My Bad?

PM_Mama00 · #1 07-09-2003, 01:08 AM

Ok... I work for my father. He owns a self storage facility, and there are a lot of people who never pay on time and yep we get to auction off their stuff.

There is this one guy in particular who NEVERS pays on time and his grandma has to come in and pay (he owns a company and it's in that name) and we've cut him alot of slack.

So tonite this guy im'd me on AOL, asking me questions like "are you kinky" and "do you like to smoke weed". So I asked him if he owned so and so company, and he said my friend does and I'm with him right now picking up chicks on his screen name. So I say "Well tell your friend to start payin his rent on time". I'd post the whole conversation (that I saved for obvious reasons) but it's too long. So he gets on and blah blah I shouldn't tell others his business and I said "hey it's not my problem your friend was harassing me" and asks who "full name" is and I say my father and he says that he's gona write him a letter about this and terminate his lease and blah blah... which to me isn't a problem cuz I don't wana scum like that in MY storage facility. Besides... we have people on a wait list who would love that unit.

Anyways... was it really my bad? Or is this kid just some psycho? For like 5 minutes I'm tellin him to leave me alone and stop harassing me and he keeps im'ing me tellin me that he's gona move his stuff out and how he's recommended our facility to so many people (prolly all the white trash that we have) and next time he won't. I could give two shits cuz we'll still have plenty of business.... but if I get yelled at by my father, did I really do anything wrong? I mean he woulda gotten plenty of phone calls to pay up, just as we've done to him in the past.

James · #2 07-09-2003, 01:16 AM

If you spoke to someone else about his business its your bad.

enlightenment06 · #3 07-09-2003, 01:19 AM

Yeah that is bad business overall and horrible customer service. It's just not professional. If you get yelled at (which you probably will) just strap in and hold on. I mean, that's all you can really do at this point, unless you tell your father about it first, then it might not look as bad...

Peaches-n-Cream · #4 07-09-2003, 01:54 AM

I agree. It was extremely unprofessional of you.

GeekyPenguin · #5 07-09-2003, 02:13 AM

It was your bad - very bad business to not keep stuff like that private.

KSigkid · #6 07-09-2003, 06:55 AM

My dad also owns his own small business - and no matter how good/bad the customer, I don't mention about people outside of our house. You never know who knows who,and like everyone else said, it's bad business.

honeychile · #7 07-09-2003, 08:48 AM

Yes, it was not good form to talk about a client, especially in a family business. I know of which you speak!

Chalk it up to a learning experience, though, and don't let it get you down.

ETA: remember the saying, "Everybody knows somebody who knows somebody who knows the President."

SSS1365 · #8 07-09-2003, 08:54 AM

Definitely tell your dad about it first if you can. It'll be better for you if he hears your side first.

CC1GC · #9 07-09-2003, 10:32 AM

My parents owned their own business for years, and i'd never talk to other ppl about their transactions. It's not my place, they know what they're doing.

PM_Mama00 · #10 07-09-2003, 10:36 AM

Yeah... it was my mistake. But as soon as my father knows how this guy was talking to me, he's prolly not gona care. We cut people a lot of slack and even when we're supposed to auction off their stuff, we still let them in if we see something that may be really important to them. It was my mistake but I can't stop thinking oh well, this guy was a creep. We have so much good business and I'm always nice to customers no matter how mean they are or how they almost make me ball my eyes out. It was dumb. But thanx for the feedback.

Hootie · #11 07-09-2003, 11:41 AM

Although perhaps the business ethics point to it being a bad call, I'd have done the same thing probably. I mean if you saved the conversation and showed it to your father....I'm sure your father a) wouldn't be very happy with what was being said by either parties and b) would agree that this punk needs to settle on his bills. I mean if he can afford to pay his internet bills to pick up on chicks then surely he can afford to pay his storage bill.

I don't think that legally he can do anything and could legally break his lease with your facility. I think that (especially if you saved the conversation) that you could point out that the screen name belonged to one Mr. Jerk, and that it wasn't as if YOU sought out his friend to tell him about Mr. Jerk's debt. It's JUST LIKE sending a reminder of payment due and someone else could open the mail at his house and read about his business.

CutiePie2000 · #12 07-09-2003, 12:24 PM

1) You should not have discussed client business with other people outside of the family. (i.e. if this was a patient and your Dad a doctor, or a client and your Dad a lawyer, this could be VERY serious).

2) That bring said, if this guy leaves as a client, good riddance.

3) I would tell your Dad what happened so that he is aware of it (sorry, I know you wouldn't like that part). [Ditto on the strap in, hold on tight thing, as mentioned above].

