Anyone up for a laugh?

[Metal_Camden]

"I'll put them in the mail this week..." LMAO

Lol not even kidding! I'll have Sabrina #model it!

 

[No Username]

As far as my responses to bands go; if you read the post you quoted, you'll see that it might be 2-3% who receive a "nasty-gram". Those are the ones who write to me in a stupid manner to begin with.

I did read the post. If you like to have fun with email, you can just route the responses after the first letter to auto-reply with the text of the first letter every time afterwards. Even the dullest of persons, after getting twenty generic letters, will give up. You can be nice without even lifting a finger!

The way I post here is always very tongue-in-cheek. Unless I start a post out with a "official statement" disclaimer, this forum is my retreat from all the seriousness of the business. Those who know me are well aware of this. Those who are offended by it have deeper issues that they should probably have someone look into.

I agree. If people take offense at what you say, I would look askance at them, not you. If your comment was directed at me...well, I don't know you so you could tell me my mother sucks cocks in hell and it would not raise my blood pressure a single point. But you DID relate a true incident that, while it may have made some people here smile, did nothing but feed into the anger cycle of someone who should have been ignored after the first pass.

Thanks for repeating what I said.

You are welcome. It is always a good thing to be comfortable with you own bad self. As I stated before, the possibility of being lonely is always there.

Make no mistake; I'm well aware that I'm an asshole. I just don't care. I have given 20 years of my life to this business and when the average "fan" decided to ruin it by downloading music instead of paying for it, that's when I became a bitter old man and chose to deal with people the way they treat me.

I believe that at the core of us all is a decision engine that operates completely independently of our surroundings. People steal because they are thieves, and have no problem with hurting the ones they steal from--taking it personally is YOUR choice.
I think that you might have turned into a bitter old man because you were a bitter young man...but hey that is just me. If you think circumstance directly drives your outlook on life, try talking with a happy guy in a wheelchair. See how he looks at life. And listen.

There's a very misguided belief system in effect right here, which is that you seem to think that I have to be nice to deal with musicians/labels/fans/etc - I don't. I have to do what I have to do (sometimes making tough choices and sometimes being a jerk) to make any headway.

You completely misinterpreted my statement. I don't think you have to be anything. I was just saying that you can choose to do something a certain way, with an overall good result or a less than optimal result. If you are a bitter old man, and you do things that reinforce your belief system, you are making great headway. The fact you are very focused on keeping yourself safe in your bitter world is commendable.

Trust me, Glenn does the exact same thing (just to mention someone who you might think is always mr. Nice Guy - no slam at Glenn, he's still my bro).

I knew you were going to try to put a fine point on your post by bringing in Glenn. But (knowing what I know about you, and him) I would be willing to bet the mortgage that the amount of times Glenn has made a positive impact on this world vastly outnumbers yours--that is not a slam on you or, frankly, praise for Glenn. It is just an observation. You might as well claim that you are like the Dali Lama, because you both enjoy music.

I always tell people to remember Dan Quayle when they speak of equivalence between themselves and others.


Finally...no matter how many times you claim different, the things you post here are a reflection of you...maybe the sardonic, witty or escapist you...but they are still you.

Please don't take any of this personally...I'm just pissed off that Prototype hasn't been back to Atlanta.

 

[No Username]

Oh, and for the record...I thought the first post would be a picture of Claus in a bathing suit...

 

[Claus / Intromental]

I don't even have a comment to all that - not worth it.

 

[freakchylde]

Those shirts are awesome Claus!!!!

I think I'll go off and giggle at the rest, including Claus in swim trunks.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

If your comment was directed at me...well, I don't know you so you could tell me my mother sucks cocks in hell and it would not raise my blood pressure a single point.

Really? You seem butt-devastated enough to write a TL;DR essay about absolutely nothing.

 

[Stingray11214]

What people have to understand that people in this business needs to have a little bit of Tessio in him. You know, "It is nothing personal, just business."

 

[Hammerlock]

As somebody who works with the public, I can sympathize with Claus's attitude. I'm a pretty patient guy, but every once in a while people just beg to be put in their place. It's one thing to be a rude snob to your cashier, but if you're applying to somebody to ask for their professional help doing something you can't do yourself, be respectful, because they need you a lot less than you need them.

