No, I am not talking about the kind of drive-bys you hear about in Boyz N The Hood, I am talking about the "I was in the neighborhood and I thought I'd stop by," kind of drive-bys.
More specifically, I really detest when a person trying to sell me something "happens to drop by." Face it, I am not stupid, I know you didn't just happen to drive all the way from Midtown to my office and decide to drop in to say hello. I know that you probably set it on your little Outlook calendar, or Treo or Blackberry or whatever, to get in your Corolla and drive up 75, stop by Dunkin Donuts for a bakers dozen, and come by my office - knowing good and well that the receptionist will see the donuts and think that we had a meeting scheduled. I get it. You are smooth. Buy off the gatekeeper with breakfast pastries, get her to call me and interrupt whatever I am doing (that obviously isn't important,) and come downstairs to see you, grinning ear to ear, holding a box of donuts. Then you expect me to bring you up to my office to shoot the shit for half an hour? Um, no Chief, not happening.
To be really honest, part of me wants to take the box of donuts and throw them out the door and tell you to go fetch, but I don't. I smile and shake hands and try and not let my ire show on my face. Why do I get so bent out of shape over unannounced, unscheduled drive-bys? Because I would never do that. Never. If I don't have an appointment with you, I have no right to expect you to stop what you are doing and meet with me. I wouldn't even do that to my doctor or mechanic, much less a person I was trying to get business from. Are you kidding me?
Perhaps it is just a pet peeve, but honestly, it has happened so many times recently that I am afraid the next poor soul that shows up without an appointment just to "drop by," and try and sell me some crap, might just get a face-full of donut. So, no, I don't want to buy your wares - if I do, I will set up an appointment with you. Doing a drive-by will just make me an angry donut-wielding crazy person that will never do business with you simply on principal.
Consider yourself warned. :)
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