Impatient Salesman Insists That Important Product “Must Ship Today,” So Lab Tech Maliciously Complies And Ruins His Reputation
by Addison Sartino
Ahh, one of my favorite kind of stories.
The kind where karma kicks in.
This man took to Reddit to share his friend’s story…
When I was a tech at a calibration lab, we had a torque wrench arrive for calibration.
Now, to do the job right, you must let the wrench sit in the lab until it has reached the same temperature as the lab and the calibration standards.
It was winter, and the wrench was cold (unheated shipping truck, warehouse, etc.) So this wrench was put on the shelf to acclimate, which would take 24-48 hours.
The tech was trying to do his job when someone stepped in.
That afternoon, one of the sales people told the torque tech that this wrench “must ship today” because it was a big customer and he wanted to make a good impression.
The tech obviously said that it couldn’t, because it had to acclimate before being calibrated.
This salesperson was the sort of irresistible force who thought that no one could (or would) ever stand in his way.
He was also not supposed to be in the lab or in any way involved in production. He was also kind of an a$$hole.
The salesman had to have his way.
So the tech again explained that the wrench could not be calibrated until at least the next day.
Otherwise the calibration would not be a good one, and we don’t do it like that.
Adult temper tantrums unfortunately cannot be resolved with logic.
That’s when the salesperson exploded and flew his jerk flag high.
Repeated several times that “it must ship today.”
After the 10 minute tirade had ended, the tech just told him “It will ship today”.
The tech gave the salesperson what he asked for.
So the salesperson huffed back to the sales department, gratified that he’d got his way again.
As soon as he was gone, the tech processed the order as a Return-As-Is and put it on the shipping cart. The wrench did indeed ship that day. Without a calibration certificate.
The customer was miffed. The subsequent investigation did not show the salesperson in a good light.
He was officially reprimanded.
Readers of this story rejoiced to see the salesman’s actions bite him back.
One reader wrote a quick and witty response.
Another person defended accreditation as a whole.
This person called the tech’s response perfect.
Be careful what you wish for!
You might just get it.
Want to read another story where somebody got satisfying revenge? Check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.
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