Sam Cooper

Work today has been very frustrating.

I needed to get my circulation number for the Grower paper finished and they just weren't cooperating!

The phone keeps ringing and interrupting me so I'm starting to get even more aggravated.

Yet again the phone rings so I pick it up and go through my friendly shpeel "Good Morning Lee Publication, Subscriptions"

The guy on the other end didn't even get two words out before I was thinking in my head "Oh My God Someone Shoot Me Now!"

He took forever to tell me what he wanted and then he would repeat not only what he said but what I said too. So I end up telling him the same thing five times each time him repeating after me. Like he was trying to burn it into his brain!

He started out by telling me he called prior to order a paper but have not received it yet. (It was like pulling teeth trying to get information out of him)

Once I got the information where he lived and what paper had ordered I tried looking him up.

Found him --- (So I thought) I went through the address and he said no that we had the wrong address. But I continued to to finished telling him the name of the town and such we had in the computer. That's when he stammered no that was his cousin's address. His cousin that lives up in Dryden and how he lived in a different town (Which he repeated that whole thing three times!)

By now I'm grinding my teeth.

I quickly told him we did not have his information in the computer and I would take it now and enter him in to start with next weeks paper.

Now comes the fun task.......Getting his information.

Not only did he repeat himself but he talked funny. He sounded mentally challenged.

Now he has already told me his name throughout our conversation about 3-5 times. Plus I had (what I thought) was his subscription up on my screen. But he feels the need to tell me his name THREE more times, in a row!

Then he continues with his street address. He tells me the road name and instead of spelling out the road name or making sure I had the correct name of the road he wanted to make sure I had the "RD" abbreviation for ROAD!

I smacked my head with my hand at this point and calmly told Sam I got it.

Now we move on to the city. This took a bit because even with him spelling out the name it sounded mumbled and did not look right when I wrote it down.

After the fifth time of telling me the name of the city and spelling it out he finally spoke clearly enough I got the correct spelling.

I quickly wrapped up the conversation. He was having it billed to him for one year. I finished my shpeel giving him the information on when his paper will started and what to do when he receives the invoice.

About five to ten minutes go by and the phone rings. Can you guess who it was????

That's right! You guessed it! It was good 'ol Same Cooper!

Now remember -- he ordered a one year subscription. This is a weekly paper.
So his question to me was if he had to pay for this every month???!!!!???

Huh??? Oy Vay!

I tried explaining to him that his paper will start with next weeks edition. We are billing him and when he gets the bill he can send his payment in with the invoice. At first he said ok but then he asked, yet again, if he could send in a money order and when. So I went through it all over again a bit slower this time. He repeated everything I said two or three times Until I think I saw the light bulb come on.

He finally reiterated everything I said one last time before saying ok and thanking me and telling me to have a good day.

I couldn't get off the phone fast enough.