I decided to forgo writing about kindness this week in order to tell you about a really cool thing the #PhiladelphiaOrchestra did for me the other week.

If you don’t remember, a few weeks back I wrote a post comparing the #BerlinPhilharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra (click here to be taken to that post). Among other things, I wrote about the decided difficulty of getting out of the garage after the Philly concert.

Within the next day or two, I received an email from the Orchestra asking me to fill out a survey. I did and in the comments made them aware of the traffic jam that, though no fault of the Orchestra’s, nevertheless detracted from the overall experience.

I told them nicely, made it clear that I didn’t blame them for it. I simply thought they should know.

Within the next week, I received a phone call from someone working for the Orchestra. Basically, she felt bad about the traffic experience I’d had and offered me a free ticket for an upcoming concert. I assured her that wasn’t necessary but she insisted and I picked a date that worked and hung up feeling really great about the Guest Relations skills of “my” Orchestra.

I attended the concert on November 7th, taking the train into the city this time instead of driving. Getting my ticket from Will Call was a breeze and my seat was even better than the one I’d purchased for the previous concert. I could see Yannick Nezet Sequin perfectly – which was also a drawback in my previous comparison since I had inadvertently purchased a seat too far to the right to see the conductor.

The free concert (for me) was brilliant, of course, featuring an electric performance of Symphony #1 for Organ by Guilmant. I was directly behind the organ and could see all of the organist’s complicated moves in playing the piece. In addition, the piece was one of the 40/40 pics of #YannickNezetSeguin – a piece that hasn’t been played in a subscription concert in the last 40 years.

It was a fantastic experience, and even better for being free. I had to tell you all about it and reiterate again that you should all go to see the Orchestra – our Phabulous Philadelphians are truly spectacular!