I hate being misled...

I really wanted to write about this last night because I was so fired up about it, but I guess I'll have to do it now that I have some free time.

Last week, Olivia and I were in Best Buy at Short Pump buying a birthday gift or two for Brian. We were browsing the DVDs when a guy approached us and asked if I knew anything about DVD players:

Dude: Do you know anything about DVD players?

Me: Well, sorta.

Dude: What kind do you have?

Me: a Sony 5-disc changer

Dude: Cool. So, what do you guys do? Where do you work? Are you married? Where are you from? What are your names?

The guy seemed very nice and we stood there chatting with him for a few minutes. He seemed around the same age as us and just seemed very nice. When we finally walked off, I mentioned to Olivia that I thought it was kinda strange that a random guy would just come up and strike up a conversation like that. Ah well, whatever. Maybe society isn't so bad, I thought.

Well yesterday, I get back to my desk to find a voice mail on my desk phone. It was someone named Derrick Smith. I had no idea who THAT was, so I called the number back to find out what the deal was. I figured he probably got my name from someone else or had something to do with CustomTacos perhaps. The conversation went as follows:

Derrick: Don't you remember me?

Me: No. Where would I know you from?

Derrick: We met in Best Buy last week.

Me: Oh yeh. How's it going?

Derrick: Not bad. I know you work at the Martin Agency and everything, but I figured I'd give you a call and see if you were interested in trying to make some money on the side with an Internet company.

Me: Well, you know man, I'm REALLY swamped with extra work right now. I've way too many web responsibilities so I'm going to have to turn you down. But you know what? I have a buddy who's an excellent Flash developer and is looking for side work. Why don't you give him a call and see if he's interested. Here's his number: .

Derrick: Cool. Thanks, Jeff.

I felt pretty good. I know Mike is always looking for freelance work, so I figured this could possibly bring him in some extra income.

A little while later, Mike called and said that a guy (named Derrick) had left him a voice mail earlier in the day about an "Internet Opportunity" Mike and I talked about it and the more I thought about it, the weirder it seemed. Looking back on the conversation I had with Derrick earlier in the day, the more this "Internet Opportunity" seemed more like one of those pyramid scam schemes (like Amway). Derrick used big buzz words like "E-commerce" and talked about ambition, etc. Now Mike had my curiousity up. So, I told Mike I'd call him back and that I needed to find out what the real deal with this guy was.

So, I called the guy back, pretty sure that this was some kind of Amway pyramid sales scheme. If it was, I was going to be PISSED. So, when I got him on the phone, I told him that I wanted more details about his "Opportunity". It was really funny to talk to him because he didn't want to give any kind of concrete details about this "Opportunity", just basics..and buzzwords. So, I told him to put it all out on the table; that I wanted to know what this was all about. The more he told me, the more I realized that it WAS, indeed, a pyramid scam that he was trying to lure me into. Here's what happened next:

Me: Look man, when you introduced youself to us last week in Best Buy, I thought you were a really nice guy. It's really sad that all along you had no real intentions of being friendly, but rather just make money for yourself. I'm really not interested at all in your pyramid SCAM and you know what? My friend that I told you about earlier isn't either. I gave you his phone number because I thought this was a legitimate business deal.

Derrick: Well, this is a legitimate business. I've been doing this for 5 years and I don't apppreciate you calling what I do for a living a "scam". You know I thought you were a nice guy, too.

(the yelling and cursing continued back and forth for about another 15 seconds and then he hung up on me)

I hung up the phone and laughed. Victory was mine. That was exactly what he deserved. I was feeling pissed. I had been misled. He wasn't interested in being genuinely friendly at all..he just wanted to draw us into his scheme. I felt used, almost.

So, I called Mike back and told him what happened and told him that he should call this guy, too and throw a few jabs in. So he did. He wasn't quite as brutal and his conversation with him wasn't quite as hateful as our's, but it was still satisfying to me.

This is why people don't trust anyone anymore. This is why the next time someone comes up to me in a store and asks how I'm doing today, I'll probably tell them to go to hell. This is what causes people not to trust other random people in the world.

I urge EACH AND EVERY one of you to call the following person and tell him how much you appreciate misleading people like himself:

Derrick Smith

(804)986-8980

In fact, I urge you to call him often. Even if you don't have anything to say. Especially if it's late late at night. Even if you only do it once, do it for me. Immature? Perhaps. But at this point, it's about the only thing that can make me feel any better about this situation.

By the way..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OLIVIA TODAY!

Posted by Jeff at March 22, 2002 12:22 PM