called a guy

to get a quote

to replace

two tiny windows

in my cottage

 he came from

a national chain

friendly

salesy

schmoozy

trying hard

but

too

too

too

much

song and dance

and

it went on

and on

and on

he made me take a quiz

i just wanted

something

a

step

up

from

saran wrap

and

it didn’t

have to

be

able

to withstand

armageddon

he used

his special

infrared light

to demonstrate

the heat factor

all i wanted

was a clear piece

of glass

to keep out

snow

bugs

 flying squirrels

and

large enough

to allow

a

friendly fireman

to

fit through

he had

no

sense of humor

and

was

nervous

and so

next

we

began

the

jumping

on the glass

test

the whole thing

took two hours

he made a series

of  fake phone calls

to his office

to get me a

very special deal

and i waited

for his phone

to ring

while he was ‘calling’

then

 i thanked him for his time

he packed up his things

headed out

with all

of his equipment

and i kind of

felt for him

called another guy

and

this guy

was

standing

at my door

when i opened it

a couple of days later

a gentle giant

with a smile

and

a handshake

my hand

disappeared

into

his bear claw

of a hand

he came in

sat down

asked me

what i wanted

measured my

two tiny windows

he was calm

told me about his daughter

how proud he was of her

almost a doctor

asked me

about

my own children

we laughed together

 he used to build houses

now a window guy

 guessed the age of my cottage

more than 100

he was right

gave me the price

a very good price

no frills

no quiz

no jumping

no lights

no calls

he was here for

a half hour

he will be back

to put

my

windows in

very soon

–

it’s about listening first, then selling.
– erik qualman

—

image credits: benderconstruction.com, drip book.com, bilingual monkey.com, izismile.com,mybaycity.com