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Miscommunication is an inevitable part of life.
Many of us have had calls from strangers who were convinced that we were somebody else.
Thats sometimes easier said than done!
An incredibly standoffish and tone-deaf woman who demanded that the OP come in to work the weekend.
The author didnt even work at the store.
Many people have had strangers call them after mixing up phone numbers.
She had a whole bunch of preconceived notions.
And she seemed to expect backtalk and excuses.
The OP decided to have a little bit of fun and pretended to be the worker in question.
He demanded better pay for weekend overtime.
Whats more, he called out the caller for disrupting his sleep.
It took a while and two actual callers for the store employees to finally understand theyd made a mistake.
Calling your staff at God-awfully early hours is horribly demotivating.
Yes, some lines of work mean that people do their jobs at odd hours.
Everyone wants a healthy work-life balance.
Moreover, managers should not be springing surprise weekend shifts on anyone without proper notice.
Things do happen at the last minute and stores do need the extra help from time to time.
Maybe someone else had a family emergency.
Maybe theres a lot of additional work and its an all hands on deck sort of scenario.
But you cannot force your employees to work overtime unless its in their contract.
They also thrive when theres good communication and empathy from their superiors.
Many of these things appeared to be lacking at the callers company.
Sometimes, the previous owner of the number has a very widely-known reputation.
Because, at some point, the number used to belong to a very capable IT pro.
A lot of people used to turn to them for help and advice.
Eventually, you become pretty good at handling these situations with speed and grace.
You politely inform the person whats what.
You explain to them that, no, you arent another IT specialist who might be able to help.
And you learn to enjoy the humor of the entire situation.
Getting angry or frustrated about these sorts of things will only drain you.
Most people are remarkably understanding and apologetic if you give them the benefit of the doubt.
But for those moments when the caller refuses to actually listen to you?
A bit of fun at their expense can help them come to their senses.
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