A few weeks ago I was out shopping with Ken. I tried on a pair of knee-high leather boots. As I strode around the store, taking them for a test run, the sales girl turned to Ken and said, emphatically:
"Look at her! She walks like the Terminator!"
I wasn't sure how to take that. Was it a compliment? Offensive? Or just weird?
***
As you know, I recently moved my workplace into a new facility. When picking the moving company, we did not go for the highest quote, so I didn't expect white glove service. There was some damage to our new premises and to a few computer monitors during the move. No problem; that's why we bought insurance. I started the process of making a claim.
I contacted the Sales Supervisor as instructed. He didn't get back to me. Two days later, I left messages for him and my sales rep. No one got back to me. I sent a stern e-mail. My sales rep promised me that the supervisor would call me by the end of the next day. He didn't call.
After a week and a half of this time-wasting crap, I left messages for both men that went something like this:
"You have not responded to my multiple requests to initiate an insurance claim. At this point, it appears to me that [the moving company] basically stole our 'insurance' money and you have no intention of following up. If you think that I'm going to let this go, you're dead wrong. My bosses are the kind of people who will sue on principle even if the amount of money involved doesn't necessarily justify the nuisance. One of my bosses is on vacation at the moment, but I will be bringing this to his attention as soon as he returns."
Guess what? The sales supervisor called me back.
"Aw, gee, shucks, we were just busy. So sorry for not returning your call! The insurance coverage is good. Let's have a meeting and work it all out!" *grovel grovel*
I won't lie. There are days when I truly enjoy playing the bulldog. I'm thrilled when someone gives me an excuse to get aggressive. But other times I just don't have the energy. Lately, I'm too tired to get a kick out of kicking ass. I just want people to honour their agreements.
Then I got a call from my sales rep. The one and only reason for his call was to be reassured that I would "be nice" to his supervisor during the meeting. He said, and I quote:
"Dave is scared to go to the meeting. He's afraid you're going to yell at him."
What? Are you kidding me? I explained that I only get aggressive when people don't respond to my courteous requests. But seriously. This full-grown man is afraid of me? I'm not scary - am I?
I guess I am.
My public persona is something I'm not fully conscious off. It never fails to surprise me when people tell me that I'm intimidating. I hear that with a certain amount of regularity. I don't try to be. Honest. Or, not normally at least.
I worry that I'll turn into one of those monster bosses, like Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl.
Then there was the other matter of a sales rep who called me from a real estate investment company. My step-dad told me I could get some information from them for my financial future. The rep asked me:
"Do you have any real estate in your portfolio?"
"Not yet," I said, trying hard to sound like someone who has millions of dollars in the bank, and is just waiting for that perfect opportunity to launch my inevitable real estate empire.
The truth is, I don't even have a portfolio. What the heck is a portfolio, anyway? I know my boyfriend in university had one in which he carried around his artwork, but I don't think that's what they're referring to.
I guess this is the process by which people grow up. One day you're a kid swinging on the jungle gym, the next you're a scary grownup planning your portfolio.
I haven't quite got my head around it all.
14 comments:
- Knee high leather boots. oooh, kinky.
- The Terminator was such a cool bad guy, they made him a good guy in the next movie.
- Sigourney Weaver was hot in Working Girl. She was hotter in Ghostbusters, but still pretty hot in Working Girl. And she wasn't that much of a ball-breaker in the movie. She more of a manipulative, sneaky bitch.
It's the boots. People are always intimidated by women in boots. ;)
Sorry you had to go through such a nightmare with the moving co. I hate it when business don't follow through on their promises either.
I've always found you a little scary, with or without the high leather boots! :D
Maybe it was after that post you wrote about breaking one of Ken's ribs, or was it his arm, I can't remember!
I'm intentionally intimidating. I have to actually work really hard to NOT be intimidating. It's a combination of not caring whether or not EVERYONE likes me, wanting people to have no doubt that I take my work very seriously & being 5'1. I'm actually shocked when people think I'm nice! Lolol
Hey friend, its been awhile : ) Sorry, I've been VERY BUSY GIRL.
Nope, you're not scary they're all cowards.
