By Mark Mutahi
A man who worked in the sales department of a mobile phone company but always took advantage of the cheapest calling rates got into trouble when he called his boss from a line belonging to a fierce rival network.
Due to his peculiar love for free things, the man had overindulged over the weekend at a friend’s party and was feeling too sick to report to work. But when he called his boss to inform him, his problems just seemed to increase.
“Usually when I am calling my boss, I always make sure to switch my double SIM phone to the network I work for. It’s only natural. I mean, when you are working for somebody, especially in sales, you want them to think they are the best value for money regardless of the reality,” the man explained.
Freebies
However, even before he had finished asking for a day off, his boss cut him short.
‘Cornelius, I know our network is expensive but you don’t have to rub it in my face!’ the man quoted his boss as having said.
That’s when the man realised what he had just done.
“I quickly glanced at my phone’s screen and realised my mistake. But even before I could come up with a lie I heard, ‘you are fired!’”
His former colleagues blame the man’s predicament on his cheapness and his love for freebies.
“The only reason he reads the newspapers is not to look at the obituaries like everyone else but to find out the latest offer,” claimed one colleague. “He has more SIM cards in his pockets than a mobile phone dealer!”
Wolf
The man’s ex-girlfriend concurred with the now ex-colleagues. “I am not surprised. I left him because he is a cheapskate. In fact, my pet name for him was ‘wolf in cheap clothing’.”
The biggest regret the ex-employee has is buying a twin SIM phone. Now it has cost him a job he had worked so hard to get.
“I was so careful when sending in my CV. Even though I was then on a rival network, I had to get myself a SIM card from the company I was applying a job from. And in seeking references I only picked those people who were on this company’s network. Now imagine losing my job after going through all that trouble to secure it,” he mumbled.
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But the now jobless man admits that when he gets over this latest setback, he will still employ the same methods to seek employment.
“The secret is to know how to package yourself to an employer,” he said philosophically.
“If I get invited to an interview at a chewing gum company, trust me I will walk in to the boardroom chewing their gum. If it is a beer company, I will walk in with a hangover. If it is a mortuary, of course you don’t expect me to walk in the interview room looking full of life and vitality!”