Dear dimwit on the phone

Since it was a text message, I guess this counts as a dimwit on the phone:

Dear assistant wrestling coach,

No, I won't get your son a press pass for the state wrestling tournament. I don't have to explain why. But since he'll be turned away at the gate if he can't prove he actually works for some sort of media outlet even if he is on the list, let that suffice.

(Up) Yours,

Apeman

 

Had someone last week ask if I could get them on the press list as a photographer so he could be on the floor getting pictures of his sons during the state wrestling finals.

Uh, no.

 

"Is this the executive editor? Well, you won't believe what one of your sports employees said to me yesterday when I asked him why our fair results weren't printed in the paper. He politely told me he was on vacation so he wasn't sure why and then - you won't even believe this - gave me the number of the appropriate employee to contact and a good time to do so in order to get an answer and to see the results published. And the worst part was he thanked me for letting him know about all of this!"

 

Ding, ding, ding!

 

"Is this the executive editor? Well, you won't believe what one of your sports employees said to me yesterday when I asked him why our fair results weren't printed in the paper. He told me he was on vacation, and tried to blow me off by trying to give the number to your newsroom. This is what passes for customer service these days? He's still a representative of your paper, so I don't see why he didn't take my number and call your newsroom and find out for me. And besides, it's not like he really needs a vacation anyways. He gets to go to games for a living. And the worst part is, he started laughing hysterically when I told him that everyone at the fair worked hard and deserved coverage, and that some of the kids would get scholarships if the paper only would do a story on them."

Fixed.

 

Depends on the editor, but a good boss will be able to recognize that kind of BS, and not take the customer at his/her word.

 

A popular scam, I'm told.

 

Yes, our local governing body put an end to this years ago...wrestling and football were the biggest culprits of small-town papers getting credentials for yahoo parents to get access.

 

Thank goodness you chose this field, then, and not medicine.

 

exactly one of the good things about my job is that for the most part I get to set my schedule...it is flexible. There are some in this biz who feel like they have to be onsite 24-7 at every possible event, but really it's a matter of prioritizing the big events and following up on the other stuff.

I wouldn't want to be a doctor with on-call responsibilities constantly bombarding my life. Time with my wife and kids is more important than a big paycheck.

 

Especially in associations, as is the case here, where the number of coaches allowed on the mat are limited.

 

Yep, because performing CPR on an unconsious person and making phone calls to find out about fair results are at the same level of importance.