Apparently I am a company

[Rahmota]

Okay this was wierd. A little history. I am a farmer and I do odd jobs for people as well on occasion. Most of my business comes through word of mouth but I did print up some flyers to hang in the local gas station and diner. So I suppose thats where this came from.

Anyhow on to the Sucky Customer I actually had occur. Yes folks I had my own personal sucky customer today.

Phoen rings I dont recognize the Caller ID so I answer appropriately Rahmota Oddjobs. And then the strangeness begins.

Guy: Hello I need to speak with someone about getting a fence built.
Rah: Okay speaking.
Guy: But you're the receptionist!
Rah:*sigh* Ummm no. I'm the guy who does the work so I answer my own phone.
Guy: Oh so this isnt a company?
Rah: Not particularly.
Guy: SO you must not know much about fences?
Rah: Aside from spending most of my life living and working on a farm dealing with livestock and fences and such no....
Guy:Oh So

At this point he settled in and started talking business. This was good as he wanted a chain link fence around the front of his yard. Unfortunately he didnt know how big his yard was and didnt seem to understand the concept of needing measurements to be able to figure out how much fence he needed. And without knowing how much fence he needs I cant tell him how much my materials costs and labor costs and such will be. I finally get a bit through to him by saying "I need the measurements. So either I come out there and measure it myself or you tell me how big your yard is. Okay?" So this happens.

Guy: Can I talk to someone else there that can help me?
Rah: Dude, I'm the only one here. I am the boss, the manager, the owner, the worker, the receptionist, the accountant, the end all and the be all. There is NO ONE else here, There is no company and unless you want to talk to the dog or the cat you gotta talk to me.
Guy: Well you're really rude and not helping me so I'm not going to use your company.
Rah: yeah sure okay great. Bye.

And I hang up. *sigh* Its nice to be able to do that. I'm very confused though as nowhere does it say on my flyer or anyone I've talked to that I am a company with employees and all sorts of other overhead. I got me, my truck and some tools. I figure they just moved out here form the city and are having some major culture shock. If we're lucky they may move back.

[Crazeyal]

Nah..

That was just a stupid person.

You deal with 1 person companies ALLLLLLL the time if you WORK for a living. It's a bit of a risk sometimes, "trunk slammers" have no Insurance, usually have a day job, and notoriously disapear if something goes wrong. But they can be also be master craftsmen in their own righ , as well as hundreds or THOUSANDS less than "REAL" companies. That makes them LIFESAVERS in some instances. (That and way too many of the supposed "professionals" are outright THIEVES...)

Sounds like upper middle class or above, and they don't usually do their own calling.

[Rahmota]

yeah there are quite a few 1 man shows that are scammers. But around here there are a lot of folks who for one reason or another are working out of their barn or truck or whatever to get some extra folding thanks to our lovely economy tanking out. A lot of these guys are 20, 30 or 40 years in the fields their working on so its nt like you're dealing with some fly by nighter..

[Liminality]

At least you can hang up on them without having to worry about what your boss says. >

[Byronthebanker]

That's happened to me. I run a small photography business on the side (just me - and sometimes a hired helper) and have people kinda stunned that I answer the phone.

Couple of responses I've gotten:
"Oh, you're the photographer, I need to call the office" (there is no office other than a sticker on my laptop that says, "eSportsPhoto Worldwide Headquarters") - she wanted to order pictures.

"I was looking for your studio, but the address looks like a house" (p.s. I have no studio, that was my house - it's all on location btw - she could have only picked up that info from my website registration, I don't use my address on any marketing.

and my confused favorite to voicemail-
"I'm so glad to get in touch with you, my son was number (something) at (some school) in White Plains, NY. Something about JV Basketball. There is a great picture of him on your website that I'd like copies of for (names a bunch of family members) . . . "

Why is this an odd voicemail? 1) I'm in Florida 2) I don't shoot indoor sports right now.

I did call her back, and explain the whole situation - it's just me, blah, blah . Florida, etc.etc. . . . and I knew the next question coming,

"Do you know the photographer that was there?"

[Kali]

Yeah I am a business owner, I own a SMALL pet supplies store in a country town on the south coast of NSW.

Now we are a major tourist area, so when people come down from sydney in the holidays I get an influx of people who just CAN'T understand that I am a one-(wo)man show, I don't have employees, I don't have an "out the back" that I can check stock for, yes i AM a female, but I know quite a lot about fish, I can help you, and no there is no "someone who I can talk to about fish" (Read: a bloke, please). Just me.

