Please help the mystery man
I had a strange phone call as I sat down to write this. The caller was bringing a subscription delivery issue to my attention, which happens from time to time….
I had a strange phone call as I sat down to write this.
The caller was bringing a subscription delivery issue to my attention, which happens from time to time.
I am glad to help.
But what was odd was the caller was not the person who was having the delivery problem. He told me the person with the problem was a buddy of his.
Who is this buddy?
I don’t know. The caller didn’t tell me.
Why was the buddy not calling me himself? I don’t know, the caller didn’t tell me.
But what he did tell me was that we should straighten out the problem his buddy was having getting the issues.
As you might expect, I was starting to feel a little frustrated at trying to correct something that was not being identified.
At one point in the conversation, the caller told me he had given his buddy a number to call.
I asked him if the number he had provided was mine.
The caller said no.
I asked if I could have his buddy’s phone number. The caller said no.
I asked the caller to give my number to his buddy with a request that his buddy use it to telephone the Iola office.
I also told him the name of the person in the circulation department who would personally work to correct whatever the problem might be. I provided her extension number.
That seemed to satisfy the caller. Our conversation came to an end.
But I am still mystified why the buddy did not call me and why I was kept in the dark about the particulars of the problem.
This is new.
In my experience, I have never had a problem presented to me in this way – or I suppose I should write I have never had a problem not presented to me in this way.
I hope this is the only time this happens, because correcting a problem for someone I don’t know and cannot contact is beyond my capabilities.
I am glad the caller decided to intervene by calling the editor. That, at least, was a step forward.
Buzz blogger Dave Harper is winner of the 2014 Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog and is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."
- Subscribe to the NumisMaster Coin Price Guide for access to the web’s most comprehensive list of coin values
- Join the NumisMaster VIP Program for free subscriptions, store discounts, and more!
- Buy and sell coins, currency, and more in our online classifieds