Passive Aggression, the Language of Cowards
So Robert sent us an email inquiring about a tattoo on a certain day and a certain time. We tried to work with him and set everything up to move forward, as is our way. We asked Robert to call the shop to set up an appointment because we take a deposit and we won’t ask for that sort of information via email, so we need someone to call in with the card info. Our phone number is contained in every email, but we listed it again, as a prompt to call the shop and get this ball rolling. By the next day, having not received a call, we sent another email asking Robert for his number so we could call him and schedule the appointment. We do this because sometimes people need us to take the extra step, as they think sending the email is enough to schedule the appointment and it’s not, we won’t set an appointment without a deposit.
We didn’t hear from Robert for 9 days, at which time he said he found the email while cleaning out his junk folder. Now, usually emails that have been replied to don’t just randomly go to spam, but stranger things have happened so we continued to move forward with Robert, though we asked that he kind of ‘shit or get off the pot’, we don’t like having our time wasted, and if Robert really did want to get a tattoo, we’re not hard to reach, he could have just booked it. yeah, the email was a bit terse, but to wasn’t rude, it merely asked Robert to take decisive action: Move forward or move along.
It’s at this point that Robert gets all defensive. His emails lose almost all punctuation and take an almost poetic look as his feelings get in the way of his intelligence. He’s offended and he wants to let us know it.
So we have a question to ask.
How are we to handle a client who appears unwilling or unable to follow simple instructions? Who seems to be resistant to the idea of leaving a deposit, though he claims to have conducted business with us in the past? and when we point out that his actions have been incongruous with his claims, he gets angry?
Robert (and everyone else, for that matter), if you would like to schedule an appointment, you just need to call or come by the shop in order to leave your deposit and nail down the time. Email correspondence is for sending us references and confirming your appointment in the event you miss your confirmation phone call, but we cannot take credit card information via email, so appointments cannot be finalized that way.
Interestingly enough, we also got a 1 star review from someone calling themselves ‘R ED’, Robert, E. Denson anyone? This passive aggressive behavior is the stuff of cowards. Maybe it means Robert, Erectile Dysfunction, seems legit.
Simple enough, if you want to schedule an appointment, do so. If you want to waste our time, you won’t get far. We expect our clientele to be decisive and committed to their artwork, just as we are. We won’t waste your time and we would expect that you wouldn’t waste ours.
As for Robert? Suck our fuckin’ dick Robert. You don’t have to go out of your way to be an asshole on our account!
This is after maybe the third email, we clearly ask him to call to schedule and leave a deposit. Lots of folks want to book appointments without leaving a deposit. This involves a lack of accountability we aren’t comfortable with. It also shows the email we sent the next day, which asks for his phone number so we can call him. If people are unwilling to cooperate with this request, they usually aren’t serious about scheduling.
This is the last image continued, it shows the rest of the email Dustin sent, as well as the email from Robert remarking how he found this in his spam folder, which is suspicious, but not unheard of.
This is the email where we ask Robert to move forward or move along. It’s admittedly straightforward, but at this point, the time he wanted to book for isn’t available and he seems content with running us in circles, so doing business with him is no longer profitable. It invites him to do the same thing we’d been asking him to and it points out how he hasn’t been amenable to closing the deal. Best to cut our losses here.
Here Robert brings up several points that have nothing to do with him failing to call or come by the shop to schedule an appointment, pure misdirection on his part. He follows by indicating that we are somehow offended by money, another superfluous gesture, then adds the passive aggressive ‘thanks!’ as if he’s excited that we pointed out how strange this interaction has been. In truth, he’s just offended that we called him out on his bullshit. Words of a coward here.