One Digit Difference

Header photo: Jennifer visits Joanne (left). 

It was just one wrong button. A single digit difference. Joanne dials the same phone number every month, to check that her medical alert system is working. But this time, she mixed up one number — and got a strange result.

Joanne is 86 years old and lives alone in an apartment in Comfrey, Minnesota. She has spent her whole life there, a small community in which she is well-known and well-loved. Her daughter is not too far away in Minneapolis and comes to visit often. In the meantime, she keeps a medical alert button at hand, just in case she needs emergency medical attention.

Normally, the monthly phone call brings her to a recording asking her to verify the system by clicking the button. This time, it was a person. They talked about sending her a new medical alert system, and asked for her account information. Confused, Joanne gave it to them.

But when she asked if they could send her some literature on the new product and they refused, saying “that’s too expensive,” she grew suspicious. She kept asking why she didn’t need to push her button. They finally told her to go ahead and press it. Nothing happened. When she hung up the phone, she was sure she’d been scammed.

Joanne and her daughter were amazed at the level of care they received from Jennifer and Choice Financial; not just financially, but also for their well-being, too.

“She was in awe that we would go above and beyond like that,” said Julie Fredin, Jennifer’s teammate, who watched Jennifer handle the situation over the course of a few days.

“This is not out of the ordinary for Jennifer,” Julie said. “She is always visiting our assisted living home and helping the residents with their banking or helping handle computer issues or internet banking. They all know her. This is just Jennifer’s kindness. She goes out of her way, every day.”

Our People First values are at the heart of everything we do. Learn more about our passion for putting People First here.