I’m really getting sick of these clients who call the office. What is it about people that makes them think “I don’t know” really means, “I know, but I’m not telling you, so you have to cajole it out of me.”
“Can I speak to [your boss]?”
“He’s not in the office right now, can I take a message?”
“Do you know what time he’ll be in?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t - he’s out running errands and I don’t know how long it will take.”
“But he will be in later today?”
Excuse me sir, but exactly what part of I DON’T KNOW did you not understand? If I KNEW that he was not going to be back the rest of the day, don’t you think that would have been the fucking very first thing I would have told you? Did you think that I secretly knew he had gone home for the day, and was lying to you to make you think he was just out running errands?
Sometimes it goes kind of like this:
“Is [your boss] in?”
“He’s in court right now, can I take a message?”
“What time will he be in?”
“I don’t know, that would depend on how long the court session lasts.”
“Uh, 2:00, 3:00?”
“I don’t know.”
“Will he be in this afternoon?”
“I believe so, but I don’t know what time.”
“You have no idea?”
“I don’t know.”
I know you don’t like it, but sometimes it’s just not possible to tell you the exact time a person will be back, so stop asking. I can’t give you information I don’t have. I really do wish I knew exactly what time he’s returning, but I don’t. Believe it or not, every time you repeatedly ask me the same question, I still have exactly the same information to give you that I gave you the first time. So suck it up and either leave a message, or go away.