It was one thing to manufacture an email about a giveaway but quite another to coordinate how she would win. To prevent any cracks in the credibility of the story I decided to invite the restaurant’s management in on the gig. Stephanie, the Operations Manager, agreed to play the role of the prize patrol.I first made contact with Stephanie one month prior to lay out the plan. After numerous conversations (she was super helpful and really sweet), she was prepared to call Jessi on Monday to deliver the exciting news.
At the time, Jessi was traveling by car from Minnesota to Colorado with some friends. Spotty cell phone service prevented Stephanie from speaking directly with her that afternoon, so she left a message instead, revealing only that she had good news. Jessi sent me a text message an hour later saying, “I think I won the dinner at that Italian restaurant!!!!”
I was on the edge of my seat and tried to measure my excitement with hers when I replied. I gently encouraged her to call back. Later that evening she spoke with Stephanie and relayed the drama to me. Indeed she had won! I put extra effort into sounding gleefully surprised. But I had to suppress genuine surprise when she herself recommended Thursday for the evening affair (I already had everything set up for that very day.) I paused as if to think for a moment and promptly agreed. Phase 2…a resounding success!
Click here to view Phase 3.
Return to Phase 1.
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