Tuesday, January 27, 2015

The rise of the rebelde pen

Thanks to your feedback, we know that the rebelde pens are being put to good use. The images are from an architect and a pilot:

***Another happy customer***

A couple of weeks ago we had a visitor – a legal practitioner from the building across the road. He had heard about the rebelde pens and badly wanted to acquire one. He had a hard time hiding his excitement and an even harder time choosing between black or burgundy. Obviously it wasn't hard to close the deal, except for one minor detail: he was unable to produce $99 in cash, and he didn’t have his credit card handy.

“I’m going to fix you up tomorrow,” he said on his way out. We exchanged glances amongst us, and while I don’t allow store credit, I had no choice but to make an exception. Then he continued, “Actually, I’ll be away for a week, so I won’t be able to pay you tomorrow. However, please call me in a few days’ time to remind me in case I forget.”

The week passed quickly, but before we could send that reminder notice, he appeared again. “I just love the rebelde pen, and I would like to buy one more." While my policy was strictly one pen per customer, I made yet another exception. This time, however, I boldly asked that he pay for both pens without any delay. “Well, since I’m buying in bulk, I should expect a wholesale price, shouldn’t I?”

I pretended that I didn’t hear that insult and he mistook my kindness for weakness.

“Send me the bill,” were his last words and in a split second he left the office. Needless to say, I was pissed. This is simply not how I do business. Another week passed. It was now obvious to everyone in the office that two rebelde pens will most likely be written off as unrecovered debt. However, I did try one more time.

I sent my assistant to personally hand deliver a note to our neighbour, instructing him not to leave his office until he got paid. The note reads:

"I beg you sir to settle your account so I can pay my workers who laboured hard this week. (They have bills to pay and I am worried they may quit if unable to feed themselves.) Thank you kindly, Nick. Thank you again. = only $198"

However, he returned empty handed. While the note was read aloud, it produced nothing but light laughter. “Boy, I’m on my way out,” said the ‘customer’. He disappeared like a ghost behind the lift doors. To be continued...

No comments: