Multiply 365 Day 293 - Self promotion

For many long time readers of the blog, seeing the idea of self promotion in the title is not a new thing. I used to promote my media appearances on the blog all the time, whether it be sitting in as a guest on Doug's show on Fridays for a “Doug and the Group” session, being the substitute radio host for Lynn Cullen or being asked to be on OffQ on public television here in Pittsburgh, I have used the blog in the past for a little bit of pimping myself. This is not one of those blogs.

Instead this is a story of how I just gave myself a job title today. See, Jay is our sales rep from Sledd, our grocery provider. He stops in the store a couple of times a month, usually he brings stuff with him like new shelf tags for me to put up and he runs through the specials that Sledd will be offering in the upcoming months. Today he showed up, he wanted to go over some specials he dropped off a couple of weeks ago. I had already been through them and was ready for him, but he also brought with him our upcoming Hershey contract.

The Hershey contract is part of a program we are signed up for where if we buy 7 displays over the course of a year we are given a rebate check at the end of the year. What dollar values are involved I have no idea, I just know about the existence of the program. Usually it is Ed who deals with such issues, but since Ed left early for his Florida stint this year that meant someone else had top step into the void and deal with the Hershey contract. Since I already handle most of the ordering with Sledd I went ahead and handled this program as well. Jay and I went through the displays, there are 12 in all, one for each month, and I picked the 7 I thought would best work in our location, then 7 for Universal News and then 7 for Gus Millers.

Jay proceeds to fill out the paperwork for the program, then hands the contracts to me and says that I need to fill out the bottom portion . The first line was pretty easy, print my name which even I can do and the second line was almost as easy, that being I had to sign my name which is something else I can do. Finally came the last little box I had to fill out, my position. I asked if I could right “peasant” into the box and was told that was not what they were looking for. Salespeople just don't have a sense of humor. So I asked Brian, John and Dee what my position was and I was told to make something up. And I did. So as of today I am now the official Purchasing Manager of Weiss Enterprises.

Now if I could just have such latitude in determining my salary.