I’m Not A Snake Oil Salesman
(I run a small business catching and relocating venomous snakes from people’s yards and public areas. Australia is up top of the list for deadliest snakes in the world. I get a phone call one morning from a very anxious person saying they have a black snake in their yard. From the accent, it sounds like they are not local to Australia.)
Me: “Can you see the snake right now?”
Customer: “YES! YES! YES! It’s right beside the kid’s pool. Come get it! Get it now!”
Me: “Okay, sir, slow down a moment and give me your address, and just to advise, it’s a $[total] call-out fee, even if the snake moves away.”
Customer: “That’s fine! Come get it!”
(I quickly drove to the address, armed with my usual equipment, to meet the petrified client, who rushed me into the backyard and pointed toward a little wading pool for the kids. I moved toward it carefully and to my shock… it was the customer’s garden hose. He didn’t want to pay but he also didn’t like it when I pulled one of the boxes out of my car with a six-foot Eastern Brown Snake in it and told him I needed a place to relocate this snake to. The cash appeared quickly after that.)
This story is part of our Snakes roundup!
Question of the Week
What is the most stupid reason a customer has asked to see your manager?
