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COTTON BALL FINGERS
Yet another great story from a business trip in China. The customer’s team leader popped in and out of our meetings to interject when he deemed necessary. Since he didn’t speak English, one of his colleagues would translate for him. Most of his contributions were unique and somewhat off topic, but he was largely pleasant.
One morning, we showed up to continue our meetings but he was unable to join. We later passed by his office on the way to lunch and saw that he was at his desk with the door closed. We waved and he decided to join us in the hallway. As he emerged from his office, I noticed that he was holding something white in his hands and assumed it was a tissue. When I went to shake his hand, he raised both arms up to show us his hands. He had the tip of each finger covered with a cotton ball and medical tape. It was a most curious look, but I figured he had burned his hand or had some sort of accident. His colleague translated that he had developed nail fungus and was treating it by covering it with cotton balls and changing them a few times a day. Yum.
Cotton ball fingers didn’t join the meetings after lunch or the next couple of days, but waved at us from his closed office. Although when his fingers were finally cotton ball-free after a few days, his nails appeared to be free of fungus. Cotton ball fingers might have been the most unique customer accessory I have ever encountered. If the goal was to suffocate the fungus, next time perhaps he could try marshmallows to adhere to the nail fungus - marshmallow fingers!