 

[J-Dubya 777]

lofl!

I'd wear it....

Ditto! XL please!

 

[No Username]

As somebody who works with the public, I can sympathize with Claus's attitude. I'm a pretty patient guy, but every once in a while people just beg to be put in their place. It's one thing to be a rude snob to your cashier, but if you're applying to somebody to ask for their professional help doing something you can't do yourself, be respectful, because they need you a lot less than you need them.

Hm. I used to work as a regional manager in retail (100+ persons in the region). I tried very hard to ensure everyone in our team understood the nature of our customers...some would be impossible to please, but nobody deserves to have their negativity fed back to them, no matter how much they beg to be put in their place.

The first time I observed someone on our team "putting a customer in their place" they were retrained. If it happened a second time I chalked it up as a failure on my part, and they were set free to find an organization where such behavior was tolerated.

As I stated before...you make a choice to either foster an atmosphere of negative energy, or you can work to defuse it and make things positive.

 

[AngraRULES]

As I stated before...you make a choice to either foster an atmosphere of negative energy, or you can work to defuse it and make things positive.

Maybe you should start applying your own idea to how you behave on this forum.

 

[Justin G]

As somebody who works with the public, I can sympathize with Claus's attitude. I'm a pretty patient guy, but every once in a while people just beg to be put in their place. It's one thing to be a rude snob to your cashier, but if you're applying to somebody to ask for their professional help doing something you can't do yourself, be respectful, because they need you a lot less than you need them.

I'd rather see people be nicer to their cashiers.

 

[Hammerlock]

Hm. I used to work as a regional manager in retail (100+ persons in the region). I tried very hard to ensure everyone in our team understood the nature of our customers...some would be impossible to please, but nobody deserves to have their negativity fed back to them, no matter how much they beg to be put in their place.

The first time I observed someone on our team "putting a customer in their place" they were retrained. If it happened a second time I chalked it up as a failure on my part, and they were set free to find an organization where such behavior was tolerated.

As I stated before...you make a choice to either foster an atmosphere of negative energy, or you can work to defuse it and make things positive.

I'm not saying I do it often. The one time I actually told a customer off, he was calling my cashier a moron and making her cry (and MY manager backed me up). Most of the time, no matter how badly somebody acts, I keep my internal dialogue about them internal and stay professional and calm. I've been sworn at, accused of trying to steal credit card numbers, and even had one lady call me a racist. Not one of those people got told how I felt about that. That's how retail works.

But again, this is a different situation. This guy is applying to Claus to try to get Intromental to work on his behalf, and it's something that he can't do himself. In retail, you NEED your customers to return, even if they're assholes. Intromental ran fine before he pissed this twerp off, and it's going to continue to run just fine afterwards. All he said was "Can't handle critique, huh? You'll get far in this business." Compared to what he could have said, that's a pretty mild rebuke.

 

[Hammerlock]

I'd rather see people be nicer to their cashiers.

In general, people are pretty cool to us. I'd say only 1% of people I see on an average work day annoy me, and 1% of those actually make me angry. It's the ones that get under my skin that make for the best stories though, so those are the ones you hear about.

 

[No Username]

I'm not saying I do it often. The one time I actually told a customer off, he was calling my cashier a moron and making her cry (and MY manager backed me up). Most of the time, no matter how badly somebody acts, I keep my internal dialogue about them internal and stay professional and calm. I've been sworn at, accused of trying to steal credit card numbers, and even had one lady call me a racist. Not one of those people got told how I felt about that. That's how retail works.

But again, this is a different situation. This guy is applying to Claus to try to get Intromental to work on his behalf, and it's something that he can't do himself. In retail, you NEED your customers to return, even if they're assholes. Intromental ran fine before he pissed this twerp off, and it's going to continue to run just fine afterwards. All he said was "Can't handle critique, huh? You'll get far in this business." Compared to what he could have said, that's a pretty mild rebuke.

