Ten minutes until closing and I'm still tied for first place in this month's competition. After the holiday rush, sales had slacked off quite a bit, but that was to be expected. The goals had been set by the district office and there was little hope that any one of us would be able to live up to their unreal expectations, but that didn't mean we couldn't give it our best effort. Even in slow economic times, a store manager with talent and ingenuity could make a healthy commission if she knew how to take care of her customers. Plus a healthy dose of competition was always an added incentive, and this month was no exception.
I loved the retail business. Every day posed a different challenge with each customer a potential sales gain and another award for my office when the month's totals were posted. And sometimes there were perks not outlined in the manager trainee manuals that made the job much more interesting, especially when some of the managers decided to invent our own incentive contest.
I'm a very competitive person and for a woman in the predominately male electronics industry, it was an edge which commanded respect and admiration and one which I used to my advantage at every opportunity. But after months of beating the sales figures of all the male store managers in my district, I was becoming bored. I needed a new challenge, but one in which only the seven other female managers in the tri-state region would be able to participate. If anyone discovered what we were doing, would most certainly get us all fired, but that only intensified the competition.
We formed the "GREAT EIGHT" as we called ourselves, at the Regional Pre-Holiday party in November and from the start it had been a fierce competition. Of course I had won the first month's round. It was, after all the busiest selling season of the year. But once the rush was over, the mall traffic and the opportunities we had all enjoyed had dropped considerably.
Early in January there were many returns from holiday customers, so the numbers had added up quickly. Joan in store 3509 had three successful turnovers in one week, and I'd barely caught up to her when Sarah faxed in her numbers a few days later. With a little extra effort, I'd managed to match her numbers, then added two additional closings which I thought would put me in the lead. Until I received the fax this morning and read that Donna, in 3317, had an exceptional week and had even the score.
Being tied for first was not nearly as satisfying as winning, but unless a miracle happened in the next ten minutes, there wouldn't be any way I could win this month's contest. I was resolved to the fact I would have to share the top prize and simply try harder in February.
I began to close the front door when my golden opportunity rushed into the store.
"I'm sorry." He panted, out of breath. "I know it's almost time to close, but I bought these wireless antennas last month and you said if they didn't work, I could return them."
Normally I would have told the customer to come back the next day, especially for a refund, but this was not a normal situation. I smiled my most innocent "corporate" grin and locked the door behind him.
"Of course. This won't take long." So he thinks!
I tried not to let him see the excitement on my face as I followed him toward the register. This was better than I hoped. I remembered him when made his purchase over a month ago. The one time when a customer asked if he could return merchandise that I hoped he would. He wore a dark blue cap and with the logo of a television network stitched onto the rim. His light brown hair just barely visible underneath. His soft, brown eyes had made it difficult for me to answer his many technical questions, but I somehow managed to keep it strictly business.
His name was Marc, with a "c" not a "k" and he had paid with a credit card, so I didn't have any record of his address, which would have been against the rules of the contest had I tried to contact him. But here he was, my last chance, and I was not about to let it, or him, slip out the door.
