I had a recent "people who feel wrong" experience.
I work for a nice charity and it's my job to go out and sign-up new paying members to support the charity's work. Some people take offense at even being asked for their support, but most people are happy to at least chat and the job's often quite enjoyable.
Anyway, recently I was having a great day. Already signed someone up, having great banter, beautiful place. This one bloke is passing by, he seems to want me to notice him, so I pounce on him with my jolliness. He stops to chat but immediately I sense disinterest. He's not open to chat and I can't find a way in to build repport. He's being vague and closed down. I do my spiel and he says he's going to have a coffee in the café and he'll think about it.
OK. I'm not the least surprised and I don't expect to see him come back. He'd told me he used to live in the area and was just visiting, but this is an out of the way place and the café is relatively new. The only other thing to do around here is go for a walk around the reserve, but he's not dressed for that. He sticks out like a sore thumb. This is a place for bird watchers and people with young kids and retired couples. He's just not a fit. And I'm wondering why he seems so reserved, so quiet. Has someone died? Has he had a bad break-up? Does this place hold painful memories for him?
But he does come back. I act all delighted and grateful, and I'm telling him what a good thing he's doing by signing-up. But his mood is worse. He won't engage in eye contact, he's mumbling, looks really unsure, but I press on.
Then as I start to fill in the membership form, he tells me he hasn't got his bank card on him. This is an outright lie. This is a smartly dressed guy, on his own, in an out of the way place that he's driven himself too, and he's just bought himself a cup of coffee. He's got his wallet on him.
So I shut the membership book, I stand tall, and I look at him. I say things to the affect of, you really don't have to do this, you seem really down about it. I am not here to twist your arm. If you're not sure, go home and think about it, and sign-up online if it's what you want to do.
Much to my surprise, and to be honest, annoyance, he still insists that he wants to do it. I get commission from sign-ups and so I should be delighted, but I'm not. Something here is very wrong.
I do sign him up. My last words to him were something like, thank you for doing this, I am sorry if I intruded on a difficult day. As he walks away, I worry he's a suicide risk.
I phone him later to get his bank details, and he doesn't answer. This worries me a lot, but I am not sure what I can do.
A week later I'm in a very different location, far away that that place, and who should I see approaching me? It's that bloke. I'm really confused because this is way too much of a coincidence.
Turns out he's senior management in the charity, and the shit bag had been "mystery shopping" me.