There is an Agent who shall remain Nameless who has been calling in every actor since the last showcase, pretty much. I'm one of the last of my little crew, and the other folks who have taken the meetings had to put up with a lot of BS and wasted time to get pitched photographers and other scams. (As well as one instance of a person who actually worked with him and ended up putting up with verbal abuse and severe name calling - the kind that is technically sexual harassment. This guy is a peach.)
Also, if I hadn't already had an army of red flags at the ready about this guy, the following phone conversation would have really put me off:
Me: Hello, this is Lauren.
Dude: Hi, this is _ calling from _'s office at the _ Agency. We've had your headshot on file and would like you to come in for a meeting. Can you come in today at 4:45?
Me: No, actually, I won't be able to do that.
Dude: Oh. Well what about tomorrow at 4:00?
Me: Could I check my schedule and call you back?
Dude: Why?
Me:...because I'm on avail for something tomorrow that I'm not sure is going to pan out, is there a number I could call you back on?
Dude: I mean, is it about other representation?
Me: I just really need to check my calendar. If there isn't a number I can call you back at, then that's fine.
Dude: Well, I guess. You can leave a message at _.
Me: Okay, thank you.
I mean...really? Is that rude or am I just over sensitive? Granted, I knew that I wasn't going in as soon as he said the name of the agency, but I wanted to be able to call back so I could decide how to handle it. When he started being pushy, I was really tempted to say "Actually, I've heard horrible things about your boss and have absolutely no desire to come in and meet with him, thank you very much." But I decided I shouldn't burn a bridge. At least not overtly. So saying I needed to "check my calendar" could have been lame, but it also could have been the truth. I also could have been driving. I mean, I wasn't, but good grief!
So anyway. I hope now that has broken the seal and other agents will call. You know...ones that I don't know to be verbally abusive scam artists.
There's definitely a need for professionalism. I can only assume that the Agency was very busy, and who ever was on the phone wanted to pencil you in for an interview slot before making other calls to other talents.
ReplyDeleteI think what you did was what you felt best for you at the moment. Always trust your instinct.
Remember to always check whoever contacts you on easybackgroundcheck.com and bbb.org