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06/22/2004: "People Who Take Your Time and Other Obnoxious Shit - 2nd Duh of the Day"

He took the time to fill out a request for a quote form and write a rather lengthy reply to my e-mail in which he explained what he needed. So far I liked him. He seemed businesslike and honest. He said he would fill out the creative brief and have it to me "first thing Monday morning."

Monday morning came. Nothing from him. Monday passed. Nothing from him. Okay. So I'm beginning to know I've got a bum here. But I take the time to call him. He sounds sort of funny. You know the sound? Hesitant. Excuses. Lies. If you've been in business as long as I have, you know 'em when you hear 'em.

So he says, "I'll call you 11:00 your time in the morning." Did I believe him. Hell no! But I had to make myself available just in case he was the rare bird who told the truth. Well, as usual, I was right. Gawd, I hate being right all the time! My insights into people seldom fail me.

See, here's the thing. This man, I'll call him Tom so you other copywriters will get it, wasted my time. Now I could have done one hell of a job for him. I could have made money for him. But he was a time-waster. The really bad thing is, I would really have much preferred it if Tom would have told me he had hired someone else or decided not to proceed or that he didn't like the sound of my voice or just go to hell.

But he lied instead. I hate a liar. They steal your time and sometimes even your valuable information if you let them.

Now I don't need any business so badly that I willingly waste my time. See, I've been in business --- this business --- over 30 years. If I never wrote another word, I could live well. So I actually do have better things to do than listen to garbage.

I respect a person who tells the truth --- even if I don't like what he or she says. But hey, all of us in this business have our Toms. Lots of them. Every day.

So this is my second Duh of the Day. I'll tell you more about the interesting people I meet in future updates. And hey, I'll tell you about the good ones too. And there are lots of those. Not enough, unfortunately. But enough to make it all worthwhile.

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And so he says . . .

Susanna,

Thanks for your quick response and the “creative brief” which I will get filled out over the weekend and back to you first thing Monday morning.
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Yeah, right. And I've got a bridge . . .