Good causes

When the local store keeper heard about the faster broadband communications system that the country’s Big Lottery Company planned to roll out across the country to network thousands of retailers to the company’s central systems, he became very excited about its potential.

After all, not only would the new system be more reliable than the old one, it would also provide his customers with the opportunity to participate in any number of new and exciting games.

He realised, naturally enough, that the more they did so, the more he would profit from the new system. Not only that, but the extra cash would also swell the coffers of the lottery company too, allowing them to distribute more money to good causes around the country.

So the local store keeper was delighted when the team of contractors arrived one morning at his premises to install the new satellite dish, modem and terminal that would allow him to join the ranks of the numerous retailers that had already taken advantage of the new gambling system.

For several months, the new system worked well. The customers were delighted with the number of new games that they could play, while both the storekeeper and the Big Lottery Company were happy with the increase in revenue.

After a few months, however, the flat roof on which the Big Lottery Company had installed the new satellite dish started to subside due to the weight of the dish and the sunken roof caused water to enter the storekeeper’s property when it rained.

The storekeeper was more than a little upset. So he called up the Big Lottery Company to rectify the problem. The folks at the Big Lottery Company were more than understanding and swiftly sent around another team of installers to move the dish from the flat roof to the side of the building where it could cause no more damage.

The storekeeper was happy enough with the result. But he was somewhat troubled when a few weeks later he received an invoice from the Big Lottery Company for the work they had undertaken relocating the dish. After all, it was bad enough that he would have to pay for the repair of his flat roof, without having to incur the further cost involved in moving the dish.

But the wily storekeeper has found his own solution to the financial misery that had been incurred by the Big Lottery Company. He has now applied for a grant to repair the flat roof on his store and to pay for the relocation of the Big Lottery Company’s dish through the company’s very own good-causes programme. Personally, I can’t think of a more worthy recipient.

Dave Wilson
Editor, Electronicstalk

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