Getting paid to spend money.

I was out this weekend with work on a buying trip.  To go buying with someone else's money for three days straight sounds like a dream to some but y'all, it is exhausting.

I left at 5:45 AM to pick up my boss's daughter and off we were.  We got to our destination in a 2 hour time block and I admit that the time flew.  If you think that I can talk, L talks me under the table.    The time spent with her was truly wonderful because though I knew her, I never spent time with her.  There is 5 years that separate us and when shopping with her mom and the other coworker, we found that we tended to gravitate towards the same items and decline at the same time.

We go as a group of 4.  We were shopping for Christmas and for general merchandise.  They have me come along because I'm display staff for the one building and I tend to look at things differently.  They like to pick out what they like and it is my job to try to wrangle things together into themes.  We struggled this year.  It isn't a lack of agreeing, but a lack of merchandise that knocked our socks off.  Because I was feeling desperate about the lack of themes chosen, I decided to pitch a wild idea.  L and K agreed that they liked it.  I pitched it to my boss and she said to go for it.

Color me shocked.

The sales reps either loved me or were frustrated by me.  They would be pushing hard for crappy stuff and L (the boss) would ask, "So what do you think?"  Not all of the time, but plenty of times I told her, "It is lovely, but . . . It just doesn't make me dance . . . I'm not feeling it . . . [or], no."  :insert shakes of the head:  The last sales rep tries and tries to push and though we've told her no, she'll keep going.  L (the boss) just looked at me.  "L, it doesn't sell."  I'm not a yes woman and that particular sales rep was not having it.

Here's the thing, they get paid to sell things.  They also get paid to be good at what they do.  To strong arm someone into buying something is just not cool.  Occasionally, I heard L (the boss) tell them that the economy was just not what it had been.  I can't tell you how many times I heard about how they haven't found that . . . Bull.

When we went, there are usually items or themes that we can adapt and they dazzle us.  We were not dazzled.  It is going to take a lot more work to make Christmas happen.  It's okay.  We're happy to do it.  Still, we're just not used to the lack of inspiration.  Wow.

L (the daughter) and I were off and on our way home on Sunday night.  I was so stupid.  We stopped in for dinner at an Irish tavern in an Irish town and what did I get?  I got a black bean burger.  Why is that so wrong?  Basically I ordered the fish in a chicken joint.  It wasn't all that good and they forgot a condiment.  I should have gotten the corned beef and been done with it.  We had a nice time talking and again, the time flew on the way back home.  I usually get tired, requiring large amounts of caffeine and unrolled windows, but L kept me good and awake.  I arrived home at 10 PM and landed back at work 12 hours later.  Last night, I fell asleep at 9 PM.  Whew.  I'm on my way back, but I never sleep well in a hotel room, I wasn't eating as I usually do and I was powering out real Coca Cola to keep focused and moving.

It's exhausting to do nothing but shop.  It isn't like Super Market Sweep where you just grab everything you can.  You have a lot of things to consider and you certainly don't want to be saddled with merchandise that won't sell.  We're there to make the store money and I feel that it is a big responsibility.  It's an exhausting responsibility, I'm glad to have it but, I'm glad that I'm back home in my own bed.  Word has it that my people missed me, too.

Have a great day!