I open 6 days a week, and I also often get someone who asks me "why wouldnt you open on sundays???? Every other pet shop I've ever seen opens on sunday! Don't you want the business or something?"

First of all, fuck off and die, i *hate* you and anyone else who hands me the "dont you want my business" card. What a stupid fucking question. Secondly, Most pet shops have employees, and even PETS (I am supplies and fish only), and therefore pretty much HAVE to open 7 days a week. To, you know, feed and clean the animals.

I am not a robot nor am I several people, so I think one day off a week is not too much to ask, especially seing as every other store within a 5km radius is closed on sundays as well (with the exception of a few fish and chip shops).


It's great when someone tries the "customer is always right" attitude with me, though. Don't get me wrong, I am professional and in no way rude or short with my customers, but if anyone walks through my door with "ENTITLED" written on their forhead, they get shot down pretty fucking fast.

[smileyeagle1021]

OK, I hate to be the one who says this, but at least in the world of accounting and business, the words "business" and "company" can be interchanged at will, and the definition of a business (or company) is "an organization in which basic resources such as materials and labor, are assembled and preocessed to provide goods and/or services to customers" There is no firm definition saying that an organization can't be just one person, and what you do is exactly what the definition says, processing raw material and your labor into a finished product for your client. So in the strictest sense of the word you are a company Rahmota.


BTW, the definition is straight out of my ACCT1010 class 3 semesters ago, so please don't hurt me too much *ducks*

[Kali]

Smileyeagle, I think it's fair to say that the caller meant company in a colloquial way, as in a multi-employee, empire-type establisment with receptionists and marketing strategies. The OP knew what he meant and answered accordingly.

Sometimes it's not all about the literal definition of the word. Shall I go on a speil about the anatomy of eagles and how they couldn't possibly smile?

[smileyeagle1021]

Smileyeagle, I think it's fair to say that the caller meant company in a colloquial way, as in a multi-employee, empire-type establisment with receptionists and marketing strategies. The OP knew what he meant and answered accordingly.

Sometimes it's not all about the literal definition of the word. Shall I go on a speil about the anatomy of eagles and how they couldn't possibly smile?

touchee, touchee (i don't know if that's spelled properly or not).

though speaking of colloquial, eagle also refers to eagle scouts... for whom smiling is very easy...

oh and as far as the OP, if I were him I'd tell people "yes, I am a company, just like every other company out there, just a bit smaller, and as with all other companies you can chose to use me or not"

[Kali]

Hahaha true.

BTW, you're a reservationist right? I APPLAUD you. I just wouldn't last 3 days doing that without getting extremely short with people. Same goes for the rest of you out there.

[raideo]

I think it would be great to own a small business, but my mom is a banker so I hear all kinds of statistics about success rates, surficing to say they aren't that great. Not to mention that my uncle is self-employed with an arcade business and will be out of debt in a few months after 7 or 8 years of debt, including spending his retirement money to keep him out of bankruptcy. I happen to be a bit of a pessimist and observations don't make my chances look a whole lot better.

[earl colby pottinger]

Measurements.

I love the customers lack of measurements, any company that keeps a database/google application that lets them know the size of the fence you need without the customer suppling said info is going to have overhead costs that will double the price of the fencing.

Depending where you are many companies will charge extra to come out and do the measurement themselves.

[Peppergirl]

Personally, I think you just cashed in some happy-Karma points by not having to deal with this idiot.

Can you imagine actually having to WORK with him?

[cinema guy]

I guess folks don't get that big businesses started small. Ben & Jerry opened one ice cream shop in Vermont, there was one McDonalds restaurant, Sam Walton started working for someone else before opening one store of his own.

[Emrld]

I work in my family's business. I am the baby daughter . . .and part of the work is still considered to be male orriented.
I get people who don't want to talk to me because I answered the phone and therefore don't know anything.
I get men who insist on talking to Dad about something. I have to give my Dad points . . .when anyone else treats me like I don't have a brain. He will either flat out tell them they need to talk to me or put the person on speaker call me into the room, ask me the same question, and then repeat my answer back to them.
Of course there are times when we use me acting like I don't know anything when we get bids from a new company on a job to see how ethical they really are.

I have to agree that it is most likely your Karma kicking in that the guy didn't want to work with you.