People are weird!
So, yesterday at work, I was serving a nice young couple who wanted to change their fireplace. The boss was also serving a customer. And the phone was ringing. There were only two of us in the shop, and it was quite busy (despite the FA Cup Final - or maybe even because of it).
Our phone has a message saying "All our staff are busy right now, but please continue to hold and someone will be with you shortly" or words to that effect, but most people hang up after about a minute and try again later. This particular caller held on for at least five minutes.
So, when I went to my desk to prepare a quote for the couple I was serving, I answered it, because I'd rather take a few minutes to deal with a call than have it ringing in my ear while trying to do maths!
It was a woman, sounding quite elderly, saying she'd had a stove installed a few months ago and now she was getting bees coming down the chimney!
Excuse me? Bees? Um. I fail to see what that has to do with us.
I tried very hard to be polite and NOT burst out laughing! She seemed to be under the impression that the way we had installed the stove was allowing the bees into her chimney and allowing them into her lounge. Well, I hate to disillusion you, dear lady, but bees do what bees do, regardless of what we inferior creatures do around them. If they want to get into your chimney, they will do so with out any help from us!
Now, I have to admit that if we had not lined the chimney then lighting a fire in the hearth would have driven them out - bees hate smoke - but they would have just gone elsewhere in the house and would have been angry. I suggested (repeatedly) that she call a pest control company.
Sorry lady, but we are not responsible for bees!
Our phone has a message saying "All our staff are busy right now, but please continue to hold and someone will be with you shortly" or words to that effect, but most people hang up after about a minute and try again later. This particular caller held on for at least five minutes.
So, when I went to my desk to prepare a quote for the couple I was serving, I answered it, because I'd rather take a few minutes to deal with a call than have it ringing in my ear while trying to do maths!
It was a woman, sounding quite elderly, saying she'd had a stove installed a few months ago and now she was getting bees coming down the chimney!
Excuse me? Bees? Um. I fail to see what that has to do with us.
I tried very hard to be polite and NOT burst out laughing! She seemed to be under the impression that the way we had installed the stove was allowing the bees into her chimney and allowing them into her lounge. Well, I hate to disillusion you, dear lady, but bees do what bees do, regardless of what we inferior creatures do around them. If they want to get into your chimney, they will do so with out any help from us!
Now, I have to admit that if we had not lined the chimney then lighting a fire in the hearth would have driven them out - bees hate smoke - but they would have just gone elsewhere in the house and would have been angry. I suggested (repeatedly) that she call a pest control company.
Sorry lady, but we are not responsible for bees!