I was recently asked to call a potential client at their office. When the day came to contact this person, I made the phone call. His secretary, Carmen, answered the phone on the second ring and I asked about Dan.
CARMEN: “Sorry, Dan is not in the office.”
I: “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 coming to work tomorrow.”
I: “It must have been a terrible puncture to keep someone from coming to work all day. I hope he didn’t get hurt.”
CARMEN: “Okay! This is the second puncture he’s had in the last month. The last time he was out for a couple of days because it took time to get the car in gear.”
I: “Looks like Dan is having bad luck this summer. Okay, please let him know I called.”
CARMEN: “I have his number and will put the note on his desk. You can also email him, but he’s long overdue checking his inbox.”
I: “Sure, Carmen! I appreciate your help. Thank you!”
CARMEN: “Bye!”
My opinion on this situation
From what I can see, I think Dan is not very happy with this job. It seems to me that a puncture can be repaired in a matter of hours. In fact, it is strange that someone does not show up simply because the tire has lost its air. Even if the tire does need to be replaced, that cannot take long. The worst case is half a day to solve the problem.
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 immediately. I mentioned to Dan that I was sorry to hear about the puncture and that I hoped everything was okay now. He apologized for not returning my calls and emails, and we continued our conversation.
Dan mentioned that his supervisor would execute my proposal. He was happy with the set of services we offered and noted that our pricing was competitive. He was convinced that he would hear from her in about a week.
A week later
The following week came and went, and I didn’t hear from Dan. After giving her a few more days, I called her office and Carmen quickly answered the phone.
I: “Hi Carmen! I’m looking for Dan.”
CARMEN: “Not here today … sorry.”
I: “What happened? Flat tire?”
CARMEN: “No … he called and said his headlights were off.”
I: “Can’t you drive during the day?”
CARMEN: “I also believe that his driver’s license has expired.”
I: “Okay! Got it! I’ll wait to hear from him.”
CARMEN: “Sure, bye.”
I later learned that Dan left this company. I’m not sure what you’re doing right now, but I hope your car has four working tires, the headlights are nice and bright, and your driver’s license is current.
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