The question I’m most commonly asked, after how I’m doing, is whether I’m studying at university. My reply is usually yes, I’m majoring in criminology, before advising them that if they freeze the leg of lamb they’re about to purchase, it would make a nifty murder weapon which they could later eat to hide the evidence.
No, actually, I give them an honest answer and observe their relief at the fact that I’m not eking out a living as a checkout operator. Not yet, anyway.
Interesting, only one person so far has asked me what I want to do as a career. I gave the vague answer ‘I want to work in the media’ then jokingly asked if they had any contacts. Well, jokingly to them, but with a half hope that they might actually have contacts. Stranger things have happened. I’ve seen customers buy mango and chives dip.
The customer musingly replied, ‘Well…’ but by then I had unfortunately specified that I want to work for the ABC and they said they didn’t have any contacts there, but did in other places. Before I could “jokingly” prompt him and pretend that I wasn’t too picky, the transaction was over and it would have looked too desperate on my part to cajole him into giving me references, so he got away without the conversation going any further.
Today I was offered a job. At least I think I was. The customer seemed to be talking in code and I played along.
They asked me if I was at uni, I said that I was, and in my final year, then when the transaction was over he asked if I had any friends who might be interested in working for him. I said perhaps, I may know some people, and asked him what sort of business he ran. He said that he works in a wholesale company and that he was looking for full-time sales persons. He couldn’t find his business card, so I had him scribble on a slip of paper the business name, phone number, and a contact’s name.
Before he left I asked if the business had a website. He said yes and was about to write it down, but being mindful of the impatient customers behind him I told him hastily that “my friends” could just Google the company name.
Tonight I did a search for the business and found a wholesale… lingere company. I thought to myself, ‘Ha, the plot thickens…’ and was gleeful at the discovery. It would make for a great story. I would write about an assuming customer who tried to pick up me a sales person for a lingere company. How greasy.
I was dead pleased.
Sadly, I decided to make sure that I had all the facts straight. In probing deeper, Googling the telephone number I was given, I discovered the real company the customer had been selling. Disappointingly, the actual business to be a more legitimate and boring one. The company deals in gifts and homeware, and not something more racy.
So, I guess the moral of the story is, if it’s an interesting story you’re after, don’t dig too deep and stop once you’ve got enough dirt. If it’s a serious job you’re after… well… any takers?
Behind the Checkout 