Yet another work anecdote....

A local sports event packed our store with customers one weekend, and the company decided to run a contest that same weekend as well to get the salespeople pumped: the employees of the store that had the highest sales for that weekend in our district would all win a blazer.

And some blazer. It was a cheap, black windbreaker with the company logo. Big whoop. I already had one, won at an earlier promotion. Why would I need another?

Obviously, our newest employee, brash, cocky, and irritating already, thought he needed one, and badly. He was busting his gut trying to sell all weekend. It didn't matter if the customer wanted an alarm clock, batteries, or a R59 cable for their TV—he sweated blood trying to sell the big items, a new computer, a digital satellite system, a cell phone.

I was faintly amused at his energy, but didn't pay much attention to him—as I said, it was a busy weekend, so I was swamped.

Just as I approached the door to the back room, I heard laughter and Mr. Energy came barreling through, red-faced. I entered the back room to find my colleagues all either doubled over laughing or wiping tears from their eyes.

“What?” I asked.

“I guess he won’t be so anxious for our store to win the contest now,” remarked one as he chortled.

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Oh, it’s too rich,” another answered through his laughter. “He thought we were going to win Blazers.”

I was lost. “Yeah...?”

“You know—the kind with four wheels and a gas tank.”

I stared at them, my mouth hanging open. “Our best weekend wouldn’t pay for half of one of those. He didn’t really think we would each win one if our store won the contest!”

“Oh, yes, he did!”

The men continued laughing, but I just stood, shocked at the brainpower needed to come up with that sort of logic. Of course, this same employee bragged he was ‘the third best computer expert on the east coast’ yet fried his computer when he installed new RAM backwards...