I was riding the fence on Tom's reply and the reaction it brought. Couldn't think of what to say or how I felt about it until a few minutes ago -
I received a telemarketer call on the office phone (one of those that starts with a recorded message and gives you the choice of "talk to them by pressing 1 or remove from list by pressing 2). I usually listen all the way through for the chance to press 2. However, this one said the the were "working in conjunction with our local Chamber of Commerce," and they "knew that I/we were having difficulty making even our minimum credit card payments." Bul****!!! I punched 1 and confronted the answerer for being a part of a business that was lying about our community and our business. He didn't care and ridiculed me for not just pressing 2. Wrong Fuckin thing to say to me this bright shining morning!
Most of the time we need to turn the other cheek, use honey to atract flies, put out fires with kindness (insert your own polite happy face here), and sometimes we need to call BS on someone.
Not saying that what Tom did was the best or most appropriate thing in this situation, but since Tom does a lot of this and does a very good job of it, I can't condem this one that isn't a feel good PC reply.
Keep up the good work Tom!