The Busch Light guy and the Des Moines Register

So you actually do care about what anonymous people think. Just wanted to point that out.

 

Not at all the point, but whatever. You do you.

 

That is my point. You do care.

Maybe you're able to control your emotions better than others and not react to trolls, which is a great quality, especially in this day and age with social media. But not everyone has the same personality as you and can't control their emotions as well. And, for the record, you seem a little more reactionary than necessary, suddenly, for someone saying they are in complete control of their emotions.

 

Yeah, exactly. You've just taken the apple off his head and put it on yours. No good deed goes unpunished and all that jazz. If I were to tell him, I'd do it anonymously and say, "Do with this what you will, but do it quick before anyone finds it besides me."

 

The "anonymous" nature is totally different. I may not know people's real names on here, but I'm having discussions with people I've "known" on here for years.

If @magaluvr285719 wants to come after me on twitter he'll be screaming into a void.

 

I think my point has been made.

 

I'm sure you do.

 

You should see his 401k, it’s up 8000%

 

Your ME was a smart person. I had three rules when I fielded "those calls."

1. Want to cancel your subscription? As soon as you threaten to do that, we're done talking. I'll immediately transfer you to circulation.

2. Want to use four-letter words? I work on deadline in an industry that thrives on cussing (off air). I'll bet I can match you, letter for letter.

3. You can call me everything in the book if you want and my response will be "you're entitled to your opinion." And I don't really care what you think but if it helps to blow off steam, go for it. I've got way more things to worry about today.

Actually, growing a hard shell is not sweating the small stuff. And in the grand scheme of things, it's ALL small stuff. Even if it seems huge at the moment, it really isn't. You'll either retire or die on the job, and either way, you're replaceable. (Or nowadays, they just leave the position open.)

DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY. I repeat. It's not personal, it's business. You were hired to do a job. Do it to the best of your abilities, and leave the emotional baggage at the office. Your boss is the only other person who has the right to determine whether you're doing a good job. In this industry, it's sometimes good if someone's upset because it means you hit closer to their sore spot than they expected.

Never fall for the "I pay your salary" line. BULL. Unless your name is at the bottom of my paycheck, you don't actually pay my salary in any way, shape or form. I don't care how much money you advertise to whatever, whenever, however. At the end of the day, I still have a job to do -- until I decide to leave or the company decides to go another direction -- and you still have no say in the matter.

Same thing with "I'm calling the publisher/department head." Cool, they have even less time to waste than I do, and I'll probably get a slap on the back in the hallway. When the VP of media relations at NASCAR called the VP at Turner Broadcasting to bitch about me, it was no longer at my level of pay grade.

 

Sifting through the bullshit since my question, this was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

 

Always get a name at the top of the phone call - just so you can document and refer to it later. If they don't give it, you know what kind of call it will be - otherwise refer back to it when you respond. "Well Mrs. Jackson, I hear what you're saying and will forward your concerns to my editor."

 

One problem throughout history is as an employee of the cheap, crap, uncaring news company, the person who answers the phone really can't tell a reader what is up lest you get blamed for the caller canceling his/her subscription. "Why don't you run the results of Podunk High School in Saturday's paper? There always has been a great story and statistics of all the kids who played." If you tell the truth: "Maam our higher ups moved the deadlines so it's impossible to cover the game, but we'll have the results of the game in the newspaper at some point (some papers aren't even doing that in medium sized to big cities)." You say too much and the person cancels or calls a suit ... guess who is in trouble? So you can't win when talking to the person. You have to say: "Yes maam, we try our best with the staff we have."