Happy New Year! I hope 2021 will turn out better than 2020 did.
On December 28, I was sitting at a local car dealership waiting on an oil change to be completed and my phone rings. At this point, it looks like I’m setting up a joke, but I'm not.
I looked at the caller ID and it’s a local number. Since I was bored, I decided to have a little fun with this telemarketer.
I answered with a professional tone of voice, “Thank you for calling. If you’re a telemarketer, take this number off your list. If you’re a human being, you may speak now.“
Under normal circumstances, the caller would hang up. But not today.
"Hey, Olivia," the woman said.
"I'm not Olivia," I said.
"Oh, I thought you were a voice on an answering machine."
I grinned at the remark. "I get a lot of telemarketers. That's one of the voices I do with them. I like to mess with them."
"Oh? What's another one?"
In a thick country accent, I said, "Thank you for calling Oshman's. My name is Bill. How may I help you? I sell guns, shoes..."
She laughed.
"Another voice I use is from the cartoon series The Power Puff Girls, a character named Mojo Jojo."
"Oh?"
"Yeah." I cleared my throat and said with his voice, "I am Mojo Jojo."
She laughed again. "Well, I'm not a telemarketer. I'm a nurse."
"I'm a teacher. I use these voices with my students."
"You did entertain me. Thank you. I hope you have a great day."
"You, too. Take care."
That was the conversation. I never learned her name or who Olivia was. Then again, she doesn't know my name either. Out of curiosity, I looked up the number and found out where she was a nurse. At least she really was a local. Anyway, the accidental conversation is more proof that the little things can make a big difference.
To Nurse Whoever-You-Are: Thank you for making my day a little brighter!
