***
“Trevor, I was looking over the sales for last week. My top guy sold around $3,300 and you sold close to $12,000. That’s incredible, you just about sold more than the rest of the staff combined.”
“I think I know the reason,” I said.
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“Over the past week, I really paid attention to how this store functions. I got a feel of the traffic flow, how the staff operates, the merchandising, and the sales manual. I made several notes on these observations as well as several other ideas I had for improving our store’s productivity.”
I handed him a similar package to the one I made for the managers at Athletic Surplus. I wanted to learn from my mistake last time so I treaded softly. I did not want to outshine my new boss or be overly critical of anything he did in particular.
“Jay, I don’t mean to overstep my boundaries here, but seeing as I’m the newest member of the team, I figured I would offer you a fresh perspective. I hope my sales over the past week have demonstrated to you what is achievable in such a little store. My goal is to get everyone to be a sales superstar.
“I had a look at the sales manual and quite frankly it’s no good. I created a new manual that’s ready to go. I think we should bring on some new people and train them using the effective selling techniques I have developed. I can retrain everyone, or host a sales seminar if you like.”
“Who did you want to let go?”
“Jon and Marcy are the two most obvious choices. I think we can work with the others.”
“Okay, let me have a look at this stuff and I’ll get back to you.”
C H A P T E R
T W E N T Y - F I V E
My bags were packed and I was ready to go. I took one final look around my apartment to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything.
“Are you ready?” Ashley asked.
“I think so.”
“Come on then, the cab is waiting for us.”
We both had three days off together so we decided to take a trip to Whistler. We took the Greyhound up and booked the cheapest hotel we could find. The room seemed nice on the website. It was right in the village and it had a hot tub in the room.
It was a two-hour long bus ride, so we had a lot of time to talk.
“We should have rented a vehicle,” I mentioned, while I adjusted my position in the uncomfortable Greyhound seat.
“Yeah, but that would cost a lot more money. Besides, taking the bus isn’t that bad.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” I paused for a moment and chose my next words very carefully. “If you’re so cautious about money, how are you able to afford to live in such a nice apartment by yourself?”
“It isn’t that expensive.”
“Do you mind me asking how much you pay for rent?”
“I don’t pay that much, maybe $500 a month.”
“What do you mean ‘maybe $500 a month’? You don’t know how much you pay?”
“Fine, I pay $500,” she said, noticeably annoyed. She clearly did not want to talk about it, but why? My curiosity got the better of me as I sat there trying to decide whether I should continue to push or just let it go. A moment went by and then I said, “$500 a month. That’s cheap.”
“Yeah,” she replied.
Another moment went by, and I decided to press even further.
“So how did you find a place for $500 a month?”
“Look, you obviously don’t take hints very well,” she snapped back at me.
“Why are you getting so angry? What is the big mystery about your rent?”
“My parents own the place, okay.”
“Okay, so what’s the big deal?”
“I didn’t want you to get the wrong impression of me, like I’m some spoiled rich kid. Especially since you’re working really hard to make it on your own and here I’m getting handouts from my parents.”
“We’re taking the Greyhound to Whistler, I would hardly call you rich.”
She didn’t respond for a while, but I could tell something was on her mind. “I didn’t want to take my car,” she said, under her breath.
“Excuse me, your car? Since when do you have a car?”
“It was a graduation present.”
“Wow, that must have been nice, my parents didn’t even show up to my graduation.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be, I didn’t invite them. So what kind of car did you get?”
“Why does that matter?”
“I’m just curious.”
She left me hanging for a bit, but then finally told me. “It’s an X5.”
“X5? What is that?”
“It’s a BMW.”
“You own a BMW, a BMW X5 mind you, meanwhile we’re sitting on the Greyhound like a couple of chumps. What year is your BMW X5?”
“Why do you always ask so many questions?”
“I like to know things. I pay attention to the subtlest of details.”
“I can see that.”
“So you were saying…”
“It’s new okay.”
“How new?”
“Brand new alright, can we just drop it?”
For the next ten minutes, neither one of us said a word to the other. Her eyes were fixated on the scenery, as she stared out from her window seat.
I was a little surprised that she lied to me, or rather concealed the truth from me. I could understand her reluctance to tell me about her living situation for fear I would form the wrong judgment about her. After all, I had a similar fear, but at least I had told her.
“You know what would be good right now?” I finally broke the silence and tried to lighten the mood.
She looked over at me, but didn’t say a word.
“Heated leather seats!” I said with a big smile on my face. “I bet your BMW X5 has heated leather seats, doesn’t it?” she rolled her eyes and looked back out the window. “Yeah, I bet it does.”
“You’re a jerk,” she said as she laughed at my persistence.
“I’m just saying. Next time, do you think we could take the X5? My back is killing me in these seats,” I said, as I made another adjustment.
“Fine.”
“See, it’s not so bad. I still love you. I didn’t get any wrong impression of you.”
“Yeah, but now you just like me because I have money,” she joked.
“I liked you when I thought you didn’t have money, remember? I’ve seen where you work, there’s nothing glamorous about serving pancakes and coffee in the mall.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m just saying.”
I didn’t mention the money or her parents for the rest of the trip, but I wanted to.
The Art of the Hustle Page 30