Quote of the Day: Michael Hammond

"One of the main problems in this world is that people think they have "right.""


Yesterday was pretty exciting because some guy threatened to beat me up. I'd like to say he got mad at me simply over an unwanted phone call I didn't even make but I am self-reflective enough to realize I escalated the situation by being a smart-aleck. (Shocking, I know.) He hit one of my pressure points so I pushed back because I was already have a stressful day. I've been making a living by calling strangers on the phone for almost ten years now and one of my pet peeves is when people think that the "Do Not Call List" means that no one they don't know will ever call them again. I have always worked in exempt industries and never been shy about pointing that out when people threaten to sue me or have me put in jail.

Here's how it went down. I was sitting at my desk innocently surfing the web when I got a phone call from a local number. I picked it up because no one else on my team got it.

"I'm calling the attorney general on you people." (Never a good way to start a phone call if you want someone's help.)
"What for?"
"You guys keep calling me for no reason."
"Do you owe company X money?" (One of our collections applications is having problems so this happens every once in while.)
"Yes, but I called X and they've never heard of you."
"Well, I know we are a vendor so that person was mistaken."
"This is a scam."
"We are more of a behind the scenes company so some customer service rep probably wouldn't know our name."
"I googled you and it's all over the Internet about how you're a scam."
"I can assure you we are a real company. We work with several Fortune 100 companies."
"Stop lying."
"Why don't I transfer you to the account manager?"
"No, can't you guys just stop calling me every day?"
"Yeah, just pay your bill."
"I don't have to. I'm calling the Better Business Bureau instead."
"What for?"
"For violating my rights. I am on the Do Not Call List."
"What rights? We are not covered under the Do Not Call List. The Do Not Call list does not mean no unwanted phone calls ever again." (Wouldn't life be grand if it did?)
"Well, you 're still violating my privacy."
I was mad at this point because he was yelling and I had other stuff to do like blog. "Maybe you're violating company X's rights by not paying your bill."
"I'm going to come down there and kick your a_ _. I know you're address."
"Great, make sure you ask for Collin."
He then hung up.
I am happy to report that the aforementioned body part is still here in one piece and looking good.


Yeah, I was kind of a jerk. I shouldn't have let him get to me like I did. I just couldn't stand that toxic combination of self-righteousness and entitlement. I mean, seriously. Here's a guy who owes somebody money who thinks no one should ever bother him about it because he has "rights." The thing with rights is that the only work it they come with responsibility. If he couldn't pay because of financial hardship he should have called them and worked something out. They can be pretty forgiving of small debts. I also think it is a sign of low class to yell at an innocent employee because you're mad at the company. It's right up there with being rude to waitstaff.