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You Will Reach Your Destination In 500 Feet

by ‎09-12-2014 04:17 PM - edited ‎11-13-2015 12:44 PM

This is a story about about technology, the kindness of strangers, and great customer service.

 

I was going to New York for a birthday party. New York is about two hours from Philadelphia so I figured it was easiest to drive. I drive to New York City often enough -- no problem. But what was different about this trip was that I was going to a location I hadn’t driven to before. I was going to be staying over in a nice hotel downtown. So I plugged the address into the GPS system in my car. Now usually, if I’m traveling someplace unfamiliar, I print a hard copy of directions just in case. But I figured, it’s only Manhattan -- I won’t need directions. BIG MISTAKE...

 

Getting lost is no fun!

 

I was making good time on the New Jersey Turnpike, the audio in my car alternating between old school R&B tunes and navigation updates. I was about an hour into the trip when my GPS said “prepare to exit right”. What? I thought... I’ve never taken Exit 13 to NYC.

 

GPS Navigation is great when it works

 

This is the part where “instinct” lost out to reliance on technology. I signaled and began merging right to exit. Upon taking the exit, the GPS continued guiding me “keep straight for 5 miles”; “turn right in 500 feet”, “prepare to turn left”. After 45 minutes I realized that I had not only been “navigated” to someplace unfamiliar, it didn’t look or feel very safe. And it was getting late. I was clearly lost, so I decided to try and return to the turnpike, but my GPS couldn’t seem to figure that out either. No worries, my phone talks and has GPS. I’ll just tell IT where I need to go. I screamed into the phone “Siri, get me to the turnpike!”. Silence... “Phone, take me to New York City!” Nothing... Now I started to panic. I didn’t know where I was or how to get out of there. I saw a man coming out of a building. I rolled down my window and asked, “Am I anywhere near Battery Park?” The guy looked at me with what seemed like amusement and pity. He informed me that I was nowhere near where I needed to be. He proceeded to tell me to make my way through town, get on the expressway, and look for signs to the bridge and tunnel. Once again, I must have looked completely bewildered because he then said, “I’ll get in my car and drive you to the entrance to the expressway. That kind stranger drove 25 minutes out of his way to get me back on my way.

 

The story would have been great had it ended there with the kindness of a stranger who helped me when my GPS failed. But... it didn’t end there.

 

Once I was on the expressway, the guy had told me that I should take the bridge which would take me to the tunnel. Great, now that I was back on course, the GPS would surely be accurate. So I “Continued Route Guidance”. ANOTHER BIG MISTAKE! I crossed the bridge, and saw no sign of a tunnel. The GPS however did tell me to “exit on right to Third Avenue”. Okay.

 

I’ll make this long story shorter. Third Avenue was somewhere in Brooklyn. (I learned later) My destination was Battery Park. Lost again, and at my wit’s end, I called the hotel. I told the operator I needed directions and was put through to voice mail. I called back, and trying my best to keep my composure, I said, “please don’t put me through to voice mail. I need to talk to a real person. I’M LOST!” I was transferred to a young lady who told me that her name was Rory. She calmly asked me to describe where I was. She then proceeded to talk me through. She said, “you were going the right way” you’re just under the expressway instead of on it. And then she said... “I’ll stay on the phone with you until you get here.” And she did! This girl was an angel. She was on the phone with me for 30 minutes instructing me every step of the way. She even told me that the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel was the longest underwater tunnel in the country. When I finally arrived at the hotel she was standing outside phone in hand. I hopped out of my car and gave her the biggest hug!

 

 

The view of my hotel from Battery Park

 

 

The view of the Statue of Liberty from my hotel

 

I made it to the party and had a great weekend in NYC. And I guess the moral of my story is, technology is great when it works, but human kindness and great service can’t be beat!

 

 

After that trip, I needed a Cosmo.

 

Leah :-)