Now I am sure that Myra
is a very nice person and maybe even fun at parties but
she does not have any real power. Certainly not enough to
deal with something as complicated as an apology. I asked
for the name,address, and phone number of her
supervisor.
It wasn't long before I got a
call at work, or Leila did. She handed the
phone over to me. Pattye Hecter was on the other
end, all the way from Minneapolis. Pattye made it clear
from the start that she was the top dog over there and
wanted to straighten me out. Her solution to the problem
was the same as Myra's. Let Leila do the work to fix Best
Buy's screw-up. I got the idea from the phone
conversation that Pattye might not be as much fun as Myra
when it came to parties.
I thought that perhaps Pattye
was a little unclear about some of the facts in the case.
I wrote a brief outline in a letter and sent it to her.
She seemed to be under the impression that this is a
civil matter an it looks like it is Criminal to me.
She wanted everything settled
over the phone and right now. When I asked her to send it
in writing she slowed down a good bit. Lawyers as a class
know that it can be dangerous to write anything
down.
She did anyway. The letter
goes on and on but the main message is: Do what you are
told, or sue me.
Imagine that! Leila and I sue an EIGHT BILLION
dollar a year corporation that has attorneys on staff. I
can almost taste the victory through all the delays,post
postponements, depositions, time and money spent. It
smells like a victory for Best Buy. Pattye invited me to
sue on two separate occasions. Once on the phone and in
the letter.
You can't fault Pattye for
keeping the best interests of her client to the
forefront. Who can afford to sue a giant corporation?
Especially one so ready for legal combat that the
Consumers Relations office is staffed by
attorneys.
So I sent Pattye back a
letter.
I ask for the name, phone number, and address of her
boss. I don't for a minute believe that a lawyer would
lie to me. But somehow I doubt that she reports directly
to Dick Schulze. In my first year of law school I noticed
that all the people in my class were immensely proud of
themselves just for being there. The truth is: Anybody
who can read and is of average intelligence can get
through law school. Unfortunately, the law school
environment itself tends to make people think they are
more important than they are. They begin to take them
selves way too seriously and expect everyone else will
also. The fact is: In every American corporation,
everybody reports to somebody. Take a look at a list of
Best Buy's officers. Paytte is not even mentioned.
Here's a surprise. I like
Best Buy. It has a lot of computer related merchandise
and they are competitive with their prices.
