Happy Laborious Day!

Today is Labor Day in the States, so institutions like banks and post offices are closed all day. I have to work, but I’m working from home.

Notably, it’s also the first of the month, so bills are coming due. Around 4 PM, I get a call on my cell phone that goes to voicemail. When I check it, I see the call is from the self-financing dealer from which I bought my car. (Only four payments left!) The voice on the message is a lady who was newly hired to chase after due payment, and has had a history of calling family members who were not co-signatories to the car loan with these reminders without calling me first, or at all, and arguing with me about which number she called.

Dealership Lady: “This is [Name] at [Dealership]. I really need you to call me back, as you are two payments behind.”

Now, this is patently untrue. Not only do I have a signed receipt from my last payment, which was actually overpaid by $40, so my last four payments would be evenly divisible with no remainder, but the current payment is due, not late, it couldn’t possibly be late, seeing as their website doesn’t allow online payment, and they were closed yesterday. But before I can gather my thoughts to call back and argue, it’s literally been about forty seconds since I got the voicemail alert, she CALLS BACK.

Also worth noting, I was already planning to take a payment on the following day anyway, assuming that the dealership was closed for Labor Day.

Me: “Hello?”

Dealership Lady: “Hello, Mr. [My Name]; this is [Name] from [Dealership].”

Me: “Yes, I saw you called. I know that my current payment is due, but I had assumed you were closed today for the holiday. I can bring it later this evening.”

Dealership Lady: “Okay, thank you.” *Hangs up.*

That’s not a summary, simplification, or exaggeration of her demeanor; that’s literally how quickly she hung up on me with so little said.

So as soon as I can sign off work for the day, I hit the ATM and drive promptly to the dealership with an hour to spare before their typical closing time… only to discover the gates are locked and the whole office has, in fact, been closed for Labor Day.

I should be done with this nonsense by November, and it can’t come soon enough.