LI bagel shop manager drives 185 miles to return customer's car key fob
Shop owner personally delivers lost keys
Diana Chong stopped at Bagels 101 in Middle Island on Saturday morning before she and her family headed to a Friendsgiving celebration in Pennsylvania. But they made the 185-mile trip in a 2016 Kia Sorento—without the car key. She called the bagel store and spoke to the manager, Vinny Proscia. Someone had turned in the keys. He offered to ship the fob but couldn't find a service that would get it there in time. Vinny didn't think twice about personally delivering the keys. He humbly accepted a thank you and a raincheck for a future Friendsgiving. Reported by Jodi Goldberg
HONESDALE, Pa. - A bagel shop manager in New York drove to Pennsylvania to return a key fob that a customer had left in his shop on Long Island.
Diana Chong drove off from Bagels 101 in Middle Island on Saturday with her family for a pre-Thanksgiving celebration in Honesdale. But she realized she had left the fob at the store 185 miles away.
Manager Vinny Proscia offered to ship the fob, but they couldn't find a service. So Proscia, who had been working since 5 a.m., decided to deliver it.
Chong told Newsday that she insisted he accept $200 for gas and tolls and a gift card.
"I heard the stress in her voice about having to drive back and forth to get the keys, then go and get her car, then miss work," Proscia told FOX5NY.com. "My first thought was lets get her the keys so she can be less stressful and be at work on Monday."
On the return trip he got stopped for speeding, but the officer let him go after showed a thank-you card from Chong.
"I said, 'You're not going believe me because its going sound far-fetched,'" Proscia said. "So I told him and his look was skeptical so I just showed him the thank you note."
He said he'd do it again.
In a post to Facebook by a woman who says she is Chong's sister, you can see the pair posing for a photo together.
Over the past 10 to 15 years, AAA Northeast has seen an increase in the number of lockout calls.
Officials say while keyless ignitions are good for people like seniors who may not have the dexterity, there are definitely unintended consequences.
"It used to be 1 to 2% of the calls we get and now it may be anywhere 9 to 14% of the calls that we get from our members," AAA Northeast's Robert Sinclair said.
With The Associated Press
____
Get breaking news alerts in the FOX5NY News app. It is FREE!
____