A happy ending: Customer likes business. Business shows appreciation. Happy birthday ensues.

My cell phone told me Thelma was calling. It was 11 o'clock Monday morning, and I was at work.

She never calls me at work, and very rarely calls my cell phone.

"Hello, Dan," she said. "Well, Bush's Beans came through."

A box — "Oh, and it was heavy, too!" — had been delivered to her building.

Inside the box was an apron, measuring cups, a spatula, a water bottle, a Drink N' Plate, a couple serving ladles, a stuffed replica of Duke, the Golden Retriever that starred in the Bush's commercials for so long, and (I think) a few more things.

All the items proudly boast the Bush's Beans logo.

I'd written a piece a couple weeks ago, for Thelma's 96th birthday, in which she cited Bush's Beans as her secret recipe for a long life.

The recipe also probably includes a life of clean living, staying active and out of harm's way. But she said "Bush's Beans," and she's my mom, so we're going with that.

I thought the good folks at Bush's would be happy to hear that someone enjoyed their products, and that she attributed her lengthy and healthy existence to them, so I tweeted a link to the piece to them.
Businesses don't hear enough from satisfied customers. Been there.

But here was a ready-made example of when that should happen, for all the right reasons.

The next morning, Bush's responded with this:

And, well, you know ... aww shucks. I exchanged contact info with them.

Last week, they kindly mailed me 10 coupons, which I will use to buy beans and donate to a nonprofit that needs them. We already have a few Bush's cans in our pantry.

Thelma also received several coupons, and "a nice letter" from Bush's.

I haven't seen it, so I asked her to read it to me.

"Well, it just talks about what a nice lady I am, and what my son did," she said, sounding not interested in reading it over the phone.

So, all ends well.

A business got the satisfaction of creating a good product, and hearing that it's been enjoyed for decades.

I was happy to pass that positive message along, and write some good (and accurate) things about my mom.

And Thelma celebrated No. 96 with presents she never expected to get.

She's appreciated more than she knows.