Jan 29, 2009

Tell me something... honestly.

Have you ever gone to a doctor's appointment a bit late and demand that you be put in line first, no matter if there were people waiting in line since 7am? When you finish doing your grocery shopping, do you walk up to the line and say, I'm first? Have you ever gone to a restaurant and ask the waiter to remove a couple from their table so you can sit down for a nice meal?

No. In real life, you have to wait your turn. You don't give shit to anyone because you know it's not your turn. So tell me, honestly... why the fuck do some clients out there want something asap, right now, this fucking second, when they know you have other stuff to take care of before it's "their" turn?

This week, I have thought of this wonderful theory a whopping 8-10 times. Clients have given me attitude because, gasp, I could not answer a phone call because I was doing something else. In fact, I have picked up the phone and told them gently that I'm in the middle of something but I will get back to them as soon as possible.

Hey. I would gladly accept if I was scratching my imaginary testicles and did nothing for a day or two. If I was too busy watching some idiot You Tube video and didn't pick up the call or move the fucking logo to the right in that specific moment, then I'm the one to blame. But you see, God has given me the gift of having more than one client. And it's extremely difficult for some to grasp that they are not the only human beings on the planet that need to have a brochure done, pronto.

The thing that bugs me the most about this damn theory is this: I have gotten call after call from clients giving me shit that they are waiting for a stupid change. So I hustle and even stop what I'm doing for another client just so that they can have a register mark put on a line. There, asshole, there is your print ad, go change the shit out of it again. Know what? They take DAYS to read, see, look more carefully, revise... So what's the rush, buttmuncher? I thought you needed it for today! Did the word Rush suddenly got changed to Fuck it, I will take my time?

You know what RUSH is? If I suddenly decide to stab myself with a Number Two pencil right in my jugular, then I need an ambulance, asap. If someone I know turns out to have lung cancer, they need treatment, rush. Everything else, dear client of ours, it's just an urgent need so you can look good for your boss. That's it.

And, please, if you must have the damn thing for today, and you asked for it twenty minutes ago, be advised that, while I will try my best to deliver what you want as soon as I can, I can't do miracles. If you have to wait in your precious little office after 6pm, don't call me every damn second. It's going to be delivered when it's going to be delivered. If you had any sense of organization skills you would learn that by sending stuff with time, then maybe, just maybe, you won't have to wait another hour or more.

Shit. Now I'm pissed. Know why? I can bet my sweet ass that not one agency client will ever read this post.

Fuck.

2 comments:

Jeff said...

You describe a truly annoying occurrence. And it happens in our industry because too many people have let it happen. I don''t buy the "we're a service industry" we have to make our clients happy BS. My auto mechanic also serves his clients, but when I call with a problem, more times than not, I won't be able to get in for several days, because he has other work.

So why does he not lie in fear that I will take my business elsewhere as Ad agencies do?

Because he set a precedent. HE does good work. If I want good work done I wait for him. If I want to get ripped off, I run to the next available mechanic.

Our industry has always been full of martyrs who think they are saving the world. So it's been screwed for those of us who might have a life outside the office.

RestrictionsApply said...

Jeff, you said it all when you said, "Our industry has always been full of martyrs who think they are saving the world."

Oh dude, this explains so much. This phrase of yours quells teh many frustrations we all suffer.

I am in constact contact with people and say that they are saving the account, or saving the agency, by handing out pieces of their ass.

A very keen observation, and I may have to quote you in my forthcoming (hopefully) book.

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