Ah, New Orleans! A great city to spend three days working with a sales rep and trying to teach her the products we represent are not PCB, they are RPVC – two completely different products to add to the green building materials. We are not working with printed circuit boards, but with recycled polyvinyl chloride products, great for the environment in this clearly new twist for architects and designers. In laymen’s terms, recycled plastic products.
We had a great three days working together and at the end, my new destination was Baton Rouge where another sales rep was waiting for me.
I asked to be dropped off at the train station for the next leg of my trip. At the ticket counter, discovered there are no trains from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, just the Greyhound Bus. It didn’t matter to me, as I was ready to sit and read the current book I had stowed in my luggage. A couple of hours reading and passing the time either in the train or in a bus, did not matter.
I was ready to board the bus when I heard a cry from the entrance of the building, with my name attached to it. There was the sales rep screaming for me not to get on the bus, as she was more than willing to drive halfway to Baton Rouge and the other sales rep would come down halfway to New Orleans to pick me up.
Her words were: “Do you know what kind of people ride the bus?” to which I replied: “Yes, people like me who want to get from New Orleans to Baton Rouge.” She said: “Bums” are the people riding the bus. She insisted I stop immediately and get in her car for the drive north. I refused, as I had already booked the ticket on the bus and was ready to get on my way.
She was causing a great commotion on the sidewalk as people had begun gathering around us to hear more of her derogatory speech. I was afraid she would get in a scuffle with the other bus passengers, so I took her to the side and asked her to leave. I was not about to side with her and agree to leave the station.
After a while, she relented and left in a huff. People around me started to applaud and whistle as I was their hero for standing my ground. I felt relieved those around me felt vindicated.
Arrived in Baton Rouge after a couple of hours and met the local sales rep who had arranged for dinner at the local Bar. I was then introduced to Zydeco music, so loud we could not talk or understand each other. Great food, great music and great company.
The end of the week was smooth sailing as this sales rep was very organized and spend time learning and adding to her product knowledge. I was happy to hear she appreciated the time spent together.
I returned many times to New Orleans and Baton Rouge with the same sales force but will never forget the time at the train station where instead of a train to Baton Rouge, I was directed to travel in the bus.
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