Yesterday lunchtime Dan the Man phones me and says one of his customers has a friend in my area who wants a quote to clean a village hall four times a year. It's bang in the middle of where I work so I phone the lady back.
Very pleasant woman; I tell her I'm in the village next day (today) and if she can meet me I can give her prices and options. She says it might be her or "the lady" who is on the "hall committee" and we arrange to meet.
Anyway coincidentally (or so I thought) I get three calls to my phone within an hour but no text message left so not recognising the number I figure that it's either sales/ppi claim/spam or if important they will text me and so I ignore it. I got another two calls from the same number yesterday evening which I ignored too.
8.30 this morning I'm on my way to quote and the phone goes followed by a text "ping" so I pull over and notice it is from this persistent caller asking me to confirm our meeting for the village hall which is where I'm headed. So I text back to say I'm five minutes away and will be there as arranged.
I turn up and there is a pleasant gent who I inform that I'm expecting to see "J*****" and he tells me that instead K***** is coming instead. With that "K" turns up and immediately launches into "why don't you answer your phone?" And me responding with ... "well I thought if it was important, you'd leave a message".
So she says "your phone only lets me leave texts". (And I bite my tongue to stop myself saying "well leave a text then like you eventually did, duh!")
She tells me "She's the chair" (of the hall committee) and I suppress the urge to say "nice seat and legs" and follow her round as she tells me forcefully what wants doing and how often and how she's having another quote and that's why she wanted to talk to me ... "blah blah blah."
Then I look around this old hall with windows that are going to need ladders on the inside "because it was an old school hall from 1833 ... " - my heart sinking and her saying we probably only want it doing once or twice a year (so not quarterly like I was told then) and that someone will have to be there to meet me and how am I going to get to the courtyard out the back and up on to the roof to get those windows which can only be reached by someone going up a ladder and along a gully and how the other chap reckons he will have to send two men to get ladder access yak yak yak ..."
So then she says "you can only get to those (pointing) by access from the neighbour's house" and "we haven't got much money to spend" ... I'm thinking "how am I going to get out of this? Politely?"
And she gives me the way out!
I had taken a few notes and drawn a few pictures of access and the like and she says "so can you tell me how much then?" So I say "well I'll need to work out a few things and look at access but I can let you know by this evening."
Her: "Well can't you tell me now, I've got another window cleaner coming to look at the job in an hour?"
Me: "Not really because ... "
Her: (Interrupting) "Well this is why I wanted to talk to you on the phone yesterday!"
Me: "Look Mrs. K, we got a call from your lady at lunchtime yesterday; by 2pm I had phoned her back and arranged to meet this morning before I started work and here I am. I think I have arrived promptly and by the end of the day I can tell you how much it will be."
Her: "Well the other man will be here within the hour and he will tell me right away."
Me: "Actually Mrs. K, thinking it through you'd probably be better placing your business with the other fellow; it sounds as if you and he might have a better business relationship than you and I, so I'm going to gracefully "bow out" now."
Her: "What? You're going to turn down the opportunity of business?"
Me: "I am. I'm stacked out with work and so thank you for your time and have a good day."
Thankfully I found the right door and left. (Not a flounce in sight!)