Calling Out

 Amy wanted to know how I was feeling. In spite of the fact that I was immediately aware of her robotic presence on my phone, I replied. "I'm doing okay, still a little sad." She moved somewhat abruptly to my age. Was I between the ages of forty and eighty, she wanted to know. I answered quickly in the affirmative, and then she wanted to know if I wanted to know more about a new low cost final expense insurance plan that is now approved in this state this burial insurance plan is going to one hundred percent of your funeral or cremation expenses. Having already taken the chance of answering the Scam Likely call, I said, "Sure. Why not?"

Amy connected to me with the first available agent who told me his name was Steve. "Steve" inquired again as to my relative state of mind, and I let him know that I was alright, but feeling a little sad. He told me he was sorry to hear that, which was more than his robo-friend Amy had done, so I went ahead and shared with him the reason for my melancholy: "My mom died recently." This gave "Steve" a pause in his pre-scripted sales pitch. I tried to put him at ease: "I was wondering if there was any way that this insurance you're selling could help me out with the cost of my mother's recent burial."

"Steve" tried to dodge my question by pressing on with his preprogrammed offer. Not being a robot, "Steve" had to stop for a breath, and that's when I asked if his parents were still alive. He told me that his father had passed in 2018. "I'm sorry to hear that. How about your mom?" I asked him. "Steve" didn't respond at first, but I pressed the issue. "Steve" assured me that his mom was still alive, and he tried to make a course correction by insisting that his mother had a very affordable policy that he himself had helped her purchase.

"So, do you pay the premiums on that account, or can she afford it on what I assume is a fixed income?" I was not being very nice to "Steve." Nevertheless he wanted me to know that mother was quite pleased with the insurance he had helped her pick out. "Steve" hoped that he could do the same for me.

"Well, I don't know, I'm just wondering if there is some way that the great chasm of grief that has been opened up for me and my family with the passing of my mom would be lessened by having an insurance policy." Then there was a quiet for a moment. I thought perhaps that "Steve" had hung up.

He hadn't. He was going to take one more swing, assuring me that he could help me find something affordable that would fit my budget. That's when I told "Steve" that I hoped that he would take some time before the end of the day to call his mother and tell her that he loved her. 

That's when "Steve" hung up. I hope it was so that he could call his mom.