his laughter, the man asked “What did you say this survey
was about?”
I replied “Gasoline!” He then shrieked to his audience “It’s
for gasoline!” which seemed to tip them all into total
insanity. When he regained his composure, he gasped “I
thought you said it was for Vaseline”. When I re-read some
of the questions I had asked it appeared I was making an
obscene phone call and they were having great fun going
along with it.
The supervisor sitting at the front of the room was glaring
at me wondering why I found the survey so amusing.
Trying to control myself, I said “Well, I’ve nearly finished so
would you mind finishing the survey”. It got worse, as every
question I asked sounded quite rude, and the five of us
were totally losing control. I gasped the last questions,
thanked them for their time, and as I hung up could hear
them still shrieking.
They are probably still telling this story as am I, so many
years later. Needless to say that was the last night I went
to that job as I could never have asked the questions again
without getting hysterical. Please be patient with the poor
worker if you get a survey call, and make sure you clarify
immediately what the topic is!
Trish Copeland