Enthusiasm

[gordonzola]

"How do you get to be the cheese buyer here."

He is a late 40s white guy, non-descript except for slightly crazy eyes. He is excited about the cheese. He is talking to my co-worker, Garage Rockstar. "You have to get a job here," she replies. "But of course he'd have to quit first."

We've just gone through a week of the food show where lots of grocery folks from all over the country were in town, looking over the store, taking pictures, digging for info etc. Is he a leftover from the show? Someone with experience who actually is looking for work? Someone who's using cheese a medium for their mania?

"I might just have to take a contract out on him. Would that be ok?"

"Well, that's up to you, I guess," Garage replies. She laughs. I laugh. It's the humor of relief, knowing that we don't need to worry anymore what we say to him. It's not codified, but when someone crosses that kind of line, anything goes.

He saw it in our faces. The customers can sense it really, even many of the crazy ones. Not that they've gone too far, but that our retail worker tone has changed. We're ready to go on the offensive.

"Do you know anything about cheese?" I ask. Garage stops work to watch him. He seems suddenly antsy.

"Well, I'm trying to learn. How do you find these cheeses? You do such a good job." Awesome, Now he's trying to suck up to us.

"Sales reps, trade shows, the annual cheese conference…"

"Oooh, there's an annual conference? Can anyone go?" Crazy Eyes asks.

"It's mostly trade, but you can go as an enthusiast," I reply.

"How do I prove my enthusiasm? "

"You write an enthusiastic check," I answer.

Comments

[stopword.livejournal.com]

Seems like that happens with every profession.

"I've always wanted to be a librarian, I like books. Wait, you need a degree? Weird."
"Man, I should be a writer, I've got a million stories."

Partay!

[sarahshevett.livejournal.com]

"I've always wanted to have a goat dairy. I think it would be fun!"

"Do you have goats?"

"No, but I love animals!"

[prof-southbay.livejournal.com]

I like that your tag is "retail studies." Perfect.

I need to call you back. I also need to shower. So, maybe after my shower.

[uberconfused.livejournal.com]

"you write an enthusiastic check"

That's brilliant!

[lizsybarite.livejournal.com]

That's hilarious.

I remember being so irritated by everyone and their mom thinking they'd be "awesome" at doing phone sex. I especially liked the "I used to have it with my boyfriend all the time, I'd be great at it! Can you get me a job?" folks.

(I always wanted to ask whether they routinely made their bfs drink their own urine during these little sessions, but truly, I didn't want to know.)

[ilipodscrill.livejournal.com]

hilarious!!

[freshwater-pr0n.livejournal.com]

Sometimes people get in touch with me to ask me how they can become dog trainers. They're always crushed to find out that it involves years of study and practical experience. And owning a dog or two.

[artnoose.livejournal.com]

I used to work as a receptionist at a spa, and people would often say, "Ooh, it must be *so* wonderful to work here!" My favorite response to give was, "No, I work my butt off so that it's a wonderful place for *you* to be here. There's nothing fun about answering phones, laundering piles of laundry, and cleaning out hot tubs every 15 minutes."

[trixiefirecat.livejournal.com]

it's such funny buyer = "shopper" mentality, minus any relevant experience, knowledge, expertise...

OMG I'M GONNA BE A SHOE BUYER, i can totally do it dude! lookit my closet!

[danyea.livejournal.com]

*happy dance*

I'm so glad he was at your store and not mine!

[flipzagging.livejournal.com]

This happens in game programming. There's a lot of people that think -- hey, I like games, I would be awesome at creating them. They clamor to get tech support positions at Electronic Arts or whatever and get roundly exploited.

The weird thing is, in computer programming, random kids walk in off the street and they're sometimes a LOT better than seasoned professionals. Studies have proven this. People have a lot of theories, but this is a perennial mystery.

[tubyred.livejournal.com]

nice. enthusiastic check.

Cheeses mongers

[torgo-x.livejournal.com]

You works at a foods library.