Y' know, its funny, I can never tell how people will react to me, I've been called, tiny, amazonian, little, willowy, big, muscley, too thin,, sinewy,soft spoken, scary, sweet, really, you name it. Its the eye's they're looking through, I guess.
The boots sound fab!
Hmmm.... I'm thinking pictures of you modeling the boots is in order... aww... come on! ;-)
Scary is in the eye of the beholder.
You have reached one of the key pinnacles of your work career.
You are someone's secret weapon.
I do payroll and for the most part, people treated me right. However, when they didn't, all I to do was mention my HR person's name and they became like that sales supervisor.
They quivered in their boots.
You are indeed special.
Interesting: my word verify is "caste".
WIGSF:
They were kind of an old-fashioned, riding-boot style.
I always forget that the Terminator was bad in the first movie. I saw the second movie first, so I think of the liquid-silver guy as the bad Terminator.
My favourite Sigourney Weaver movies are Alien and Aliens.
DarcsFalcon: I can think of no acceptable excuse for a business not to return the call of a dissatisfied customer for over a week. I have never let any of my callbacks go beyond two business days, unless I was horribly ill, in which case I had a colleague taking care of my voice mail on my behalf. It's unforgivable.
LL Cool Joe: It was his rib, and it was an accident!
Jameil: I have no trouble believing that people find you intimidating. You're a force to be reckonned with!
Powdergirl: It's true; perception is a strange thing. Once I got more confidence, people started perceiving me as being taller than I am. No one can believe that I'm only 5'4".
I missed you! I'm glad you came back!
Ron: I didn't end up buying the boots. Partly because they weren't quite my style, and partly because I didn't want to look like the Terminator.
G: That is neat synchrony. It is a matter of caste. I feel like over the span of my life I've gone through from untouchable to normal, and now I'm transitioning into elite. It's causing a bit of an identity crisis.
The following is NOT a reflection on you or anything you stand for. Nor is it a request for you to take any sort of action. I just thought you'd like an update.
MonKeys Update
I use five of the six MonKeys as I have five keys: two home, three work.
One key for work, barely gets used and it shows on the MonKey. Much of the face is still visible. The second least used work key is still pretty visible as well. The regularly used work key has shown serious signs of the face wearing away.
As for the two home keys, one is starting to melt while the other is almost completely melted.
I've done some thinking about usage of the keys and I've determined the most used key is one of my work keys. I use that key at least four times a day, Monday through Friday and twice a day most Saturdays. My home key, the completely melted MonKey is rarely used more than once a day. The only explanation I can think of is the home key are made of a different material (it's a different colour key) and conducts heat.
Again, just an update because I think you'd like to know.
You in long leather boots with a serious chica attitude...I love that people find you a little scary. It keeps them on their toes! :)
PS - Some people think I'm snappy, but I just tell it like it is. It's a blessing and a curse.
WIGSF: That's odd. I've had my MonKeys for longer than you, obviously, and they're barely showing any signs of wear. The faces are in good shape, and none of them has melted. I guess we'll see what happens as the summer heats up. It's probably because I keep my keys in my big, room temperature handbag, rather than in a small, warm pocket. Anyway, if the MonKeys fall apart, you can move onto other varieties of key covers. Ken has glow-in-the-dark skulls in six colours. I got my sister a set of cartoon cupcakes, each with its own personality. Off the top of my head I remember a pirate cupcake, with an eyepatch; a handlebar moustache cupcake; and the cupcake with sprinkle-freckles.
Ily: I always feel more comfortable with people who are a bit edgy. I know if they snap occasionally, that means they're showing how they really feel, so if they say something nice they probably really mean it.
my brother used to call me the terminator and it was a compliment ;)
YIKES. You scare the hell out of me. People without portfolios send a chill down my spine. They give me goosebumpps. They make my hair stand on end. They make me shudder. They give me a tension headache. I have bad dreams about people in tall boots and no portfolios.
Just kidding.
Hope your PA doesn't screw up your latte and dry cleaning. I think the undergrad who works for me just thinks I am a bi*&%.
I'd rather be scary. :-)
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