Keep Details in Perspective

Calling each woman was intense discomfort for me as I never knew if the next one was going to be the one who had had enough of the monthly phone calls and would proceed to use unruly language to express their feelings toward them.  I found most people were not home; I guessed they had probably moved away, as I left countless messages on answering machines which indicated a different resident abided at that number. I could have been thinking of a better way to reach the people, the ones that cared about the sales, and could have saved many bad associations with telemarketers the next time a causal customer heard the name of my store. But instead I was spending my five hour shifts letting people know what happens when they become one of the Chosen.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there were several women who were just as excited to get the phone call each month as they were to sign up. But the ratio appeared unpromising. Was it really worth calling individuals to make it personal because that is how it has always been done? Was it really worth the effort telling each woman as I rung up their items that they too could be a Chosen Customer? I think not, as I now walk by my store in the mall and see its doors closed forever, or at least until someone decides to lease it out. And I can’t help but think those tasks I was given were details…just details to me. But to someone else they were the foundation of the store’s success. And all they did was fail to define their own details accurately.