Another convention, another trip out of town; usually, conventions lasts 2-3 days, which would include a Friday, with the weekend at the end.
Because the convention was in San Francisco, California I invited Grumpy to attend with me, to help with the displays and to spend the weekend. He agreed and we booked reservations and itinerary.
I have watched the behavior of some sales people when out of town or during a convention, and I’ve found some of their behavior lacking professionalism. Because they are working away from home, some behave in a despicable manner; they would never act this way at home. Some are married, some are not.
This time Grumpy and I enjoyed the convention, where we displayed construction materials I specified with architects and designers. A few tables down, a sales rep kept visiting our booth to converse and pass the time when it was not busy. He was good looking and he knew it.
After a while, he felt comfortable enough to ask what I was doing for dinner; never mind my name tag said Weber and Grumpy’s name tag said Weber; apparently this sales rep could not read, or perhaps he thought we were brother and sister.
“What about dinner tonight,” he said.
“It sounds great,” I said.
“Any particular restaurant you can think of?”
“No, after all, this is San Francisco.”
“How about if I pick you up at 7 at your hotel,” he said.
“You mean, dinner with you?” I said.
“Yes,” he said.
“I don’t think my husband would like that very much, but you can ask him, he’s standing right here,” I said.
You could see the blood draining from his head down to his toes, he was so embarrassed. Grumpy could not stop laughing at the man standing there looking lost. The poor man scurried away and we never saw him again during this convention.
And there was this other time, when one of my clients invited me to dinner and I asked Grumpy to accompany me and play chaperone. I introduced Grumpy as a new rep in training and during dinner, the client asked me to lose him, so we could enjoy some Asti Spumante in his trailer; he would be sure to give me an order for materials; after all, he was the materiel’s manager for the aerospace company. I did not get the Asti or the order.
I worked in a man’s world, the world of construction materials and I was one of the first females in that world; I enjoyed my position because the competition was thin and men in general respected a woman's knowledge and professionalism more than people might think.
After the initial reluctance to talk about construction with a female, at the time, most men asked questions with the occasional barb or double meaning to find out if the female was up to par with their plans or intentions; some times to find out such female knew more about their needs or future plans than they did. After discovering the legitimacy of the female, business proceeded as usual.
During my training as a sales rep, I missed the part where the female is willing to participate in their game and get the material orders and go about life without remorse. Maybe I was not trained properly; perhaps if I had listened, I would have been more successful in business by using my femininity to lure the big bad contractors into my trap. As it is, some of these men have continued to be my friends through the years.