Hangups

[msmemory_archive]

I don't know what my problem is with calling vendors. It's not like I need their love and esteem. But it takes sheer force of will to call a stranger, even right out of the yellow pages, and ask them if they are able/willing to provide the service I need.

Success achieved in small way today however: left voicemail for a house painter from Watertown. Also confirmed that Ace Hardware can repair my screen door if I bring it in (turnaround about one week).

Comments

[tpau]

let me tell you a secret. calling strangers is what one has a husband for. seriously. i absolutly can't do it. i cna't evencall chineese and order dinner :( but thi sis why the husband exists. that and reaching tall places.

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what it is, but I find calling vendors difficult, too, for the most part. Even with service providers and such, where you think they'd welcome the call. If I'm just asking their hours, preparatory to going there, that's okay. Anything else and I really have to force myself to make the call, and not hang up before they answer.

[antoniseb.livejournal.com]

I used to have this same problem, but not anymore. I think my main problem was that I was going to be speaking to a specialist, and that though I kind of knew what I wanted, I neither knew their protocol, nor their jargon. I was worried that I would sound like an idiot to this stranger.

I now allow myself to sound like an idiot. I explain that I am unfamiliar with his/her business but I have a need that I think he/she can supply, but would like to discuss it in detail. Now, believing that it is OK to express ignorance of a specialty subject, I can talk to them and ask them for advice.
When I talk to the second vendor, I'm better equipped with information and jargon.

[dsrtao]

Put me in a business context and I have no problem calling up a vendor, ordering a twenty thousand dollars in hardware, and then harrassing them over the next four weeks as they miss deadlines.

Ask me to call the library and find out when they close... oh, thank Berners-Lee for the web.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

I have found that writing down an agenda for the call, and then writing updates as the call progresses, focuses my mind and makes me less avoidant/nervous. Also, I actually remember what I found out during the call. :/