Sunday, May 3, 2009

Day 4-Engaging in Delightful Yelling Matches with my Boss (no, this is not sarcastic)

So I was working with the GM today and sold a phone. Yay! I actually sold 4. I was so excited I could hardly process the transactions. They were all iphones, which is a beautiful piece of equipment, I must say. I am pretty much in love with the iphone and stand at the demo playing with it almost my whole shift when I am not with a customer. I know I should do more training, but I just love it. Not too fond of texting on the touchscreen keyboard though and like aspects about the Blackberry one better.

Anyways, back to my boss and I yelling at each other:

We were working alone today and were a little busy. When I got to something I didn't understand, I would ask him. He would roll his eyes and in an exasperated sigh, tell me where I could find something. He has almost no patience and is so rude to me! But I respect him, or something like respect. Admire? No, too strong. In awe of? Not sure, but to watch him work is a beautiful thing. I am completely comfortable around him and like how he cares about his customers and that he is very assertive. He can seem a little controlling. His margin for people to make mistakes is very narrow. High pressure. I don't mind it at all and rise to the occasion. Even as I type this, I know it's probably unhealthy, but I love the atmosphere. So he yells at me that I don't know enough. So I yell back at him that if he wasn't so lazy and would actually train me properly I might be able to do complete the sale. He got a smirk on his face. I tried not to let him see my smirk while I yell at him. Sometimes yelling can be so satisfying. And after my last job, it's great to vocalize my thoughts honestly. He yells back that I need to take initiative and learn myself. So I yell back that I need to know where the tools are so I can train myself and if it's not too hard to tell me since he is already using so many syllables, it could really help the situation. We were standing 3 feet apart and probably didn't need to yell at each other.

The customers were puzzled and a little disturbed (yes, this transpired in front of customers!) I admit, probably not the most professional way to complete the transaction. We both looked at the customer and at the same exact time told them I am new. The customer thought we were crazy and so I just said we are making music. The customer just smiled, nodded and backed away slightly. We both cracked up.

This friend of his came in to purchase a phone and apply for a job. She was speaking a different language and he was replying in english and was in the middle of processing her transaction when I asked him a question about something. She looked at me and I smiled at her, but she did not smile back. He politely (can you believe it?) answered me and then she said something to him in a different language while looking at me. It was one word and I memorized it over and over in my head so I could later this other east indian guy what it meant (I found out later it's not a very nice word, it means rule breaker and silly together, or something like that). When she said that word, my boss was silent and didn't even make eye contact with her and seemed to stiffen up. She said something to him in her language and he didn't answer her. She seemed a little alarmed.
I went around the corner to stock up a shelf. He didn't know that I could hear him, but I heard him say to her in a very quiet voice, almost whispering:

"Here at this job we stick together, we are a team, like a family. Teamwork is the most important thing. That girl that you commented on is one of my top salespeople. I regretfully will not be hiring you any time soon, but I appreciate you applying for the position. I also appreciate your candor to let me see that you are not a team player. I think you would do very well in a sales position where you work alone, possibly owning your own designing company. That is probably the best fit."

Honestly, I was pretty amazed, grateful and humbled. He handled that with grace and professionalism. And also has the insight to see strengths of people. It is amazing how body language can convey so much, even when people are speaking another language. Makes me want to show more respect. But it has to be earned.

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