Today’s story from Dale is a sequel to an earlier piece, Revenge Cup, which posted last July 24. Click on the link if you would like to reread that story.

How to Make the Corporate Black List

By Dale Angel

 

It’s such a big organization. Thirty-eight thousand franchises. I never expected a personal reply. I wrote to share a good experience built on a bad one.  The Beings there took issue with a little humor.

I offended them. They misread my short note and assumed I had used their coffee pot for thirty-eight years. (Their count; not mine)

An executive with a quick draw is going to right a wrong? I won’t use her name because she probably has enough problems trying to crack the glass ceiling.

They have a computer Web Site called ‘Feedback’. I used it. I wrote to commend the gracious morning manager, who serves me coffee in my revenge cup. He knows its history.

My falling from grace may have been when I used the name of my cup. I thanked them, told them I had used their cafe for many years as a local meeting place, and enjoyed their food products.

They fired back to stop my free coffee, which they assumed I had been getting for thirty-eight years. Free.  

Here’s what happened…

While de-cluttering, I found the cup in my cupboard where things multiply. I pulled it out to try for the promised free coffee. I remembered. Be careful about your memory. It can be off, and you certainly don’t want a misunderstanding with corporate. It was a couple of free cups of coffee, not thirty-eight years of free coffee! I used the incidents to write my story about my revenge cup.

I tried to defend the misinformation but found I can no longer use their advertised feedback site.  Have I been placed on terrorist list?   It took away the sunshine from my office meeting place and coffee lost its flavor.  The owner of the local establishment went to my defense.

After all, he poured my free coffee

I would recommend executives take off the corporate mantle and replace it with personal interest and humor. The first bad experience and this second one tells me to put away my pencil…but the thought of a pencil in my hand overcomes sensibleness.

The next sequel could be entitled ‘Old Woman with Cane Climbs Corporate Ladder and Gets on the Black List.’ Or ‘Terrorist List.’ That’s what Homeland Security calls it.

PS: A day later, my email sprouts a lovely note written in corporate-ese ‘sort of sorry,  admitting nothing’ form letter. And the executive referred to above owns the glass ceiling.

I may take up knitting.

 

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