For the purposes of this story, I shall name the central characters as 1. The delivery man and 2. The couch man.
So here it goes.
Once upon a time in Singapore,
I phoned a lady about a divan (bed base) so that I could replace my, then current, massive bed for a smaller one. The lady was very charming and of course granted me the sale of her divan.
Once that was settled I needed to phone a delivery man (enter character #1). A kind Chinese man with a business of using his moving van to transport furniture goods for a competitive rate. This is a very common practice for moving items and a decision that I felt no worries about in the least.
With that settled, I decided to further my furniture spree and contacted another seller in a different area of town about his couch. Enter character #2. He, after several minutes of interrogation to decipher whether I was indeed a "serious buyer", eventually did agree to the sale.
I mentioned to this couch man that I would be sending a delivery van service to collect the pieces and then proceeded to actually confirm this with the delivery man.
The couch man phoned me back and enthusiastically asked me to reconsider hiring this delivery man, in the hopes that he and his friend might help me out with all of the services for a better price. He asked me to collect a quote from the delivery man and then report back to him what it was so he could beat it.
I then contact the delivery man in the hopes that he would also be able to help me dispose of my, then current, unwanted couch and bed. He of course agreed and then offered me a quote for both collections and the removals. I found his quote to be more than fair, especially considering the economy here in Singapore and the price of most things, I actually felt I was getting a deal.
Also, having told this man that I would be working with him, I felt a small pang of rudeness if I were to pull out of the deal at that point, so I agreed to the price and we went ahead with the plans for pick ups.
Once that had been confirmed, I phoned couch man again to give him the collection time, and also thank him for his kind offer, but that I would not be needing his delivery services that day. I did also tack on (just because I'm nice like that), that I would save his number for a future date when I might need some help moving something and I would be sure to give him some business then. However, he was not satisfied with my decision and spent the next 5 minutes telling me why I made a poor business choice and that I should have listened to him because he would have only made me pay ___ etc... I thanked him very much for his lecture and off I went about my day.
I did have a funny image run through my head of a poor Asian guy getting beat up at couch man's house. But I thought nothing of it and pushed it aside. Upon reflection, perhaps that was the time in my story when I should have popped in a prayer of goodwill for the delivery man.
So, delivery man and I had decided that he would collect the goods and be at my house for delivery and removal around 5pm.
It was about 4:45pm when I received another phone call from couch man. He was frantic. He was livid. He was ranting. (The following dialogue is a close representation of our conversation, however not a direct quote).
"Did you know that you have sent gangsters into my house?" he asks
"Gangsters? I am sorry?"
"Yes gangsters" he repeated, "They are wearing rough clothes, and are staring at me and my family like they are going to hurt us. They don't even speak English! They are CHINESE!"
"I am sorry to hear they are making you uncomfortable"... I respond - but he is not really listening to me, he is intent on continuing his speech.
"Isn't it true that when someone comes to your door they must wait to be invited in?"
"Yes, of course, that's polite" I agreed.
"Well these guys, I told my helper to have them wait outside while I finished my shower and I came into the living room and they were standing in my living room! Then I asked them to leave and go to the hallway and they started shouting at me all kinds of crude words in Chinese!"
(Funny, he doesn't speak Chinese, and if I know anything from my years in Hong Kong it's that Chinese can sound abrupt to anyone who doesn't understand. But I digress...)
"I am sorry to hear that, perhaps they misunderstood?"
"NO! They are so rude! I have no time for silly business like this. I have no time for foolery. WE are educated people. We should not put up with this. I am going to have to call the police. I am sorry if you get involved."
At this time, I am still trying to sort through what reality might be vs. what his interpretation of the situation is, however, what I do know is that his reaction is completely unnecessary, and I am completely irritated by his tone. He is consistently looking for validation in his words and I, of course, do my best to validate him as I don't want to anger him any more... however I am doing this is the same tone I use when calming an explosively angry 4 year old boy who did not get to play with the blocks he had hoped for and starts a tantrum.
After I get off the phone with couch man, I immediately phone the delivery man as he is only the boss and contractor. I let him know that the couch man is irate and phoning the police as he was offended by the rude actions of his drivers.
I don't hear back from either for a while and then...
"I have phoned the police" Says couch man, after hearing my cheerful greeting on the phone.
"They have come and they are talking to the guys. Isn't it true that we must be respectful of others. They they just came into my house I cannot believe. How do YOU deal with people like this I have no idea".
"I actually found the manager to be very professional on the phone", I replied in a kind and non threatening manner.
"Well that is maybe the boss, but not these guys. They are gangsters. WE are educated people. These guys do not even speak ENGLISH! I do not understand how you deal with them. I am a Singaporian and we have higher ways of dealing with people. We have rules to follow. Rules about being polite. If I see a man who has a doctorate degree but he is being rude I will tell him, 'It is as if you threw your education down the drain'!"
"I see. I understand your points, and I feel that they are valid. How are things going with the police?" I inquire.
"They left. But I did not give them the house. I do not want them here any longer. I will find another way to get the couch to you tomorrow morning and I will also collect your other items for removal because you should not have people like this in your home."
"Thankyou for the update, I will see what service they have for me and let you know about your offer. As for the couch, yes please I do still want it". (This is all very frustrating to me as this couch man has just added an extra delivery charge to my bill...)
Moments later, I receive another phone call from the delivery man who has been forced to go to the couch man's house and speak with the police on behalf of his workers as well. He phones me and, in a most apologetic tone admits that he does not have the couch but could he please explain the situation to me in a little while?
I of course told him to leave and get out of there as fast as they could, as I suspected the couch man now of being absolutely intolerant and racist.
About 20 minutes later, delivery man phones me yet again to explain and tells me that my suspicions were correct. The police had written off the case as a racism complaint, and the men had done nothing wrong, short of misunderstanding a request.
Later, the gentleman who were the "workers" in this story showed up at my house to drop off the previously stated divan and collect my removals (yes, I gave them the business naturally). They were the absolutely sweetest men. They were indeed from mainland China and did not dress in business suits but I would hardly call a t-shirt and jeans "gangster wear". They did not stare at me, nor did they shout or curse in Chinese. They simply, and graciously did the task required of them and then I paid them. No hassle at all, and exactly the type of service I had been expecting from the beginning.
I wrote the delivery man and told him that his workers were indeed very kind and I would be using their services in the future. I thanked him for putting up with this whole ordeal and I paid a little extra for their trouble.
The delivery man was absolutely blown away by my kindness which tells me that this is not an uncommon occurrence for him at all. A sad truth.
The next morning the couch man did end up bringing the couch. I met him in person and he asked right away how the "gangsters" had acted in my presence and if they had taken my removal furniture. I happily explained that they had removed my furniture and that I had found them to be quite pleasant, polite, and professional.
"Must have been after the police spoke to them". he scoffed.
Anyway, I ended up paying him the same amount I would have for a delivery fee had it been a separate job which cost me a few tens more than I was hoping, however, it's all over now and in the past. I shall keep delivery man's number, and I shall burn the number of the racist couch man.
The end.
The old
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