Oh, how Frumpie was getting used to the carefree life! Having been blessed recently with a string of wonderful clients who behave like grownups, this dear soul was taken aback recently when one of the grownups took to a tantrum. Having what must be oodles of stress on his back, he sent Frump an angry note asking where his expected project was. Since we pass projects between us quite often, Frump held back minor panic and searched for said project. There it was tucked safely away in the Sent folder with a time stamp to show its sent status. Frump here forwarded it verbatim to said client and pondered the lack of delivery. It ended there.
Only it didn’t end there. Client, still in a kafluffle, replied that it was due two days prior and he never received it. Yes, that may be true. Still, I sent it two days prior and I didn’t know it wasn’t received. But he never received it! Yes, and it was sent. But….
Seeing the futility of the conversation, yours truly refrained from making any suggestions, including the uber-sensible one that the client acknowledge receipt of the completed project to avoid such Internet anomalies as mail that was sent but not received. No, such suggestions to angry people looking to pass the blame to blameless people will not be accepted kindly. We shall wait until the fire dies down and then make a suggestion.
Dear soul, I understand your dilemma and the deadlines you face. You understand, or at least I thought you did after three years, that I complete all my work on time. In this case where my records back up my statement, it’s clear that something bigger than both of us intervened. It happens. I suggest instead of trying to pin blame where it doesn’t make sense, please accept that forces in the universe larger than we are can sometimes muck things up royally. The force may be strong with you, but it can’t rewrite this little tale to make me the guy wearing the dark mask.