Not sure I’ve told this story here before but I was thinking about it today.
Some years ago, I worked morning shifts lifeguarding at an indoor lap pool. My shifts typically started at 7 AM, but the opening shift started at 5 AM and was always handled by a single person rather than a team of 3.
So one morning I was at home sleeping when I get woken up by my phone ringing. It’s around 4:45 and I recognize the number as the guy on the opening shift. Groggily I answer and he tells me he’s in a situation and can’t get to the pool to open it.
I wake up completely and hurry into my gear and high-tail it to the pool to open up. I get there at around 5:10 and run to the desk to clock in and get the keys. While I am doing this there are four or five people glaring at me and grumbling about me being late.
I don’t feel like I owe these people an apology. I got there as quick as I could, but I do have to shut up their grumbling. So I decide they need to know my coworker’s situation.
So as I am clocking in I say to them “I’ll have the door open for you guys in a moment. The regular guard is trapped in an elevator at his parking garage.”
They all immediately quit complaining and instead apologized to me.
About an hour later my coworker was able to get out of the elevator and came and worked my shift for me, and was in pretty good spirits over the whole thing.
