DEAR JEANNE & LEONARD: My nephew, who recently graduated from college, has started a service that helps people set up and maintain their computer systems and other home electronics equipment. To help him out, I went door to door in my neighborhood passing out fliers. "Luke's" gotten a good response, and his business is doing well, but here's the problem: Neighbors who have hired him keep asking me when he plans to finish the projects he has begun for them. Since I don't know his schedule, I encourage them to contact Luke directly. But even after I do, they continue to ask. What's a nice way to get these folks to stop? I'm not in business with my nephew; I just helped him get started.
-- R.W.
DEAR R.W.: Your nephew needs more help -- help in the form of being told that he needs to do a better job of responding to customer inquiries and completing the jobs he has begun. Because why else would so many neighbors be pestering you unless they'd given up on trying to get Luke's attention? So do your nephew a favor: Explain to him that he needs to shape up.
Also, it may be true that you're not in business with Luke, but you did pitch him and his services to your neighbors. Of course there's nothing wrong with doing so. But there's also nothing wrong with your neighbors now looking to you for help with the problems they're having with the person you encouraged them to hire.
DEAR JEANNE & LEONARD: When I went to buy a shirt at a department store, the woman ahead of me in line handed the clerk a handful of coupons that apparently offered different amounts off for different size purchases. The two of them then spent close to 10 minutes working with the coupons to ensure that she got the maximum discount possible for the many items she was buying. Don't you think they should have allowed me to pay for the single item I had before going to work on a series of sales they knew were going to take forever?
-- Michael C.
DEAR MICHAEL: So "first come, first served" doesn't work for you? Look, we're sympathetic to the frustration you felt. Instead of being a straight-up transaction, paying for goods too often resembles a game of bingo, especially at department stores. But that doesn't mean sales clerks should make the store's regular customers -- the ones to whom the coupons are sent and for whom the promotions are designed -- cool their heels so that couponless customers can go first.
As for the woman ahead of you, it would have been nice had she allowed you to pay for your shirt before she and the clerk began fiddling with her coupons. But to be fair, she had no way of knowing you weren't going to, say, pull out your own coupons or ask the clerk to look for a different size "in back." Plus, what about the customer behind you who has only one item? Where does she draw the line? Sorry, Michael, but maybe you should consider shopping online.
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Family on 08/17/2016