A Not So Random Act of Kindness
At A-Action, an OPC Pest Services company, no customer is too small. And even though Ms. Alice is pretty tiny, the mouse issue in her basement wasn’t. Ms. Alice is 92 years old with many disabilities, and because of that, she hasn’t been down in her basement for more than 15 years. When the mice showed up, she made sure to call A-Action to help. She just wasn’t prepared for just how much they would help.
Ms. Alice was brought to the branch’s attention by technician Pete Reider. After performing some services to help with the mouse infestation, she asked him if he had anyone that he could refer to her for cleaning up the droppings the mice had left behind in her basement and kitchen. Like any good technician, Pete knew the mice would be back if someone didn’t take care of the droppings and mess that would attract them again. So, he brought it up to Branch Administration Specialist, Shannon Leonard. When she heard about it, she brought it up to Joe Mazzuca, their Acts of Kindness branch ambassador. The Acts of Kindness program was set up to help take care of their community beyond just keeping it safe from pests. Food drives, coat and blanket collections, etc. But this one was bigger. It was cleaning almost the whole home – inside and out. At their weekly in-person meeting, Joe and Pete spoke with the team to see who would be willing to donate an afternoon to help Ms. Alice. Without surprise, hands immediately went into the air. They knew immediately this was an excellent candidate for the program.
Ms. Alice was shocked at what they did for her. They cleaned, sanitized, and installed some fresh insulation in her basement. They also cleaned and sanitized her entire kitchen, drawers, cabinets, etc. They cleaned her windows, changed her sheets, and vacuumed. As far as the exterior of her home, they cleaned her gutters, raked her leaves, gave her an overwintering treatment, and so much more! They pretty much did whatever she needed help with. All in all,19 A-Action teammates showed up to help. Technicians, sales, managers, office staff – everyone was represented.
This was no small act of kindness! It was actually quite large, and the impact it made on this sweet, older woman is immeasurable. And the team did it with smiles on their faces and seemed to love making Ms. Alice’s home and day better. Shannon said, “This was a really satisfying experience that we all got to enjoy.” Helping others truly does nourish the soul.
In the end, Ms. Alice was BEYOND grateful and overwhelmed, and was crying with every group of people that kept coming to her home. She kept commenting that she had never seen a group of people work so well together before! Bonus: she also loved all the handsome men in her home.
The A-Action team didn’t do this to be eye candy, though. They did it out of the goodness of their hearts. To be kind. And nobody would argue with the fact that it wasn’t just kind – it was remarkable. Acts like these and programs like Acts of Kindness are what set this team and this brand apart. We’re proud to have them in the family.
Thank you to everyone involved:
Management team: Travis Alcock (Branch Manager), Rob Alderin (Service Manager), and Jason Siordia (Service Manager).
Technicians: Anthony Janssen, Brandon Hanna, Eric Treasure, Felipe Castellano, Jackson Neuman, Jerry Davis, Joe Mazucca, Omar Barajas, Pete Rieder, Stan Adler, John Siordia
Utility Techs: William Neuman, Julian Dominguez
Outside Sales Reps: Larry Smith and Gary Schwall
Ambassador for OPC North: Haley Falcon
Branch Administration Specialist: Shannon Leonard