24THE PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE CLIENT

I swear the following scenario is true:

Salesperson: Let’s discuss delivery times. Our warehouse ships on the second Tuesday of every month. How does that work for you?

Client: The second Tuesday is pretty bad.

Salesperson: Okay. We can probably work around that. What’s a good time for you?

Client: Oh, the second Tuesday can work.

Salesperson: But you just said it was really bad.

Client: No, no. We can make it work.

Salesperson: Okay. So the second Tuesday of every month then?

Client: Yeah, yeah. But that’s not really very good for us.

Salesperson: What’s a good time for you?

Client: Oh, whatever you like.

If you’re like me, this scenario will send you into the outer reaches of damnation. It’s not just that the ...

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