I'm gonna lose a few karma points on this one, I have a feeling. File this under damage control...
A month or so ago, I heard from one of my regular customers that Kevin of the Command Post was running his mouth about how I was "poaching" customers from his store. Apparently, one of my irregular "problem children" customers took it upon himself to pass out a bunch of our cards AT the Command Post. Instead of asking me about it, he decides to just badmouth me to his customers.
Anyone who knows me has probably already heard my opinion on the guy from Corner Magic who pulled the same crap at John's (BWPP) Game Day. I dislike this sort of behavior and certainly wouldnt send my "minions" to do it on my behalf. (In fact, once I found out about it, I called Kevin personally and let him know the situation would be corrected.)
so anyway... fast forward to the present.
Occasionally, when stuff sells better than expected (it's a good problem to have, I know) I run out of our tournament stuff (magic or wow or whatever) and have to pick some up locally. Usually I use Planet Comics, but on the very rare occasion that I can't for whatever reason, I'll cruise by Command Post or Boardwalk & Park Place.
Command Post is typically my last choice, since I don't like the guy, but he was the first to suggest a reciprocal "shopowner" discount of 25%. (This is an important point to remember, as you'll see later.)
I get sidetracked, bear with me.
So I found myself low on Planar Chaos today, my usual source wasn't an option, so I called around. Apparently, everyone was running low but I did score some. The first place I called was Command Post. Kevin (the guy who claims to be the owner) wasn't around, but his mom was. I identify myself and ask for Kevin, but she says he's not there, so I asked her if they had any Planar Chaos. She tells me no. Then she tells me she'll call me back. She never does.
So I call Boardwalk & Park Place, and they set some stuff back for me. (Great bunch of guys, by the way... ) On my way there, I decide to stop by Command Post. I had honorable intentions, really. Just go in, see if they have any Planar Chaos, maybe buy a couple other things, then leave.
Unfortunately, things rarely go as planned...
I go in, identify myself to the lady behind the counter and ask (again) about Planar Chaos. She apparently has no clue what I'm talking about (I say this because her response to "Do you have any Planar Chaos" was "I don't know.")
So I point to the box on the shelf and say "the planar chaos boosters, right there, how many do you have? Do you have a sealed box?"
She walks over, grabs the box and plops it down on the counter. ("Oook" I think to myself.) I quickly count through the boosters, there were 8 of them. Perfect. That's all I really needed.
I was about to buy them when the one customer in the shop (who apparently had nothing better to do than hang out, bored...) says "hey, there's a sealed box right there, behind the first box."
So I think to myself, "Awesome." I say "Perfect, I'll take that." at which point she refuses to sell it to me. I was a bit taken aback, of course. I asked again, explaining (again) that I own a local store and that Kevin and I had an arrangement in place. She refuses again. Honestly she was a bit rude about it.
At this point, I should have kept my big mouth shut. Seriously though, what are the odds? I got pissed, and said something to the effect of "well, that's not how I do business, and apparently Kevin doesn't keep to his deals." or something like that. It's pretty close. (For the record, I didn't use any profanity or even raise my voice. But yeah, I was annoyed. Had she been a little nicer herself, this wouldn't have happened.)
So then I left. I was over it by the time I pulled out of the parking lot, but apparently I made Kevin's momma cry. (Oops, my bad. More on that later.)
So I go to BWPP, pick up my stuff, walk upstairs, grab a pretzel and head back to RCG.
A few minutes after I get back, Kevin's dad calls me (seriously... his DAD. How old do you have to be before you fight your own battles?) and starts chewing me out for (and I quote) trying to "hustle" his wife. When I try to explain to him that Kevin and I had a standing deal, he calls me a liar and says that Kevin said "never happened, not true."
Then, he tells me that it's his shop and I'm not allowed back. So, I figure as long as I'm getting yelled at for stuff I didn't do, why not stir the pot a little? So I say... "Your shop? I thought it was Kevin's shop. You two need to talk, apparently you aren't the only one he's lying to."
At this point, "Dad" tells me that Kevin may be "President" but that he put the money into the shop and that he can do what he wants. Then he yells something about "don't come back" and hangs up.
Surprisingly, at this point, I just figure "screw it, whatever" and go back to my business. We've got a number of people (>8) in the shop at this point and I have more important stuff to worry about.
So, of course, 5 minutes later... the phone rings. Look at the caller ID... it says "Command Post."
This time it's Kevin himself. I answer the phone "Reality Check, now what?" and he screams at me, out of breath and incoherent (true story, swear to god) that "if you ever set foot in here again I will have the cops all over your ass and I will shoot you..." then he hangs up. (now, if I was a vindictive or spiteful man, I would point out that he picked a really bad weekend to be a
crazy/angry asian guy with a gun and call the cops. But I didn't. I took the high road... all of this, because I was a little rude to his momma. )
I gave it a minute or two for me to stop laughing, and then I called him back. He answers the phone with "dont you call here to start trouble" or something like that.
I assure him that I didnt call to start trouble, and then ask him what his deal is. He tells me I made his mother cry and that she's (still) crying an hour or so later while we're talking. (I have no context for how hard it is to make this small woman cry, but I'm betting it's not unlocking any gamertag achievements.)
edit: apparently I was wrong... thanks Cullen.
We bicker back and forth and I repeatedly point out to him that none of this would have happened if he hadn't lied to his momma and dad about my discount. I understand not wanting to sell his last sealed box on Friday Night Magic, but that's not how it was presented. He deliberately lied about me.
Somehow, I failed to convey this rather simple point to him. Could have been his "rage" but I think it was mostly posturing on his point, since his momma was probably hyperventilating right next to him while he was uttering telephonic threats (the aforementioned shooting) and defending her honor.
Eventually he calms down, concedes that yes, he lied to his mom and dad (although he still apparently lacks the balls to tell them that himself), and suggests we both just pretend the other one doesn't exist. "Fine by me" I say, since that's pretty much the position I have always maintained... and then he says something about "christmas and hannukah" (I didnt quite catch it) and I'm like "uhhh ok" and he says "I won't come in your store, you don't come in mine." Again, I say "this really isn't a problem" and he feels the need to mention (yet again) that "you dont exist to me, I dont exist to you" so I'm like, "uhhh yeah, got it."
So then he says... ok good, I'll talk to you later. (again, the smartass in me rises....) "Uhh Kevin, you don't exist, remember?" then he mumbles something about how "that was just a test" or something and then hangs up.
So anyway, you heard it here first. According to Kevin, the Command Post no longer exists.
So... if you mention them to me, I'll just look at you with feigned astonishment, resigned surprise, and say "Command Who?, Where? Huh?" Not really, but a man can dream, right? Maybe if we all clap really hard, Kevin's wish will come true and they really will cease to exist.