One of Frederick Wiseman's wonderful documentaries is "The Store", which is about Neiman Marcus sometime in the 80's. Currently streaming on Kanopy. One seque

One of Frederick Wiseman's wonderful documentaries is "The Store", which is about Neiman Marcus sometime in the 80's. Currently streaming on Kanopy. One sequence showed the CEO giving a pep talk to his buyers, whose relationship with their suppliers was always strained at best. He told a joke about a buyer who called his supplier that went something like: Buyer: "Hello, is Fred Jones there?" Receptionist: "I'm sorry, Mr. Jones passed away last month" Buyer: "Oh, sorry to hear that, goodbye." Ten minutes later: Buyer: "Hello, is Fred Jones there?" Receptionist: "I told you, he died last month" Buyer: "Oh, oh, yes. Goodbye." Ten minutes later: Buyer: "Hello, is Fred Jones there?" Receptionist: "He's dead, why do you keep calling here?" Buyer: "I just like hearing you say it"