"Hallo, this is Catherine from The Agency, how can I help you?" said Catherine, picking up the phone.
The office is a mess, her pc is still powering up, and her cup of coffee sits on the desk - she hadn't time to taste the beverage yet.
"Mmh," on the other side of the phone a man's voice mumbles something, but is not recognizable. The man has yet a baritone timbre, warm and deep, just like the coffee he is preventing her to drink.
"What?" Catherine answers with a high pitch.
"Sorry, sometimes I get lost on my own thoughts" replies the man on the other side "also my wife reproaches often about this one."
Well, fuck. So far, so what. Catherine stares at her coffee.
"Someone, mmh, told me about your, mmh, agency." Someone told me about y1lĺfinally the man seems to have something to say "I, mmh, was wandering if, mmh."
Catherine takes a deep breathe. She tries to stretch her hand towards the cup of coffee, when the stranger resumes to talk.
"Well, mmh, I have to admit that your service is really fascinating. I was evaluating the possibility to consider it for, mmh, resolve some circumstances."
Catherine gets the point. Often, people who calls for the first time The Agency are puzzled and their first contact is a senseless buzzing. This one is to be considered even among the fairest.
"Yer, sure" answer Catherine with a fresh crispy voice "I understand your interest in our services. Would you like me to settle an appointment for you with one of our ferrymen?"
"The, mmh, ferrymen, yes, I have read about them" answers the stranger man "but, mmh, is it safe? I mean..."
"Yes, yes" answers Catherine, before biting her tongue, because she forgot the first rule of the good seller: never interrupt a prospect expressing his needs. But now it's gone. So far, so good.
"I was saying ..."
"Yes, I understood: there is ab-so-lu-te-ly no risk for your personal safety. The tour is one hundred percent guaranteed: we have diagnosis from medical personnel and a complete record of happy returning customers."
"I, mmh, have read about it, yes, yes, definitively."
"So, would you like me to settle an appointment for you?"
"Mhh."
Catherine's hand manages to grab the cup. She sips the coffee. Cold.
One more reason to hate her life.
The stranger has drown in a pool of silence.
Catherine remembers Day One, her first day of work at The Agency, when Chau thought her how to deal with doubtful prospects.
"Just be proactive. Do or say anything, but do not let the flame shutdown" said Chau.
"Will it do the magic?" asked Catherine.
"It will minimize the wounds" stated Chau.
And so, let proactivity be: quickly she thinks, quicker she answers: "What about hearth diseases in your family? Has anyone of your relatives suffered from herta attack?".
"Actually, yes."
"Would you feel conformtable in having a post mortemr experience with that relative of yours?"
"Mmh..."
"I meant if..."
"I perfectly got your meaning. Mmh. Fact is that relative was my first ex wife. The last years I have spent with her have already been something like a post mortem experience" answers the man, suffocating an irritating laugh.
Procative, remembers Catherine.
"So, we can say that you are alreday accustomed with teh experience."
"In a certain way."
"So, would you like me to settle an appointment with you. I see that the Flegias Team has a couple o mornings free on their agenda."
"I read magnificent reviews about Flegias. Mmh."