Kindness is key, and is also very tasty

Ambulances suck. And are a pain in my side. Especially the company itself...

Back in 2008, I went to an Urgent Care due to some medical complications with some medications I was taking. I was then rushed by ambulance to a hospital, and then transferred again to Phoenix Children's Hospital. At the time, I was 16. I was still a minor.

When I applied for my car 2 years ago, I could not get qualified if my life depended on it. I had to have my parents co-sign on the loan. And I had no clue why I couldn't qualify on my own, because I had never done anything against my credit. Ever.

A few months ago, I decided to check my credit score for kicks and giggles. What I discovered was NOT what anyone wanted to see. I had horrible credit. And it all came down to the two ambulance rides I took when I was 16. Furious, I called the ambulance company and they admitted their mistake. They said that they do not bill minors and billed me by accident. Subsequently, I have had a delinquent account on my credit for almost 5 years. Ouch.

After talking with multiple people on the phone, I was told that it would be taken care of and be removed from my credit in 45 days or so.

So I waited.

Patiently.

2 months later, I called to see what the progress was, and the girl I spoke to had no clue whatsoever I was talking about. I had to explain my whole situation again. This time, she documented the call on my account and said that she would send it over to be removed in 45 days or so.

So I waited some more.

Patiently.

3 months later, today, I decided to check my credit score to see if anything had been fixed. Low and behold. Nothing had changed. My blood quickly reached boiling point and I was about to explode. I was so mad that I started to stutter....

Furious, I dialed their number. When someone greeted me happily, I bursted out "I need to speak to your manager." When I was asked if I had an account number he could give them, I repeated "I need to speak to your manager." In now way was I kind or patient. That had all been used up in the past months. After I was put on hold, he came back and said that his manager was helping another customer and that if I left a voice mail, she would call me back. Now, I had heard that same phrase time and time again from the previous customer service reps I had spoken to in the previous phone calls with them. I told him very rudely that I would hold. No longer than a minute later, I was transferred to her voice mail. And I proceeded to leave one of the nastiest voice mails I have ever left for anyone. I was REALLY mad.

(Was I proud of any of this? Absolutely not.)

After cooling off for a few minutes, I decided to take a different approach. I decided to actually be nice even though I did not want to be very nice. So I called them up again and politely asked for a manager. After giving the customer service rep a little background to the situation, she gladly was able to help me herself. We spoke for a few minutes, and she eventually got me her manager even though I was sure I didn't need to speak to one anymore. Her manager told me that in June, the last time I called, they sent the information over to their third party vendor, or something or other, who was supposed to get in touch with the credit bureau and that they had not done anything with the information. She then had HER manager speak with the manager of the third party vendor to get this resolved. The manager I spoke to was so extremely helpful in getting things resolved. Yes, it took WAY longer than it needed to be. But getting short and frustrated with people isn't going to help anyone. I've worked in Customer Service for a long time and always hated when people got frustrated and yelled over the phone at me for something that I personally had not done. Why did I not think of this when I was on the phone? I have no clue...

After all the drama ensued today, I wanted to make soup (random, I know) because it's just one of those soupy kinds of days. It's the beginning of fall, and it's just what I needed. So I decided to make black bean soup! And oh boy was it delicious!!! And because people, mainly my mom and sister and a few aunts, ask for recipes, I decided to give you this one! I hope you all enjoy and let me know how it turns out! John loved it, and it made so much that we now have plenty of leftovers.

1 T. canola oil

1 chopped onion

1 chopped red bell pepper

1 T. chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed

3 c. chicken broth

1 1/2 c. salsa

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1/4 tsp. salt

1 T lime juice

2 c. cooked macaroni

1. Heat oil in pan and add onion and bell pepper. Cook until onions are translucent.

2. Add chili powder and cumin and cook for 1 min.

3. Add beans, chicken broth, salsa, cilantro, and salt.

4. Bring to boil, simmer for 10 min.

5. Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree. Stir back into saucepan.

6. Add cooked macaroni.

7. Add lime juice and stir.

8. Enjoy!

You can add more spices if you'd like, but this was absolutely perfect. We added a plop of sour cream to the soup and stirred it in. I've never had soup this good before.

Let me know what you think!