I received a call from one of those annoying telephone marketers the other day. This lady asked me if I’d be willing to participate in a survey. I agreed to do so.

She began the questions, but I interrupted her. “Wait a second,” I said. “Who is this and what organization do you represent?”

She answered my question and continued asking questions.

I interrupted her again. “What’s the purpose of this survey?” I asked.

“Sir,” she replied irritably, “I don’t have time to answer your questions.” She then hung up on me.

When my printer’s type began to grow faint, I called a local repair shop where a friendly man informed me that the printer probably needed only to be cleaned.

Because the store charged $50 for such cleanings, he told me, I might be better off reading the printer’s manual and trying the job myself.

Pleasantly surprised by his candor, I asked, “Does your boss know that you discourage business?”

“Actually, it’s my boss’s idea,” the employee replied sheepishly. “We usually make more money on repairs if we let people try to fix things themselves first.”