Wait a moment. The phone is ringing.
Sorry about that. I had to take the call. I thus have
lost my status as the only one who never got picked for the team.
So I told “Rick,” I was glad he called and told me that even
though the warranty expired, maybe, just maybe they could help me. Then
he asked what kind of car and the year. It’s a 1937 LaSalle. He
never heard of the brand.
He thought I was pulling his leg. I explained that GM made them
from the late 1920s until World War II, that they were one notch beneath
Cadillac which in those days was still a luxury car as opposed to now when it’s
little more than a fine example of Bauhaus statuary.
Rick seemed interested and asked why they stopped making
them. Well, Rick, it was because they were so good the warranty lasted 75
years and then in 2012, I was offered an extension. Once you sell
something with that kind of warranty, there’s a limit to the number of new ones
you can sell.
By 1940, everyone who wanted one had one. And with a
life expectancy like that, who would need a replacement?
Then he started asking questions I couldn’t answer.
Like what kind of engine. What kind of transmission? What’s the
upholstery made of? What color is it? (That one I could answer. It’s a
brownish red we used to call “maroon” but don’t anymore because maroon was a
racial slur against slaves from Guiana.)
Rick asks “are you kidding me?” I answered yes, and that was
because I let my driver’s license expire on my 103rd birthday.
Rick hung up.
My rules for robocalls, some of which are powered by robots
who think they’re human beings:
--Don’t answer.
--If you DO answer, hang up right away.
--If you don’t hang up right away, hang up asap.
--If you listen to the whole message, don’t press 2 to be taken
off the list. You won’t be taken off the list. They’ll know a human being
answered and will continue to call you. And they will sell your info to other
scammers who will pay extra because you pushed 2 and proved you were a live
body.
--If you get a live caller, keep him or her on the
conversation as long as possible. It’s not the waste of time you
think. The longer they talk to you, the less time they have to find
others who haven’t seen this sage advice. Consider it community service.
--In a live call, be nice. Play dumb.
I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome
to them. ®
Any Questions? wesrichards@gmail.com
© WR 2021
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