived my hands around like a crazy person and pointing to each one of the honking cars yelling, “Shhuuuttt uuuppp, I am stalled! I am stalled!” The vehicle behind me was one of those pick-up trucks with giant tires. A man about 5’ 5” jumped out of the truck to calm me down, and offered to push my car off to the side of road. Just after getting my car into the breakdown lane, it miraculously restarted, and I proceeded home.

Although 90% of the SUV’s license plate number was embedded in my bumper, it wasn’t enough for the police to identify. I couldn’t believe that in bumper-to-bumper traffic, not one person took the time to write down the license plate number of the car who hit me. From that day on, I swore that if I ever witnessed a hit and run, I would do the right thing, and almost a year to the date of my own accident, that’s exactly what I did.

Putting on Your Bullet Proof Gumptionista Vest

One of my favorite Gumptionista moments came a few years ago when I witnessed a hit and run accident. I remember the day clearly. I was at a red light making a left hand turn. At the light on the other side of the street, a man slowly stopped and then rolled into the car in front of him. As soon as the light turned green, the woman preceded to pull over, but the man made a quick right turn and took off. I could not believe what I was seeing. I immediately chased after him and thankfully he was stopped at another red light. I wrote down his license plate number, details of his car, and whatever features I could see from behind. I went back to the scene, hoping that the victim was still there. I figured I could hand off the information and continue on with my day. Unfortunately, she had already left. I called the police, who showed up in minutes to take my report. I’ll never forget the officer saying to me, “ya know, people get killed doing this sort of stuff.” I responded, “well Officer Canterbury, this wasn’t going to happen on my watch. I was the victim of a hit and run accident a year previous and I wish someone had taken the time to do what I did today.”

About an hour later, I got a call from Officer Canterbury, indicating that the same car had hit another vehicle and the man left the car at the scene and walked home. I was asked to come and identify the man, who was drunk out of his mind, standing in his yard with another officer. I positively identified him and he was taken into custody. I received a call from Officer Canterbury later that night, thanking me for taking the time out of my day and doing the right thing. Apparently, I was the only person who came forward and this man went to jail for DUI for the second time for hitting three cars that day, drunk. I thought at that moment, I have on my Gumptionista bullet proof vest and as long as I was doing what I believed, nothing and no one could hurt me.