That Time a Helicopter Interrupted an Important Call

I made a big mistake.

A company was/is vetting me for coaching and I asked to speak with one of the perspective sales reps to get some background information. Jay was the third person at the company I had spoken with and he set up a time on my calendar for the end of the day one Thursday.

I didn’t think much of it at the time. 4 PM that day meant I would be just leaving my guitar lesson and we could talk as I drove home.

My first mistake was assuming he would be cool with that, too.

During the lesson, there were a number of emergency vehicles driving by, but it was just background noise. Being in the center of town, we didn’t think much of it as we focused on movable cords and pentatonic scales and my terrible guitar skills.

Just as I was walking towards my car, the phone rang. Jay was on time. I answered and asked him to hold on as I threw my gear in the front seat and put in my AirPods Pro.

At that exact moment, a helicopter was landing behind the house where I just had a lesson.

A freaking helicopter!!! Right there!!!

It was a Medivac chopper. Someone must have been hurt enough to require being whisked off to a Boston hospital.

I took it in stride, describing to Jay what was going on and apologizing for the chaos and the noise.

We talked as I drove. It was a good call and he was incredibly helpful.

Looking back, it was stupid and unprofessional of me to take this phone call from the road. I should have scheduled it for a time when I was at my desk. At minimum, I should have been in my car and totally focused on the conversation. The helicopter was probably forgivable, given the situation, but I did not give the caller the respect he deserved and that is not forgivable.

It’s one thing if someone calls you and you are in your car, but first impressions matter if the first impression someone has is one of disrespect at any level. In that case, you are already in a hole.

I hope this company hires me, if for no other reason than it will give me the chance to do better on my next call with Jay. Maybe if I play him a song next time…?

Nah, that’s even more disrespectful!

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