Or not--feel free to give this a pass.
This morning, I picked up the book drop from the parking lot of a local business. It's an awkward situation because of the way the book drop faces, and the idea is to get as close to the door of the box, so you don't have to move 20-30 lb crates too far to your car. Fortunately, there is ample room next to the drop box to pull a car in, park, and not block traffic or otherwise inconvenience other drivers (there is at least 20 feet in front of the box and 50 feet behind it, and while the pavement is painted yellow, you could pull in long enough to take a call or whatever, like pick up a drop box).
As I pulled up to the box this morning, I noticed a truck parked in front of the door to the box (probably 7-8 feet away). The truck's side was emblazoned with the name of the company and their logo). The truck was running, and a young man (probably around 20 yrs. old) was sitting in the driver's seat. I drove my car slowly up to the box, but found I could not pull in "normally" without blocking the truck from being able to pull away from the curb. Okay.....
I pulled as close as I could get to the box, but would still have to walk an extra 10-15 feet with each crate, which would be good exercise, but still inconvenient. I got out of my car, unpacked a crate, and headed over to the drop box; I did this so the driver of the truck would know I had a reason to be there, and so he could figure out just what my purpose was. I was hoping he would be finished with whatever he was doing and back out of my way, so my job would be more easy. I opened the box, took out the first load of items (which took me a while), and headed back to my car. I did this FOUR MORE TIMES. Each time, I looked up and could see the driver watching me--he was not on the phone, he was not doing anything but watching. He made no effort to move, just sat there.
With each trip I made, I got a little more annoyed. This truck could have parked anywhere, and yet he chose the most inconvenient spot. When they realized my reason for being there, I think most people would have made an effort to move...just a little. But he didn't.
By the time I was done, I was really annoyed. Maybe a little angry. I could have taken a photo of the truck, and posted it on Facebook, and made a big deal about this company and their clueless, discourteous staff, but I. Did. Not.
Instead, when I got to work, I called the company. I was told by a pleasant woman that I could talk to Gene, who was the "manager"--he had access to the GPS of every truck, could therefore see who had been parked there, and have a word with the driver. GREAT!
I started to tell my story to Gene, who immediately interrupted me by asking if "I had asked the driver to move." Umm....no....I did not. As safe as that parking area appears, no Gene, I was not going to approach a stranger and ask them to move their vehicle. Maybe I should have done just that--what do all y'all think?
I wrapped up my side of the conversation quickly, pointing out that I had called just so their company was aware that one of their employees IN THEIR COMPANY TRUCK had been thoughtless, which could reflect badly on the company--perhaps Gene could have a word with the young man.
Gene replied, "I apologize." Not a heartfelt apology, but one that a three-year-old says to a sibling because they have to. Gene also said it would impossible to find out who was out there, because he would have to check the GPS for "20 trucks". I reiterated that I was just calling because this employee had not reflected well on the company--I went on to say that I could have easily taken a photo and posted it on social media, but I had not--I had decided to call the company directly. I want to point out that I did not raise my voice at all during our 10 minute conversation. Not once. I say this because of what happened next.
Gene replies, screaming, "GO AHEAD AND TELL THE WHOLE CITY WHAT A TERRIBLE COMPANY THIS IS. GO AHEAD. PUT IT OUT THERE ON SOCIAL MEDIA! I APOLOGIZED TO YOU, I DON'T KNOW WHAT MORE YOU WANT ME TO DO. I GUESS I WILL HAVE TO TELL. EVERY. SINGLE. DRIVER. TO BE MORE CAREFUL OUT THERE. THESE GUYS HAVE BEEN WORKING 16 HOUR DAYS. HE WAS PROBABLY TIRED AND DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE YOU WERE THERE. HE WAS PROBABLY WAITING FOR ANOTHER CALL. IF I HAD BEEN OUT THERE, I WOULD HAVE GOT OUT AND HELPED YOU. WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY??????"
Wow.
I then had to talk a grown man "down" so he would stop screaming at me, and listen. Just hear the point I was making, which was to talk to the young man about being in a company truck and being so clueless about other people, other drivers, other human beings. I assured Gene that I didn't need any help doing my job, but doing my job was made more difficult by the inaction of his young employee. That was all. As Gene kept yelling, I told him I understood his job was probably difficult today, and I could completely understand the long hours his employees were working added to all that. Keeping my voice calm, I said...again....I just wanted to let Gene know, to be aware of a situation with an employee. Gene continued to yell (I get it, it was Monday morning), so in frustration, I asked Gene who the owner of the company was, thinking perhaps I could talk to them about their TWO less than polite employees.
Gene stopped yelling long enough to tell me that he...Gene....was the owner of the company.
Wow.
Gene finally stopped yelling at me. I do not pretend to know what he was thinking, but I have a pretty good idea. He was thinking I was wasting his time. He was probably thinking HE would have gone over and told the kid to move the truck (that's a privilege enjoyed by bigger, stronger, more male people than I am--I won't do it). I'm sure he thought, of all the things he had to deal with today, he had to listen to some...woman...yabber on about...nothing.
So, if you've read this far, I'm interested in getting your thoughts. Did I handle this correctly? Should I have just told the young man to move his truck? Am I overthinking all of this, and it's really not that important in the scheme of things, or is it something to dwell on a bit?
Because here's what I am left with, ten hours later: If I am ever in a position to recommend this company to another person, I will not do it. But that's the little thing that's "poking at" me. The bigger thing, that has had me re-playing this all day is: I was screamed at by the owner of a local company. That's never happened to me before. Maybe Gene was having a bad day--maybe he got bad news this morning, maybe he wasn't feeling well. Maybe he gambled all his money away at the casino this weekend, and has regrets. But Gene was also perfectly willing to yell at a complete stranger, putting that person in the position to "talk him down". I guess I was uncomfortable being that person, but on the other hand, plenty of people have "talked me down" over the years, but they haven't been complete strangers. And I have sincerely apologized afterwards. I guess I hope that, when Gene thinks back over his day today, he will decide...perhaps...that tomorrow, he will try to listen better to another human being. I do hope so, for the sake of his company, and for his sake. And, for OUR sake. We, fellow citizens of this community, and this world. We have to do better.
