Marketing Magazines
When I changed jobs a while back I took over the desk of Paul, who is on a two year leave (serving with the National Guard in Iraq). Besides being a really interesting guy that I have never had a chance to meet, he seems to be subscribed to every free magazine known to man, and since I have his same phone number, they all call wanting to renew his subscription.
Most of the conversations have gone something like this:
**Me:** Hello
**Her:** Yes, I would like to speak with Mr. Paul
**Me:** Paul will be out of the office for the next year and a half.
**Her:** So I can call back after Christmas?
**Me:** No, he will be out until July 2008.
I’m sure they are well intentioned, but since they keep calling, I’m thinking of more creative ways to tell the ones that just don’t get it. Like, “I’m sorry, Paul is out of the office with a blood infection due to a paper cut he got while reading your magazine.”
Maybe this would get through–though the subtlety may not make it through the language barrier.