10/23/09

Not a very nice fellow...

by Cyranojpm

Mr. Kessler is a bankruptcy attorney, thus one of the primary functions of his job is to interact directly with people.

Given his area of practice, the people calling upon him are obviously in a bad situation and experiencing hardship, particularly in these very difficult economic times.

I'm writing to share honestly and exactly what transpired during my initial call to his office.

I called Kessler's office at around 9 a.m. yesterday, and was greeted with a very gruff "Yeah?", said in a what-do-you-want tone.

I briefly, politely and succinctly stated that I've been unemployed for many months, barely subsisting on savings, that I am approaching a point where my ability to meet my financial obligations and provide for my family is now in jeopardy, and that I wanted to explore bankruptcy options.

His reply was "Who is this?," said this time in what could only be described as a very nasty, why-are-you-bothering-me way.

I overlooked the first unpleasant "Yeah" answer, but now I was taken aback by the callousness of this second utterance.

Instead of saying that I did not appreciate the tone of the person I was speaking with, thinking it was one of Kessler's employees, I simply asked "May I speak with Mr. Kessler?"

The answer was "You got him. Who did you think you were speaking with?"

I replied, "You know, I don't appreciate your tone. I'm calling you for help and you really haven't been that friendly."

Kessler's reply: "Look buddy, I JUST got out of bed and just got to my office. What do you want me to do, tap dance for you?"

That was enough for me and I hung up the phone.

My first impression (and the basis of my review here) was based solely upon this interaction.

The above captures how Mr. Kessler chose to speak with a person a experiencing hard times and coming to him for help; a tangible example, in my estimation, of severly lacking interpersonal skills and very poor treatment of a prospective client.

• Cons: Treatment of prospective clients