It was a brief stint but undoubtedly my most interesting place of work: a car dealership. Confined to working within a 4 by 4 radius, I was the main receptionist. This meant, among other things, that I was the gatekeeper of sales calls; to provide some context; car salesmen don’t make money unless they sell cars. Men who don’t make money, for the most part, are not happy. So needless to say, these calls were important.
I think people have pre-conceived notions about car salesmen, and I will be honest when I say they are right about every single one of them. But on the contrary, they represent some of the most honest, hardworking people out there.
It is also worthwhile knowing that as a female, I represented a very small portion of the staff. Very small. On a staff of about 60, there were about 6 of us. We were a minority; there is no doubt about that.
It was not uncommon to be complimented on your appearance or to have conversations most workplaces would frown upon. I decided pretty quickly that as long as I wasn’t offended, I would take the whole, “If you can’t beat em’, join em’!” approach.
As I mentioned, my job was important but not hard. Tasks included media monitoring, organizing part-slips and retrieving keys for the car salesmen. On Saturdays, my biggest task was ordering lunch for the whole office; easier than it sounds. It didn’t matter where I wanted to order from because as I was once told, “The smallest person doesn’t get to choose.”
No matter what the drama (because there always was some) or the gossip (because someone was always talking) I couldn’t help but realize the ease of conversation between me and my colleagues. Some might say it was my PR personality, but I wouldn’t because I know it was their car salesman personality. Their ability to talk someone into or out of a car was mind boggling. And whether they know it or not, their ability to win me over was pretty special too.
Sometimes opportunities present themselves and you’re not sure why. This was one of them. I never envisioned working in a car dealership, and to be quite frank, I don’t ever see it happening again. However, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t better for it. As I said, I met some of the most honest, hardworking people out there. Bill, 74, married – 30 years in the business. Terry, 45, married, two kids, ex Casino manager – 2 years in the business. Bobby Lee, 33, high school dropout – 10 years in the business. Pat H, 25, followed in his father’s footsteps – 4 years in the business. It’s human nature to judge. It would’ve been very easy to take their crude jokes and in some cases, harsh outer layer and give up. I guess I just chose not to.
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