File Under: WTF?

Background:  At work, one of my responsibilities is employee sales.  We offer a very generous deal where an employee can buy a pump or any product that we sell at a hell of a deal, and they get thirty days same as cash.  Yep, just like when you go buy a mattress in one of the many mattress stores in town.  My job is to write up a sales ticket when an employee wants to buy something, and take their money or check when they pay and lock it in our box.  Well, believe it or not, there's a good percentage of employees that buy an item through the employee sale program and they are late paying it.  They get 10% added to their bill when they don't pay by their thirty days, and they also get on the infamous Bad List.  This means that for the next three years, if they want to buy a pump, they can but they have to pay on the spot - they don't get the thirty days like those in good standing. For three years, they are strictly COD.  A guy in the plant bought something, and it wasn't a cheap item, either; it was an expensive pump.  Yep, he didn't pay it on time and got the past-due notice from Accounting and HR.  Here's a transcript of the phone conversation between me and him:

Him:  Do I owe you any money?

Me: (slightly hesitating)  Nope, you didn't borrow any money from me, John Doe. You don't owe ME anything.  However, you might owe the company for that pump you bought two months ago.

Him: (another slight hesitation) Well, how much do I owe?

Me: (who is thoroughly fed up at this point) John Doe, do you call LG&E every month and ask them if you owe them any money?

Him: (a few seconds of silence) No.

Me:  Then you shouldn't have to call me and ask if you owe the company any money. My job is in the production scheduling department - I'm the supervisor.  My job is to make sure that pumps are scheduled when they need to be.  My job is not to make sure that people in the company pay their employee sales bills on time.

Him:  Well, how much do I owe?

Me:  You need to read the 2nd past due notice that you got from HR.  If you don't have a copy, give them a call and they can tell you.  It's not my job to take care of your bills.

Believe me when I tell you I wanted to ask the guy if he sat at home at night in the dark, with no electricity, cable, or running water because he didn't pay his bill.