Nasty Notes on the Door

I run my business by myself, I have no help other than Tommy and Jim who deliver locally for me on Saturdays. Most days I will close the store briefly to run to the bank (1.5 miles away) or grab a sandwich for lunch, and sometimes I have to make a trip to my off-site storage facility (8.5 miles away) to get something out of it for the store, or run to Home Depot/Staples to get some store materials. I don't feel the economy is robust enough for me to hire an employee right now, so I make do being a 1-person operation.

Today I started work at 7:45 a.m. unpacking furniture and at 9:15 a.m. was done in the parking lot and had disposed of all the trash. I had to take two pieces to the storage facility and bring one back up. (The store posted hours are 9:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m). It takes me 15 minutes to get down there, 10 minutes on site, and 15 minutes to get back so that's 40 minutes, right? I spin the sign on the door to say I will return at 9:55 a.m. I actually got back at 9:45 a.m. and found a very nasty note shoved in the door from someone here at 9:30 and the store wasn't open, and they let me have a piece of their mind. No name, no contact phone to call. They didn't want to wait apparently but did take time to write out a 1 page manifesto on their feelings.

Small business (very small!) is like that. I'm here 6 days a week and come in even when I'm sick as long as I can still talk on the phone - and will make it here through the snow and rain storms even when I know there will be no locals coming in. If you know you're coming at a specific time and am driving a distance - let me know and I'll make SURE that I'm not out when you make the drive as I want to be open for you.

However, if you are the kind of person that can't tolerate a short closure during my store hours and like to leave raging nasty notes on the door, then save the trip and shop elsewhere - that works better for both you and I.

Duane, no matter what you do, there will always be someone you can't please. What's to stop someone from going and getting a coffee and coming back? I would have appreciated the fact you left notification of the time you would be back, that's more than most would do.

Wow! Obviously they were not serious buyers otherwise they would have hung around to see what they might be missing.

That's the kinda thing when you have to chuckle to yourself and say "Wow! That was a close one!" 15 minutes later and you might have to deal with them after the sale.

Hopefully they were able to find what they were looking for at the (rhymes with cashley) furniture home store or (Z-in-the-middle) furniture gallery. I bet their hours are very consistent.

I agree with hglaber, that was a close call! You deserve better. I hate to wish cardboard furniture on that person, but if the Chinese leather pokey spring chair fits...

I told one of my furniture reps this story and he looked at me and said "Thank you for being human, I mean it. I get so tired of people demanding all the time that its refreshing to see you do something as simple as close the store for a bit when you need to."

Here's my take -- no matter how frustrated and angry you felt when you read the nasty note, the person probably did and does feel frustrated and angry all the time -- ant anybody and everybody, and probably him/ herself. You're a reasonable guy, so you can get over it. The note-writer probably doesn't until he moves on to being angry and ruse to someone else. And while you can get over it, s/he probably doesn't. A/he goes to bed and wakes up with this foul disposition and behavior. A/he is stuck living with this mean-spirited, rude disposition 24/7 -- no escape. How miserable an existence can this be?

Like they say. Karma's a b!tch!