Don't be too hard on yourself, but don't let it happen again ("Think of it as a learning experience" as my Mom says).
If weirdos are IM'ing you, hang up, block them, whatever it takes.
Good Luck.....

CarolinaCutie · #13 07-09-2003, 12:31 PM

I was given the impression that it was against the law to discuss a business matter with someone other than that person. Of course my boss might have just told me that to keep me from doing it

But where I work, when I do collection calls, I am not even allowed to speak to the spouse of the person about their account (unless it is someone that is a repeat customer and we are 100% sure that they would not mind).

Of course sometimes we bend this rule. For example, if we have two sisters who both have accounts. Sister #1 has had her phone disconnected and Sister #2 is in the store making a payment... more than likely, my boss will ask #2 to get #1 to come in and pay as well.

Either way, I agree... it's bad business, but the guy sounds like he was being a complete jerk anyway.

xok85xo · #14 07-09-2003, 01:05 PM

just out of curiosity, how did this guy get your screenname?

PM_Mama00 · #15 07-09-2003, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CarolinaCutie
I was given the impression that it was against the law to discuss a business matter with someone other than that person.

My dad has owned businesses since god knows when, so he knows business ethic and everything. Yeah I made the mistake of doin it. However, when we make calls to people when they haven't paid, if we make several calls and we can't seem to reach them, we will tell the person "Can you let "Frank" know that his payment on his storage unit is overdue". So, what I said could easily have been said on the phone to someone other than that person. Here's the beginning of the conversation so you know how pissed I was gettin...

[11:59 PM]: hi there i met you be4
SicilianChika21 [11:59 PM]: yeah
SicilianChika21 [11:59 PM]: where
[12:00 AM]: yeah your tiny tall you take zanex and like good pot
am i right .?
SicilianChika21 [12:00 AM]: negative
SicilianChika21 [12:01 AM]: hey i think i knwo u... yeah i do
[12:01 AM]: ok do you date a older man>
SicilianChika21 [12:01 AM]: do u own xxxxx?
[12:03 AM]: yeah my pal dos i m hangin out at his office pickn up chicks
but i know you
SicilianChika21 [12:04 AM]: oh really? well my dad owns xxxxx so u might wana tell ur pal to start paying his rent
[12:04 AM]: have you ever *&$#ed in a computer office
SicilianChika21 [12:05 AM]: ummm not really
[12:05 AM]: will do
SicilianChika21 [12:05 AM]: and where do u know me from?
[12:05 AM]: your naughty
SicilianChika21 [12:05 AM]: huh?
[12:05 AM]: arent you
SicilianChika21 [12:05 AM]: i duno where u get ur info from
[12:06 AM]: its funne
SicilianChika21 [12:06 AM]: yeah? i bet
[12:07 AM]: im just joken
SicilianChika21 [12:07 AM]: ok
[12:07 AM]: anyway..
SicilianChika21 [12:07 AM]: so where do u know me from
[12:08 AM]: you dont sound very interested..
SicilianChika21 [12:09 AM]: interestd in what
[12:11 AM]: hey
SicilianChika21 [12:11 AM]: yes
[12:15 AM]: hangin out..
SicilianChika21 [12:16 AM]: wha? ur making no sense
[12:17 AM]: do you want to come hang out and smoke some drows...
SicilianChika21 [12:17 AM]: ummm no
[12:17 AM]: righht
[12:21 AM]: I owe who?
SicilianChika21 [12:22 AM]: what
[12:22 AM]: you were talking to a friend of mine
SicilianChika21 [12:22 AM]: yeah
[12:22 AM]: and you mentioned someone about $$
SicilianChika21 [12:22 AM]: i was tellin him that i work at xxxx
[12:23 AM]: awsome
SicilianChika21 [12:23 AM]: yeah
[12:23 AM]: oh yea what about it?
SicilianChika21 [12:23 AM]: that u need to pay ur rent on time
[12:23 AM]: who is this?
SicilianChika21 [12:24 AM]: ur the one im'd me
SicilianChika21 [12:24 AM]: askin me to come smoke weed.... sorry there buddy
[12:24 AM]: I didnt IM you
SicilianChika21 [12:24 AM]: yeah u did
[12:25 AM]: people use my SN - and people use my shit at my office and stuff ... wasnt me personally
SicilianChika21 [12:25 AM]: ok
SicilianChika21 [12:25 AM]: not my problem

He continues to harass me and I keep sayin leave me alone. Yeah I shoulda blocked him but oh well.