I was recently asked to call a potential client at their office. When the day came that I contacted this person, I made the phone call. His secretary, Carmen, answered the phone on the second ring and I asked for Dan.
CARMEN: “I’m sorry Dan isn’t in the office.”
ME: “Oh! He told me to call him at 10:00 am”
CARMEN: “He called early this morning and said he had a flat tire on the way to work, so he decided to fix it today. I guess he’ll be at work tomorrow.”
ME: “It must have been a terrible puncture to keep someone from coming to work all day. I hope he wasn’t hurt.”
CARMEN: “OK! This is the second flat tire he’s had in the last month. Last time he was out for a couple of days because it took time to get the car running.”
ME: “Looks like Dan is having some bad luck this summer. Okay, let him know I called.”
CARMEN: “I have your number and I’ll put the note on his desk. You can also email him, but he’s way behind checking his inbox.”
ME: “Sure, Carmen! I appreciate your help. Thanks!”
CARMEN: “Bye!”
My opinion on this situation
From what I could see, I think Dan is not very happy with this job. I find that a puncture can be fixed in a matter of hours. In fact, it’s rare that someone doesn’t show up simply because the tire has lost air. Even if the tire does need replacement, that can’t take long. Worst case scenario is half a day to resolve the issue.
call with dan
I called a few days later and was surprised when Carmen informed me that Dan was at work. I was going to transfer the call right away. I mentioned to Dan that he was sorry to hear about the flat tire and that he hoped everything would be okay now. He apologized for not returning my calls and emails, and we continued our conversation.
Dan mentioned that he would pass my proposal on to his supervisor. He was happy with the service package we offered and he pointed out that our price was competitive. He insisted that he would hear from him in about a week.
A week later
The next week came and went, and I didn’t hear from Dan. After giving him a few more days, I called his office and Carmen answered the phone right away.
ME: “Hi Carmen! I’m looking for Dan.”
CARMEN: “He’s not here today…sorry.”
ME: “What happened? Flat tire?”
CARMEN: “Nope… he called and said his headlights were off.”
ME: “Can’t drive during the day?”
CARMEN: “I also think his driver’s license has expired.”
ME: “Okay! Got it! I’ll wait to hear from him.”
CARMEN: “Sure, bye”.
I found out later that Dan left this company. I’m not sure what he’s doing right now, but I hope his car has four working tires, the headlights are nice and bright, and his driver’s license is current.
