Thursday, April 2, 2009

Please Email Rick James

I started this blog because I myself have had very strange jobs over the course of my life. So, I'll go ahead and begin with one from the not so distant past:


Name: Alex

Job: Customer Call Rep


I answered a craigslist posting reading something like 'Call Center Rep For Herbal Company'. Within 24 hours I corresponded with a 'Mike' whom I later met in a hidden office from a leasing complex and got myself into hands down the weirdest job I've ever experienced:


The first thing 'Mike' tells me is that I have to use a 'not real' name. 'Mike' is Armenian, by the way, so picture a foreign dude with slicked back hair and a suit he probably got at Ross. So shocked by this question, the only name I can come up with is my porn name (Middle name and the street you grew up on), Alex Daytona. 'Mike', thinking the name sounds cool, likes this and tells me he's going to get me on phones.

Turns out this place is a call center for a succession of pop up ads selling placebo diet products. Essentially, I get calls from people pissed off they got charged for products they didn't want even though it's stated in the fine print. If these people want their money back, I'm instructed to give them an email address to contact and 'request' a refund. Little did I know I'd be getting a call days later with a pissed off guy demanding to speak to 'Rick James'.




Apparently, this guy emailed the address and got a response from 'Rick James' who basically egged him on to call the better business bureau if he had the balls. Now, in my limited experience in the internet scam world, I'd think if you used a fake name, it better be somewhat common, you know, like 'Bill Johnson' or something like that. But no, one of the Russians in the back handling emails decides to use 'Rick James'. And this guy wants to speak to him.

I dont know who Rick James is, but soon enough my boss put one of these email hooligans at the desk next to me, apparently one who was goofing off too much. So I asked him "Are Your Rick James?", to which he quickly replies "Who's Asking, Bro?"

Mr. James appropriately answered my question.

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