Fresh out of Time Machines

If only my Flintstone Mobile was tricked out like this one.
I wouldn't mind the manual transmission so much. 

My loan officer karma seems to be kind of ugly lately. Today, I got a call from a loan officer on another transaction I am doing. He started out pleasant enough. "Hey! Everything is done."

I responded thanking him for working so quickly on this sale--a far cry from another sale I have going which is turning me prematurely bald. I appreciated his diligence, as I am sure his clients appreciated it too. I was even about to ask for his contact information as I am looking for a new loan officer who works expediently, just as he had. However, as if I had just insulted his mother, his wife and his disabled child, the dude turned on me.

Because of some data entry error I apparently made six weeks ago, he is taking a hit on his commission. All of the sudden, his tune changed. His very next sentence after me thanking him and appreciating him was a snide, "Do me a favor, next time you list a property in this subdivision, do it right." And this one statement told me something had gone amiss. This was the first I had been informed.

I really hate the "next time you..." types of comments. They suggest the intended either needs to dust off the Delorean, power up the ol'e flux capacitor* and go back and fix whatever happened. Conversely, it can mean the intended knew and purposely committed a lie and "next time" don't do it. Either way, it is looking back, not forward--even if the words used are, "next time."

Not wanting to use any more of my cell minutes and figuring it couldn't get any better from here, I didn't point out the following. First, if he knew I had made an error at the beginning of this sale, and said so, I would have been happy to fix it. Second, this was the first I heard I made a data entry error. Third, if he knew I made the error, did not bring it to my attention but still took a hit on his commission, why tell me? That was his choice. And from what I can see, I am not sure why the loan officer needed to lose money over this. Instead he just wanted to be angry. And boy was he!

In truth, as soon as he told me I made this mistake I felt terrible. I apologized, but that wasn't enough to bring back the money he lost (and mind you, if he took a hit on his commission, that means he willingly cut his commission for his client's benefit--it happens, often for the greater good--but it is also a choice. This choice, by the way, was $200). The same once pleasant man called me a liar, a cheat and a fraud. Whatever. What I really am is someone who just pushed the wrong button on a data entry worksheet and nobody brought the error to my attention until today.


*I am taking personal delight in using "flux capacitor" in two different posts this week.