I see it as a problem with the company, not the just individual. If I walked into the Nordstrom shoe department and said there was an error on my store credit card bill, I bet the salesperson would get me on the path to fixing the problem, not say, "I just work here."
I also see a problem with the individual. She is failing the basics of the sales process. She calls up a person, someone obviously influential, as she knows who he is, and asks him for something- time at the least. In return, she's not willing to offer him anything? Even the phone number of the person in the department that handles that stuff- someone in marketing that would probably like a chance to speak to Seth Godin, even if it's a chance to get some feedback from him?
I also see a problem with the individual. She is failing the basics of the sales process. She calls up a person, someone obviously influential, as she knows who he is, and asks him for something- time at the least. In return, she's not willing to offer him anything? Even the phone number of the person in the department that handles that stuff- someone in marketing that would probably like a chance to speak to Seth Godin, even if it's a chance to get some feedback from him?