The cobblers children have no shoes…or rather the Furniture salesperson and her worn out sofa…reluctant to replace.

I work in a furniture store…surrounded by beautiful sofas, love seats and sectionals.  Leather and fabric recliners abound…and yet…I still have a hole-y and worn out 15 year old sofa that I sleep on most nights…

(I should have gotten this beauty when I could..it was so awesome)

I know in my head I need to replace it and yet…like old shoes.,..it fits so well. Worn in, in places that fit the contours of my body…The dog loves it. Too much so…I have patches that gave birth to patches on this couch…and yet….

 

When it was new…I wasn’t sure I even liked it or that it fit in the room…but like the pieces back then It was over sized, over stuffed and affordable…and it replaced a piece that was about 10 yrs old and lived through 3 moves, my then dog Sophie and Fiesta and Freedom cats….It had history and I was reluctant to replace it….but I did.

The current worn out sofa has lived through the passing of one dog and now enduring the chewing of a rescue dog living the life of luxury…as well as kittens with claws….which began the demise of said worn out sofa.

Maybe I am being overcritical but I can’t seem to find a suitable and affordable replacement.  I sit on the ones and work and imagine it in my home and something is missing.  I look on line at our competitors to see if any of their sofas would work…and something is missing.

I can not seem to find the right one…I feel like Goldilocks and the three bears and the beds…

Today as I walked through the house it came to me why I am so reluctant to replace. With each replacement I am ending a chapter and beginning a new one…and I am just not completely ready to start a new chapter with a new sofa. So…I think I will go get some more patches and live with this worn out one for a little longer…some things are harder to replace than others….

It may not  be pretty…and it isn’t …but it is comfortable

It might not be what I wanted…but it’s what it is.

I am now almost a year into the newest phase of my life …retail sales. Funny thing, that is exactly how I started ….

My family owned a pharmacy in Glen Cove.  I learned how to “work ” in that store.  How to behave with customers.  How to treat coworkers.  How to behave as an employer and as an employee. I got my work ethics from working in that store. Which to this day means not calling in sick or being late to work…people depend on your dependability.

(sure do wish I still had that hair)

Now that I am back in sales, I look at my job through 2 sets of eyes.  First set is as a store owner ( no I don’t own this store) and second as an employee.  It makes me look at the bigger picture as well as the daily picture in front of me (the customer).

It has not been an easy 10 months.  I still can’t support myself on solely my commission…and that has become frustrating…and truth be told…it aint easy being on my feet all day on a hard floor traipsing back and forth showing customers this and that. But I am still here and still able to wake up every day and have somewhere to go and make some money.

I have made new friends at work.  We are a very diverse group of people and that in of itself is on the one hand very cool and on the other hand challenging…so many personalities…so many divergent cultures…and yet most days we get along pretty well and usually are respectful to each other.

But…let me tell you about the ugly side of sales…and a side I do not proscribe to or condone. Sales people can be vicious and negative…they will try to psyche you out to ruin your mojo…INTENTIONALLY….I truly have never worked with sales people who exhibited this kind of behavior before and it is  really despicable. They will steal your customers, your good mood and steal a sale if they can …and have no issues with this. I for one like to sleep at night…so I make sure I treat people well, don’t take anything that doesn’t belong to me (customers and sales) and be as kind and patient I can with all the people I face during the day….

Last month was my best month ever…sales and commission….I look forward to continued growth…personally and professionally.

Is this the last career I will have …who knows…at least I am working…and steadily…and for that I am grateful.

 

Hey I did get new glasses as a result of this job…..