Retirement

A colleague retired today. He'd been with the company for forty two years! That's an amazing feat! He said it was the first and only job he's had.

I've only really known him for the last year or so as we've normally been in different teams but over the last few years, have heard the different customer stories he's shared.

Today as he was reflecting on his years at the company, he told us about the time a customer called in to say they wanted their meter red and the response they got was "I'm sorry ma'am, it only comes in grey".

And another time when a customer wasn't satisfied with what my colleague was telling her about the account and said "I want to speak to someone higher" and my colleague replied "Well I could always stand on the desk for you"

Things certainly have changed a lot in the last forty two years!! Anyone caught saying anything like that these days probably wouldn't have many more work days to worry about!

I just can't imagine how I'd feel if I were in his shoes. Yes I'd be happy at being "free", but what would you do with your time now? It would be easy to get caught in a rut... My colleague says he will treat it like a holiday at first, and then get involved in volunteer work. What a great idea!

So today as been a bit joyful, a bit sad, a bit filling (lots of food!) as we watch one of our longest serving employees finish his career.

Well done.

If only I can last as long!