RECORD STORE TALES Part 295: That Damn Phone Again!

Getting phone calls from simpletons is part of every day life when you work in a store.  I’m sure you’ve had dozens of your own that you could share for a chuckle, if you’ve ever slaved over a hot cash register for a living.  That’s to be expected.  Another thing that grinds your gears is the repetition of certain questions.  I would say on average, these would have been my five most common questions over the phone:

1. “When do you open/close?”

2. “Do you have (artist), (title)?”

3. “How much?”

4. “How much can you give me for my (artist), (title) CD?”  (We couldn’t do quotes over the phone without seeing the product. This will be discussed in further detail in a future Record Store Tale.)

5. “Do you still have that sale on washer/dryer units?”

That last question was because people often called us thinking we were Sears.  Maybe the numbers were similar.  I never figured that one out, but it happened often enough!

Perhaps the question that irritated me the most due to its frequency was “Is the owner in?”  After several years of hard work he no longer worked in a store.  He had an office with his own phone number.  This question would come many times a day from friends and business associates.  I’d just give them his office number and get them to call there.  His office was just in the back of the store, but we had separate store and office lines for a reason.  (I remember way back in the old original store, we had one line that was for both the phone and the VISA machine.  You couldn’t run a credit card if you were on the phone.)

I was most irritated the time I caught hell for one such call.  A friend of his had phoned the store, but he was out of his office.  I asked if he’d like to leave a message, and he declined.  He did however pepper me with questions.

“I’m coming to town in a few days to visit,” he began.  “Can you recommend a good hotel that’s close to him?”

I’ve never stayed in a hotel in my home town in my life.  What am I a travel agency?  I suggested the Waterloo Inn.

“Are there good places to eat around there?”

The questions kept coming! Did I have the number for the Waterloo Inn?  Were there good bars in town to hit? Do I have the address?

This being a friend of the boss, I did my best to answer, but I really didn’t have a clue.  Finally the guy hung up, once again declining to leave a message.  “Nah that’s OK, I’ll try him at home later.”

So, the next day I got in shit.

“Mike,” said the boss.  “A friend of mine called here yesterday looking for me.  You didn’t give me the message.”

The frustration boiled inside me.  Seriously?  “He didn’t want to leave a message!” I defended myself.  “He asked me a good hotel to stay in that’s close to you so I suggested the Waterloo Inn.”

I got a lecture on writing down messages.  The good news is, his friend never called me for hotel recommendations again!