This and that

I know, it's been less than a month since my last entry... what *am* I thinking? Not much, as usual, just wanted to share two quick tidbits:

1) A couple days before Father's Day, I went to Best Buy to look for the new Lewis Black DVD for my dad. Lewis Black is my dad's reigning favorite comedian, a fact I take no small amount of pride in since I was the one to first introduce him to the curmudgeonly comic. Not finding it on the shelf, I track down a random store monkey and ask if he can check their computer system for it. As we walk, he asks what I'm looking for, so I tell him it's the new Lewis Black DVD. He replies, "Oh, yeah... I don't think he's very funny." At my noncommittal grunt, he goes on to say, "I saw one of his specials on TV once, and yeah, I don't know, just didn't think much of it." To which I didn't say anything but thought, really dude? I know you don't work on commission and thus don't care if I buy anything or not, but still... really? I hadn't told him it was for my father, so for all he knew he was badmouthing something I planned to buy for myself. You don't have to lie and say you love Lewis Black, just don't say anything. I actually walked away glad they didn't have it, even though it meant another trip, because after that I didn't want to buy it there anyway. I'm probably overreacting, but come on, man. There's a reason your immediate supervisor is five years younger than you and eats his own skin.

2) My own service-related anecdote: the other day I was speaking with a client, giving him feedback on why he shouldn't hire a candidate for a sales job. When I explained that the guy wouldn't have a lot of follow-through after making an initial pitch, you could practically hear the nod through the phone as he said, "I get ya. You're saying he's the guy who, if his wife says she has a headache, will just shrug his shoulders and give up instead of crackin' open a bottle of wine and trying to get somethin' going anyway."

I tell you, sometimes my customers annoy the piss out of me, but God help me, there are times I really love 'em. ;)