A Day in the Life - One Woman's Marketing Story

I love our coffee. I've had the opportunity to experience Greg's freshly roasted coffee for years now, and I love our coffee. Seeing as how I also love meeting new people, talking about our coffee is the fun part for me.

Sooooo, I headed out to do just that two days ago. I loaded some samples and information into our cute company vehicle (a cream colored PT Cruiser) and ventured into the unknown. Even though I enjoy this process, I don't actually know what I'm doing just yet. I've had some great conversations with bakery owners and cafes and churches, but each one is a learning experience.

I drove to a particular retail possibility that I hope we can partner with, because we share many core values. Well, I drove to the intersection where it was supposed to be. Ginormous shopping areas were everywhere, on every corner hidden behind lovely landscaping and parking. I picked one corner and drove all around watching carefully (the shops, not the road) and found myself jarred by surprising speed bumps, honked at by fellow parking lot traffic, killing the engine as I stopped my standard vehicle too quickly.

Nope, not there. I tried another corner enjoying pretty much the same experience until finally I drove to the last unexplored corner of this surprisingly crowded for the middle of the day upscale retail area.

Right as I edged out into the center of an extremely busy, multi-lane intersection, I killed the engine. I don't know how I did it; I've always driven a standard as one of our vehicles. Anyway, as I tried to get out of there (I was blocking a lot of traffic), I panicked and couldn't get the thing going until the light was yellow. All I could think was, "I AM SO GLAD WE DON'T YET HAVE OUR ROASTERY SIGN PAINTED ON THIS CAR!"

But it was all worth it, because there was my intended destination - finally. I went in and told a bit of our story. The guys I talked to were great and quickly gave me the name and phone number of the woman I needed to contact at their regional office. They loved the humanitarian emphasis and were really encouraging - I walked out of there fully inspired. I promptly sat in our cute company vehicle and dialed the number.

After a few automated opening comments, I hear...

"Please say the name of the person you wish to contact." I said the name.

"I'm sorry I did not understand you. Please try again." I tried again.

"I'm sorry I still did not recognize the name. Please try again." I did.

"I'm sorry. I did not understand you..." Yes, four times I did this until I heard,
"Please spell the name of the person you wish to contact." I spelled the name.

"I'm sorry, I could not recognize what you spelled. Please try again." I tried again - four times.

"I'm sorry I could not understand you. I'll connect you to our operator." YES, finally!
My phone hung up.

I dialed again, this time saying the name low, then high, then loudly and followed the same procedure with the spelling until I was "connected to the operator" and promptly hung up on.

This time I realized that in the opening comments, my automated friend was telling me that I could say "operator" at any point in the conversation if I needed help. How had I missed that last time? As soon as I could I said, "operator"

"I'm sorry I could not understand what you said. Please try again."

"OPERATOR" "OPERATOR!!" "O P E R A T O R ! ! !" "O-P-E-R-A-T-O-R" "AAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH!!" "FORGET IT!!"

Ring.

"Hello, the operator is currently unable to take your call. Please leave a message."
I'm going to try again in a few days.