R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I could write volumes about today. It started out extremely weird, but ended up great.

 

I roll up to my first client's apartment today...she was a new customer, first visit. I ring the doorbell about 10 minutes prior to our appointment. A little dog starts barking directly behind the door, and I hear its owner say something to it and it scurries away.  Approximately two minutes go by and I figure that she is putting the dog in a kennel or something. Nothing is said to me.

 

I wait about another minute then ring the bell again. My thought process was wrong; little pooch is back barking behind the door and again the owner calls out to the dog.

 

Now I start to get confused and think maybe the owner is in the bathroom or getting dressed...I mean it's early 8:54am for goodness sake. I wait another couple of minutes and ring the doorbell for a third time. Dog barks again and I hear shuffling inside, but no one answers the door.

 

Thank goodness for cell phones, I call the customer and can hear the phone ringing in the apartment. She answers the phone, and I announce that I'm standing at her front door. No apology, no personal greeting at the door, just a cold "I don't need you any more". My jaw hits the green indoor/outdoor carpet, and I try to be cordial in this awkward situation. "Thank you," I say and bid her a good day. I will probably never see the face of that potential new client.

 

As I said earlier, the rest of the day went quite well and had fun teaching people about Word, Excel, and more.

 

R-E-S-P-E-C-T...it's not gone, but it seems to be evaporating.