retail sales

“What’s the matter with you? Chad aren’t you listening?” The voice was high with a trace of a southern draw. Chad got the impression that his boss thought he was not very bright. That was not the problem, the problem was he did not care.
“Oh yes I heard, I mean sorry, okay go ahead.” The young man felt his palms becoming moist. He scratched his pen on the paper to get the ink flowing again because he had stopped listening a while ago. His bosses’ twanging voice had gone in one ear and out the other, but probably never got that close to his brain.
“Where was I…oh your tryn’ to get them to spend their last dollar. Now you don’t want them to think that do ya? No you’ve got to be their friend….” The boss went on about ripping people off but Chad had quit listening again. He could feel his nerves begin to twitch and had to ask himself why, this guy is not any body I should worry about. Who, the hell, is he? Where does this little man stand in the context of history?
The boss had chosen words that Chad felt insulted his intelligence. Just because he was not up on the bedding world did not reflect his mind. Chad wanted to interrupt his boss with a question and that is when he stopped listening.
“When was the Battle of New Orleans and can you explain to me the significance of it?” Chad smiled to himself because he knew his boss could not answer the question. Chad would never feel that satisfaction because he would not ask the question.
“Right, be there friend. Got it? Then you gotta…” No, Chad did not get ‘it’ and he realized he did not on purpose. He wanted to tell his manager that he was not understanding the sales tactics because he did not want to. He felt that would involve losing a part of his soul to sell people this crap. The reality that retail sales sucks, finally caught up to him. The job would be great if he did not have to sell anything. Working in a furniture store gave Chad ample time for his real passion, history. He wanted to work in a museum, but who doesn’t.
Eventually the lecture ended. The boss’s little auburn mustache stopped moving. His beady eyes were set upon Chad as if waiting for an answer to a question. Damn it! Chad had stopped listening again. He just could not focus on what the man had to say because he just did not care. Lack of interest is the hardest thing to focus on. Who cares about ‘ups’, ‘T.O’s’ what the hell is a T.O.?
Chad had tried to relate sales to history some how. He reasoned great politicians were salesmen and who else, who else. There has to be somebody in history Chad could relate to that would help boost his morale. Hhmmm…Maybe P.T. Barnum. He was a master salesman, he was a showman. Is that what it takes, be showman not a salesman. Chad did not think that was what his boss was trying to communicate.
“Now I’ve given you the tools, go build me something.” There the mustache moved again but what was it saying? “You got it buddy now make it happen so we all get paid.” Oh money, the mustache wants money. Chad understood, bottom line kind of stuff. That was the entire volume of sales lingo he knew. Chad was a college grad but the degree sure was not in sales.
Chad drifted back onto the sales floor. He looked at the couches, chases, coffee tables all of them with disgust. He began to hate furniture. “I’m going home and burning all my furniture.” He thought to himself. He needed to rebel against his surroundings because if he did not then he would have to face the fact that his job was to sell furniture. No, Chad could not do that! That would be giving up, surrendering to the world, admitting this is as far has he had come.
Chad sat on the edge of a $1,200.00 bed set that was marked up fifty percent before it was marked down ten. His boss could not find him there sitting or he would get fired. Maybe that is what he wanted, to be fired. Then he would be forced to get that museum job he longed for. He streatched his legs out and layed down.
The boss circled back around while Chad remained lying on the bed. He stopped when he saw Chad was unwilling to remove himself from the bed. Could this be, after the berating he took earlier, that his boss would have to fire him now for lying down on the job. Chad prepared himself for the firing.
“Good.” The auburn mustache parted and more unexpected words followed. “I see your testing out the new line. Gettn’ a good feel for it so you can better direct the customers. Good, I think you’ll do a fine job here.” The little man walked off leaving Chad staring up, counting the ceiling tiles.