I promised you humor so here goes...
It's not easy being The Sales Guy by day and an event coordinator by night. Customers [because they are people] require entertainment and, sometimes, they turn into the entertainment.
A few months ago, The Sales Guy's evening call of duty brought him to the setting of a professional hockey game to entertain and "thank" a customer who recently made a big purchase. The Sales Guy describes this customer as "gregarious, large framed, biker kind of guy." So, naturally, he liked his sports and his beer. And, naturally, The Sales Guy made sure his customer was delighted with the best seats, plenty of over-priced snacks and a steady intravenous of brew.
Even with the home team pulling off a win and intense inebriation, Customer wanted more and The Sales Guy obliged providing a midnight "snack" of the finest Angus steak and scotch. At around 1am, it was clear that Customer had an obvious hole in the foot and superhuman liver and The Sales Guy was responsible for ensuring Customer got home safely so it was time to call it a night. The Sales Guy escorted Customer to the men's room (he hadn't been virtually all night). Customer entered and exited the men's room while on the phone and, upon exiting, looked down at his pants, felt them and said, "Oh, I thought I felt something warm." That's right, Customer wet his pants and didn't even know it. (Wonder what he actually did in the men's room then - wardrobe malfunction?)
Funny as that story is, it's a little scary how quickly Customers go from business formal to business casual to the hardiest partiers you've ever met in your life. I had the opportunity to take about 8 customers out with one of my co-workers a few years ago. This was an eclectic group -- some outspoken folks from the UK, others from Alabama and yet others from rural Pennsylvania. And they all wanted Mexican food -- or so they said. What they really wanted were the Mexican drinks. So being the responsible Sales Guy's Wife, I decided I would drive -- everybody.
Dinner started out slowly with small talk about the different businesses and their jobs and that ended quickly. The conversation then became about home life and hobbies. And that's when things fell apart and, little did I know, that's when the drinks started really flowing. I was so distracted by the x-rated topics being discussed and planning my own escape route, I missed how much they had been drinking. Until --- until one of them got out of his chair, sat on the floor of the restaurant, crossed his legs Indian style, ascended to his knees and began walking on them! What could I do other than let him run his course and leave the wait staff a giant tip!
There is something truly human - albeit crazy - about this kind of fun. Circles of friends call it "good times." I call it "Customer Confidentiality." The Sales Guy calls it "leverage."
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