Well, it’s been almost two weeks since I sent a letter to Metro-North to inform them that my Gap chinos were torn by one of their armrests, and wouldn’t you know it, I got a call back from the railroad’s claims department this afternoon.

I couldn’t quite make out the woman’s name, but it sounded like “Pommell.” Pommell had a pleasant disposition as we discussed my now-worthless pants. She asked me what I thought Gap chinos sold for new, and I told her about $40. Pommell said she’d been to the Gap website and figured they were closer to $34.99.

Obviously I was in for a tussle.

She told me to send a receipt, and I told her the pants were probably 10 years old, and the receipt was surely sitting on the bottom of some Staten Island landfill. Pommell thought about this for a bit, then said my poor trousers had “practically no value.”

It hurt a little.

She then added that, if I were to send a digital picture of the tear along with a copy of my monthly commuter pass, she’d issue suitable payment.

“For something this old with no receipt,” she said, “we can extend you a…$15 offer.”

I actually thought that was really fair for a pair of pants that were, so to speak, on their last legs.

And this made my day. As Pommell and I bid farewell, she added, “I apologize for the inconvenience.”

My faith in Metro-North’s customer service was thusly restored. This almost made up for the railroad hiking up booze prices.