In the region where I worked, there were frequent encounters like the ones you describe. My people were trained to just call the mall cops and wait for them to arrive. Patiently. That was what the mall cops were for, to remove customers like this. And no, we did not need the business of those people. I never wanted asshole customers to return, because I felt that having an atmosphere devoid of people like that would turn out to be more profitable in the long run. It was not our job to yell at them, make a scene and cause good paying customers to leave. It was our job to pick up the phone, make the call, and point them out when the cops arrived.

In 14 years on the job, the only bad encounter I had with a customer was when he and a friend decided to lay hands on another customer. I told the other person in the store to dial 911, and then I separated them from the person they were assaulting. With force. I ended up with a couple of scrapes, the customer was shaken but basically unhurt, and after the cops arrived those two guys went from the floor, to the hospital, and to jail. Frankly I still feel bad about it because I should have been more observant, seen it coming, and headed the situation off before it got got out of hand.

Someone once said that most people do not rise to the occasion, they default to their level of training.

Frankly how Clause runs his business is HIS business, and not mine. I would never want anyone to think that I am being critical of his business acumen because he seems to be fairly successful.

Oh, and Claus I apologize for saying you were probably a bitter young man. That was wrong of me and I should have generalized the statement to say:
"Plenty of bitter old men started out as bitter young men." I do not know you well enough to personalize that statement. It would be easy for me to go back an edit that post so it reads right but altering history is not my gig.

A couple of people sent me PMs thanking me for "the smackdown I laid on Claus." They did not get the point either, and I told them so. This is bigger than him, me, this forum. My point is there are ways of looking at and handling a situation so that it ends in a positive or negative way. WE make the choice of the direction a situation takes.

 

[Claus / Intromental]

A couple of people sent me PMs thanking me for "the smackdown I laid on Claus."

First of all; a "smackdown" implies that you when all was said and done, you stood there looking like a winner. As far as I see, you ended up with doing a bunch of name calling and assuming stuff about me and my personality. That makes you look really bad in my book and I chose not to comment on all that crap.

Now, here's the funny part; I'm a very "visible" person. My phone #, my email address etc is all over the net; at PP I'm also very easy to get a hold of. If anyone has anything to tell me, they can easily find me and let me know what they think. They don't need to go through sending a PM to a third person. I'm right here, and I don't mind people criticizing me; it's all good. I've pissed off a lot of musicians, "journalists" and people who illegal download over the years by my direct way of saying things. I'm sure I've pissed off several people on this forum too. That's just how it is. However, I'm calling your bullshit (or theirs); none of those people who presumably PM'ed you are big enough to man up to it and post here and say; "you know what, you're right - I did PM no username and told him I think you're a piece of shit". Until that happens, I believe you're lying. Your posts in this thread gives me no reason to believe you for one second.

 

[dcowboys311]

Negativity is responsible for all the best metal. Bring on the hatred....

 

[Lars/Intromental]

I thought this was supposed to be a fun thread? No Username - stop being so full of yourself, ok? I have never read so many replies from a person, all (in between lines) summing up, how good and correct a person, he is.

To continue on the fun....what's the difference between a teenage girl and a washing machine?

You can dump your load in the washing machine, without having it following you around for a week......

Lars

NB: Claus - send me a shirt....

 

[edgeofthorns]

So this guy contacts me and wants me to sign his band .... I wrote him back that I listened to the song on his homepage and that I wasn't impressed (this is what I wrote: "No thanks. We listened to the sample on your homepage and was not impressed at all.").

One minute later I get the first mail:
"Well a lot of other people are! Thanks!"

Two minutes later:
"Also, what specifically "didn't impress you at all"? "

Three minutes later:
"Just checked out Andromeda. Sounded like some lame ass Geoff Tate solo think he mailed in to buy more wine. So it seems your opinion is shit anyway. "

My reply:
"Can't handle critique, huh? You'll get far in this business."

Ten minutes later:
"Can surely handle thoughtful "critique", but am not tolerant of a five word sentence basically saying "it's shit". Your lack of regard to the effort put into this and excellent reviews accumulated illustrates you're a small person in a position of power undue to you. "

LOL!!!!

Should I remind the guy that he contacted me in the first place????

I think you should've said, I remember the time Iron Maiden asked me to be their vocalist, but I told them I didn't have time.

~Brian~

 

[No Username]

I used the quotes for a reason...their words not mine.