Post/pre - don’t ask me but a squeeze [sic] that I was seeing for a bit [sic] back-along said, "Just relax, hon. I’ll take it from here. Something they taught us in pre/post … "
Ha haa! Th’as nowt!
I worked on an AGA stove brochure shoot back-along.
An enoooormous bloke from AGA carried unreasonable lumps of cream enamal cast iron up the stairs. The studio was over Haverstock Hill tube station.
For a week we constructed the architypal ‘Vaaarmous kitchen’ complete with wicker baskets of eggs suspended from ye raaafters ‘n all. Ye bunches o’ ‘erbs ‘n lavender an’ wickery stuff w’ yon bowls ‘v eggs … We constructed a staircase goin’ up-over , out the kitchen, too…
The account exec and the advertising manager of AGA came to inspect the result. It was a wet day. The a/c exec and AGA ad manager never even got their coats off.
"THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM…* " thundered AGA’s man - who left instanter, in high dudgeon.
The a/c exec and the a/d went into a huddle. We all held our breath…
"OK. Ummm. Slight comms glitch here. Sorry. Stand by for another layout… "
The enooormous bloke from Brum pitched up the following week with claret enamel AGA.
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I worked like that for 2 weeks straight as it was a very busy time. I then went for a proper lunch and informed a colleague I may be 15-20 minutes longer as I was lunching witha friend ad celebrating just paying off the mortgage. The boss callled me into his office on my return, 15 minutes over but I explained I hadnt had a lunch break in 2 weeks. 
What we used to call eating ‘al desko’.
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A couple of days ago I did an internet search to find out how to cancel an insurance contract before a certain date. A couple of minutes to find the instructions and a sample letter to send to them, by email. One email to them then five minutes later I got a confirmation mail back. Email doesn’t seem that bad.
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Not saying that email doesn’t work here. And if you already have a relationship with the person/company then better. But it is not universal! And certainly not for a cold approach.
Could have been an AI generated reply I suppose.
Seems not all people are sentient.
Oddly enough, I had a dear friend who had a venerable and long running antique emporium in London. His method when questioned by a shopper was to know absolutely nothing about a piece, including not being able to find the price. He found that people, in applying their hopes and dreams to an antique, pretty well sold it to themselves.
As for the price? He knew well in his head what it should be but was always flexible depending on if he liked the person asking. He never worried about someone leaving without buying but he did once say to me, “Just imagine if you saw this next week in a friend’s home, how would you feel?” He was a lovely man and I think of him often.
May not work with property because there are laws 
It could well have been but the email worked. So much better than traipsing down to the post office for a recorded letter.
+/- 1980 - Had a shoot in Paris. We came over from London to a hired studio. The two full-time studio assitants started assembling bit and pieces of lighting and stuff, with no great urgency.
Come 12:00 - lunchtime! A table had been booked at a place round the corner.
We sat. We sat and waited. We sat and wondered if anyone would come to ask us what we might like to eat - offer up a menu, for example. Still we sat. The two French guys smoked a coupole of cigarettes.
At 20 mins with no action from any of the bistro staff or our two compadres, my boss - strictly NYC - exploded.
“Back to the studio! Send out for McDonalds!”
Our FR colleagues were stunned and amazed. Shocked!
On the other hand, to catch the last run for processing E4 Ektachrome in the lab in London in the '70’s/early '80’s you had to get the film to the lab by 16:30, collect at 18:30
I was stunned and amazed to find that in NYC you could drop film off at 18:00 and get it back same evening.
The further east you go, the slower things move.
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In S Africa in the late C20th I had to get art history slides to the local chemist by 6pm, they’d then be taken by moped to the lab in Port Elizabeth 120kms away. I’d collect them from the chemist the following morning, mask and mount them over lunch ready for an afternoon lecture.
C21st PowerPoint made life much simpler - find the image online and drop it into your lecture.
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All the E4 going thru the lab - proprietor Graham Nash [no relation] - would be for plate making for ads and editorial.
I had a genial 10 mins with Graham assessing the exposure of the test roll of Norman Parkinson’s engagement pictures of Pr Anne & Mark Flips. I just happened to pitch up as it came thru’. Run as was.
The lab was in the basement and 2nd floor of Fern’s Coffee building. The smell of roasting coffee was fab.
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