DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

As I was writing a check to the woman who had restretched the lumpy carpet in the basement, she was filling out an invoice. I delivered my standard privacy inquiry, which I do every time someone asks me for my address: “You don’t sell or share your customer mailing list, do you?” Most reputable businesses not only affirm that they don’t; they also manage to simultaneously convey distaste.

But she surprised me. She said, “I don’t know; I’ve never been asked. What did you have in mind?”

Clearly, my privacy is not her concern… she thought I was making an offer to purchase her customer list, which I considered doing briefly if only to warn everyone that their carpet installer shouldn’t be trusted. I was about to launch into a tirade about privacy rights, beginning with the the question, “So you think your customers’ home addresses constitute an asset you own?“… but then I saw that the woman had inscribed my address incorrectly.

Problem solved!