I remember one time when I had just spent about 15 minutes sorting, digging, scanning and loading about 350lbs of copy paper and office supplies onto a hand cart and fighting to get it up the stairs and thru a long hallway to the storage area of the office I was delivering to. It was hot, the truck was full, the load was crap, I only had half an hour left before I had to start my pickups, and I needed that damn pile gone.
So I finally muscle it in there, and when I ask the secretary to sign she said "Im sorry, but we have a new receiving procedure and I need to call my manager, he is the only one authorized to sign. He is in our other building, he can be here in about 5 or 10 minutes."
I didnt have 10 minutes. I tried my standard bluff, telling her that I couldnt wait and that if she didnt sign I would have to sheet them all as "refused" and sent them back. She didnt fall for it, and insisted that only the manager could sign. I didnt have time (or the energy) to haul that pile all the way back down to the truck, and with less than 30 minutes to go before pickups I didnt have room for it either. One way or another, it had to go.
So I lied. I told her, "Ok, I understand, so here is what I can do. If you sign the back of this delivery notice, it will authorize me to bring them back later today instead of returning them to the shipper. I just need your signature on the delivery notice so that I can show my boss that I was here. One other thing..can I use your restroom before I leave?"
She took the bait. Fish on! She signed the back of the delivery notice and then returned to her desk, assuming that I would be using the restroom on my way out. As soon as the coast was clear, I pulled my handcart out from under the pile and snuck out through a side door so she wouldnt see me. Mission accomplished!