Flibbertigibbet

Define Audacious and Unprofessional

So, on Friday, I recieved no fewer than 6 calls from a client for reasons that are not entirely clear to me. He kept saying he wasn't sure of things and I kept showing him the document and where it outlines the answers to his questions and he kept sounding like he was satisfied but then he kept calling back. I have no idea what he wanted, but he asked to schedule a call with me today.

Well, I said that would be fine, because I try to be helpful and customer-focused. And he sent me the conference call information.

I dialed in at the appointed time (actually a few minutes early because that's how I do) and waited on hold. And waited. And waited. And waited.

I waited for ten minutes and he never showed. Finally, I hung up and send him and email:

Hi, Customer Contact Who Doesn't Show Up To Meetings! [CCWDSUTM]

I waited on the conference line for 10 minutes today, but no one else dialed in. Looks like we missed one another.

If you still have questions you need answered, please let me know. I can try to answer them on a one-off basis or we can try to schedule another call. Just let me know.

Also, over the weekend, I received the .zip file to my personal email address. [Yes, I let him email my personal email because he was having trouble with our spam filter here at work and I did look at the files over the weekend, like I said, I'm helpful] You have a good looking site there. It’s not coded to specifications, so I would urge you in order to keep costs down that you have your developer follow the specifications found here: [Insert the URL I've sent to him several times already but he hasn't followed.]

If there are any questions about the spec, I would be happy to clarify anything that seems unclear.

Thanks and have a great day!

Flibby

I was irritated that he didn't show, but I tried to keep my irritation from showing in my note while at the same time pointing out that this is a problem.

He writes back:

Hi Flibby,

I’m sorry for missing the meeting. I had to meet someone for an event we are sponsoring. Do you have time to meet now? If not, can we reschedule for later today?

CCWDSUTM

So, let me get this straight: I plan a portion of my day around this guy, he fails to show up and then he expects me to either a) drop everything to meet with him or b) rearrange another portion of my day at the last minute.

GeeletmethinkaboutitNo.

My schedule is full for the day. I have plenty of calls and projects to work on for the whole of my business day today, so dropping everything to make a meeting that was suddenly preempted by some other thing isn't really a plan that works for me.

We're all busy professionals and that's all the more reason to act professionally. If you can't meet, send an email. If someone walks in when you're about to having a meeting, tell them you'll get back to them and dial-in. Scheduled meetings take priority over walk-ins.

His meeting has been preempted by a blog post. Now, I gotta get to work.

Update: Yesterday, I sent him a list of times I would be available to meet today. This morning, I came in and had a meeting appointment from him for a time that was not on the list I sent him, so I had to decline and reiterate my available times.

This man is clearly an idiot.