Thursday, May 22, 2008

What's in a name...

So this has been an interesting thing that we’ve had to deal with here at In Good Company.

Apparently, there’s a company here in Chicago whose initials are also IGC. From what I’ve gathered, they are some sort of head-hunting company, and they have an automated faxing system that randomly tries to send faxes to various phone numbers at all hours of the day and night.

So here’s what ends up happening:
The other IGC ends up calling Joe Schmo in, let’s say, Kentucky, 5 times from 1a-4a. When Joe Schmo answers the phone, he hears a fax tone. After the 3rd or 4th time, he gets pissed, and calls Information to get the phone number for what’s showing up on his caller i.d. box, which is – you guessed it - IGC. Information looks up the phone number they have for IGC, and gives him our number.

Now, granted – by the time people call us and leave a voice mail, they are understandably pretty ticked off. I end up calling them the next morning and explaining the situation, and give them the correct phone number for the company that keeps automatically dialing them. At that point they are usually pretty apologetic, and I understand their frustration.

I arrive at work this morning to a voice mail from the 918 area code, and they guy says in a thick southern accent:
“Yeah, you guys quite calling me in the middle of the night, you take me off your sam-hell list” and then said something about our “faggoty business” and “going to hell.”

Yeeeaah.

I debated for a moment about whether to call him back or not, but decided I didn’t want another phone call from him. I called the phone number he left and a woman answered. I told her who I was, informed her of the situation, and gave her the correct phone number to call. She was very, very sweet. With a big smile on my face, I then said, “And please tell the man who called me that I said ‘thank you’ for his kind words.” She got quiet at that point, and I could hear the embarrassment and apology in her voice when she said, “oh…yes….I’ll - I will.”

Needless to say, I finally called Information and requested that they change our listing to be under In Good Company instead of IGC. I’m not even sure why it was listed that way originally.

Sometimes I’m still shocked when insults are hurled. Like, I forget sometimes, being in this secular gay world every day – running a gay business, dealing with an all-gay clientele, being gay myself – I forget that there are people who really think we’re disgusting.

PS. We don’t have caller i.d. at In Good Company.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Both Sides of an Introduction

It’s interesting – being someone who matches people up and then has them meet each other. And then hearing both sides of what happened on the introduction!

Client A: “I felt like I was on a job interview – he was grilling me!”
Client B: “I had to keep asking him questions in order to get him to have a conversation.”
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Client A: “I felt like he was ‘old’ for his age. I’m a much younger-thinking guy.”
Client B: “I felt like he was ‘old’ for his age. I’m a much younger-thinking guy.”
***********************************************************************
Client A: “She clearly enjoys going to the opera, whereas I like softball, so I don’t think it’s gonna work.”
Client B: “I thought she was great! I hope she calls!”
***********************************************************************

We really get to see patterns in our clients, both positive and negative. And it helps us to better match each client next time. What I really find interesting though, is that while we try to get on the right “path” with each member, I think some people forget to look around at the trees while they’re walking. Sometimes we become so focused on what we want, and get so specific with details about our ideal match, that we can’t accept anyone else.

A couple of years ago, I had two clients (we’ll call them Scott and Bob) who ended up meeting each other outside of IGC (in other words, we didn’t set them up). After a few dates that went very well, they discovered that they were both members. Bob expressed some anger at IGC, wondering why I hadn’t set him up with Scott, seeing as they were a great fit and were really enjoying each other’s company. Scott knew why we hadn’t set them up, and finally admitted it to Bob: Bob was out of the age range Scott had requested. They put their memberships on “Hold” for each other shortly thereafter, and last I spoke with them, things were still going strong.

I’ve had a few such instances since then, and now I’m much better about looking off the “path” for my clients. Sometimes I have to twist their arm a bit, but if I feel really strongly about it, then I put forth the effort. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t; but I’d rather have them meet and then know for sure either way, than just assume it wouldn’t work, and never really know.

I had a woman who only wanted to meet women living in the city. Imagine me trying to not only convince her to meet someone who lived outside the city, but who lived in Rockford! She eventually acquiesced, and I sent them out. They exchanged rings back in December 2006.

I had a woman ask me out for a drink the other night. I didn’t ask her if she liked opera, or if she played any sports; I didn’t ask her if she wanted kids, if she read the Wall Street Journal or the Red Eye. I simply said, “Yes!” Who knows what, if anything, will come of it? But one thing (of many!) that my clients have taught me through their own introductions is that it’s never a waste of time to meet someone new. Look at all the possibilities around you; you might be surprised at the tree that catches your eye.