I know the owner!!

[EvilEmpryss]

MOB: Does [owner] know his mother just died?

ME: Oh no, the hospital must be having a hellacious time getting a hold of him if they had to call an old friend like you to track him down and tell him!

The more I think about this, the more I think what a cruel, rude, manipulative bitch this woman must be. I mean seriously, who throws out the death of someone's mother as leverage to get information?

What would have happened if you had just dropped everything right then and called your boss? What if his mother isn't dead, and you tell him this woman in his place of business was claiming she was? Does she seriously think that's going to win her any brownie points? That goes double for if the mother is dead.

My brain is sputtering even as I type this, unable to come up with any rational explanation for how this little gem was supposed to accomplish her goals.

[XCashier]

IF she really did know the owner then she'd have his number already.

Or at the very least, know his full name and be able to look him up in the phone book.

[Imogene]

"I know the owner!"
J: *blink, look up from iPad* "Congratulations...? I don't... seeing as he doesn't live in this state..."

[Kereminde]

Second-best time I had this happen was at one of the restaurants I worked (of the two), the owner left orders with management to card anyone using that excuse. If the last name wasn't matching that of the owner, they don't get a discount, freebies, or whatever.

Us waiters were only supposed to nod, and get a manager, not try to say anything about it. Let the managers shoot them down, that's their job

[LillFilly]

Reminds me when I got called at home; turned-out coworker gave my number to someone claiming to be a police officer over the phone; even though he had no way of making sure, which is a big security no-no. I was sooo mad at him!

[El Pollo Guerrera]

My usual response to "I know your boss!" is usually "Then you know how much he hates it when I give his number out."

Yeah, I'm thinking the "your mom died" line was just a ploy to get the number... When you gave the number to the boss, did you express your condolences for his loss?

[csquared]

Maybe MOB read the obit and is running a scam. Good work shutting her down.

[Comechatcha]

This is precisely why I'm going to eventually name my hypothetical future bakery after the stained glass fox I made in high school. So when they come in claiming that "Peter" (not the actual name of the fox) said it was okay for them to go against X policy or get Y discount, I can hand them the number for the local psych hospital because they obviously think a mass of glass and leading is speaking to them.

[Mytical]

This is precisely why I'm going to eventually name my hypothetical future bakery after the stained glass fox I made in high school. So when they come in claiming that "Peter" (not the actual name of the fox) said it was okay for them to go against X policy or get Y discount, I can hand them the number for the local psych hospital because they obviously think a mass of glass and leading is speaking to them.

That almost made me violate rule no. 1. I can just picture that in my head.

[Victory Sabre]

No one has ever tried this at my company. I, almost, wish someone would try that with me, so I can make them look foolish.

[Argabarga]

People tried this on us all the time, considering the boss' name was emblazoned in foot-high letters on the doors of several trucks, it was a quite easy claim to make.

[Phantomgrift]

Reminds me of an anime store I used to go to years ago.
I'm hanging out, as were prone to do, when this guy walked in through the door and proceeded to exclaim how awesome the store was, how much it affected him and how the owner was such a good guy to take his idea.

The guy behind the counter declares: "So, you know the owner then?"

"Oh yeah! Him and me are tight, like this!" (Guy holds up his hand with fingers crossed to show the brotherhood indicated.)

At which point, Rick, the guy behind the counter, pipes up with:
"Oh really? Because I'm the owner and I've never seen you before in my life."

Heh, the other fellow couldnt clear the store fast enough.

[Sapphire Silk]

Reminds me when I got called at home; turned-out coworker gave my number to someone claiming to be a police officer over the phone; even though he had no way of making sure, which is a big security no-no. I was sooo mad at him!

I had a bill collector pull this one on me once. He was trying to reach a former roommate of mine who'd graduated and moved out of the house we shared. When I told him I wouldn't give her personal information to someone I didn't know, he exploded, told me he was a cop and could have me arrested for obstruction of justice.

I was naive in the way of bill collectors then . . . I caved. I called my friend to give her a heads up and found out it was about a $25 bounced check. Fortunately, she wasn't mad at me.

[Kristev]

They made a law a few years ago to make that illegal, didn't they?

[Sapphire Silk]

Yes. I think it might even have been illegal when he did it . . . this was the early 90's. I had no experience with these people then.

Now's another matter