- Jun 5, 2014
- 37,080
- 98,202
Founding Member
Amusing story today. One of our clients is having their windows washed by our primary window subcontractor. The owner of this window cleaning company is a really nice guy, and I had talked to him a few times over the past few months. However, I'm still pretty new to the company and the two of us really don't know each other. By the way, these are $5 million mansions so people pay $600 to $800 to get their windows washed. Keep in mind we give these subcontractors a LOT of work - almost all of their work, in some cases. The last thing they want to do is alienate my company.
So I get a call from the window company owner that his guys are out at the house and that they are having trouble removing the screens. Evidently, the house is 5 years old and the screens have never been removed - it was going to take them longer, blahblahblah. He was wanting to know if it would be okay if they removed them and left them in the garage, assuming the owners never opened their windows. I told him that the owners aren't easy to get a hold of and the screens should go back on. He said no problem and hung up.
Two minutes later my phone rings, and I see from the Caller ID that it's him. I answer the phone and he immediately starts into this diatribe about the guy from (my company), Aaron BLAND, and "what an appropriate name that was". He starts repeating the conversation we just had, mocking me by giving me a low, guttural voice:
"And I said, 'can we leave the screens off?', and he said (in mocking voice) 'Well, the owners are hard to get a hold of. I want them back on...."
So all the while I'm just sitting here in silence listening to this, knowing that he called me back by mistake. He thinks he talking to one of his workers. It was a fascinating and awkward moment. Should I interrupt him? Should I wait for him to finish? Should I hang up? I admit I wasn't happy about what he was saying. It was a gross misinterpretation of our conversation and I had never been anything but professional to the guy.
I decided to let him finish, although I had no idea what I was going to say when he was done. What I ended up saying is, "You should probably pay attention to who you're calling."
Silence on the other end.
Then finally, "Oh man. I'm really sorry."
Me: "I'd be pretty embarrassed if I were you."
Him. "I am."
Then I started getting a little pissy with him. "I think if you remove the screens from our clients, they need to be put back on."
Then the groveling started, it was amusing in hindsight, although I was a bit steamed. I said goodbye fairly abruptly and hung up.
Then a text message: "I apologize and I'm truly embarrassed. Forgive me."
I ignored it. I wanted him to twist in the wind a bit longer.
Then another call, I sent it to voicemail. He left a message. It's 1 minute and 45 seconds of groveling. Poor guy. I suppose it could have happened to any of us.
I'm going to contact him by the end of the day to reassure him there's no hard feelings. He's suffered enough. He almost certainly learned a valuable lesson and so did I: be careful about what you say about people behind their backs. It can bite you in the ass.
So I get a call from the window company owner that his guys are out at the house and that they are having trouble removing the screens. Evidently, the house is 5 years old and the screens have never been removed - it was going to take them longer, blahblahblah. He was wanting to know if it would be okay if they removed them and left them in the garage, assuming the owners never opened their windows. I told him that the owners aren't easy to get a hold of and the screens should go back on. He said no problem and hung up.
Two minutes later my phone rings, and I see from the Caller ID that it's him. I answer the phone and he immediately starts into this diatribe about the guy from (my company), Aaron BLAND, and "what an appropriate name that was". He starts repeating the conversation we just had, mocking me by giving me a low, guttural voice:
"And I said, 'can we leave the screens off?', and he said (in mocking voice) 'Well, the owners are hard to get a hold of. I want them back on...."
So all the while I'm just sitting here in silence listening to this, knowing that he called me back by mistake. He thinks he talking to one of his workers. It was a fascinating and awkward moment. Should I interrupt him? Should I wait for him to finish? Should I hang up? I admit I wasn't happy about what he was saying. It was a gross misinterpretation of our conversation and I had never been anything but professional to the guy.
I decided to let him finish, although I had no idea what I was going to say when he was done. What I ended up saying is, "You should probably pay attention to who you're calling."
Silence on the other end.
Then finally, "Oh man. I'm really sorry."
Me: "I'd be pretty embarrassed if I were you."
Him. "I am."
Then I started getting a little pissy with him. "I think if you remove the screens from our clients, they need to be put back on."
Then the groveling started, it was amusing in hindsight, although I was a bit steamed. I said goodbye fairly abruptly and hung up.
Then a text message: "I apologize and I'm truly embarrassed. Forgive me."
I ignored it. I wanted him to twist in the wind a bit longer.
Then another call, I sent it to voicemail. He left a message. It's 1 minute and 45 seconds of groveling. Poor guy. I suppose it could have happened to any of us.
I'm going to contact him by the end of the day to reassure him there's no hard feelings. He's suffered enough. He almost certainly learned a valuable lesson and so did I: be careful about what you say about people behind their backs. It can bite you in the ass.
Last edited: