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Copyright Gary Thaller

Source: Sales Team One by T.R Colby

(Used with Permission.)

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M.C Simon hurdled the comma challenge and has joined the ranks of Commakazi's. 
Not only did meet the challenge, but she went the Extra Mile and wrote a magnificent blog post about the challenge. Don't miss this post. It's the best I've read in years!
Warning: Do not drink any liquids while reading M.C's blog post!

Friday October 21 1904: New Suit

Editor’s note: The last week was uneventful and I’ve omitted those pages.

Today was an excellent sales day and I sold my 28 pieces of fruit before eating lunch. Learning my customers’ names has paid off and they are showing commitment to buying from me every day. Many times they call my name before I see them and because of this I’ve been able to increase my sales to 28 a day. Today I decided it was time to buy my first suit.

I planned to go to Bloomingdale’s on 59^th and Lexington which is only a few blocks from the YMCA. When I got there I saw a small store across the street with a gold triangular sign that said “Tailor - Selling Visions since 1873.” Intrigued I decided to stop in before going to Bloomingdale’s.

As I walked in the six bells above the door rang and an old man with a long beard greeted me saying “Hi I’m Abraham E. Golding and to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?” I introduced myself and told him I was looking for a suit. Abraham said “Here we sell visions here not suits. What is your vision?” Still smarting from the presentation last week I told him I wanted a suit to wear to church and on special occasions.

Abraham pulled on his beard and said “The first and last words of the Torah are ‘Bereshit Ysrael’ -- In the beginning Israel.’ The word Israel means ‘God wrestlers’ and we have been making it difficult for God almost 6 000 years but God hasn’t given up on us. We have fallen away from God’s vision many times but He keeps guiding us back with love and sometimes with affliction therapy. Tom what is your “Israel?”

I looked down at my feet for a minute thinking and then raised my eyes and said “Abraham I want to be a sales rep with the company that has the best sales reps around the country.”

Abraham explained “In Hebrew we have a way of expressing the future in the past tense. I think Americans would say ‘It’s as good as done’ to express this idea. Americans would say ‘I am a sales rep with a company that has the best sales reps around the country.’ This will always remind you of your Israel. In the next week try to find one word that expresses this for you.

“What are you doing now?”

“I’m selling bananas on Wall Street!”

“That’s an impressive start. God started in the beginning and you should start in the beginning too. Remember these times and they will help you stay humble when you reach your Golden Banana. Let’s take a look at some suits if we may.”

Mr. Golding started walking slowly through the store while I followed and he explained there were many different styles of suits. Each style was like a uniform with bankers lawyers doctors businessmen and salesmen having a different style. Then he talked about quality. The first rack had suits that were $12 and they were for those who were near the bottom of the business and had no visions of going higher. The second rack was $18 and were for the next level of management or for those who were aiming to get there. He led me past the $12 $18 and $24 racks and then walked back to the $18 rack.

Mr. Colby I think you are a $24 man. My chest swelled because that was the first time someone called me Mister and the first time someone called me a man. Then he said maybe you are an $18 man. Do you have anyone working for you? “No sir ” I said “but I plan to have some boys working for me soon.” He said that I was unquestionably a $24 man since I will soon have some people working for me. I gulped because I was thinking I could get a suit for $10 at Bloomingdales but I wanted to be a $24 man.

Abraham picked out a charcoal black suit with faint golden pinstripes and handed it to me. Let us choose some shoes and then you can try this suit on. When I put the suit on it was too bulky and I had to pull up the legs of the trousers so they didn’t drag on the floor. I noticed the bottoms were cut funny and they looked like this: vvvVVvvv.

Mr. Golding had me stand on a platform in front of five clear mirrors and a two clear mirrors in the back so I could see myself from all sides. He told me he would alter the suit to fit me and in the future he would alter it again for free as I grew taller. He figured I could grow for a year before I had to buy another suit.

He started making strange markings on the suit with a piece of flat yellow chalk. He explained the pants should rest on the front of the shoes so there was a sharp crease at the bottom. They should be loose enough so I didn’t have to pull them up when I sat down but they should not look baggy. As he made marks on the lapels he told me they should stay flat on my chest when I sat down but they should not look too tight. He marked the arms so just the right amount of my shirt would show. Then he made some chalk marks on my back.

Afterwards Mr. Golding suggested I own two shirts so I could have a clean one every day. He recommended a laundry near the YMCA. Then he told me I would need four ties and to alternate them each day. One tie came with the suit and he picked three more for me. Then he helped me choose some suspenders and socks. The shoes I was wearing while trying on the suit fit perfectly so I took those.

I was adding the prices in my head and realized I didn’t have enough money. Mr. Golding said that was not a problem. I would pay when I picked the suit up Tuesday and I would only pay if I were happy with the fit. He totaled the bill and it came to $36.00 a reasonable price to pay for my vision. We shook hands and Mr. Golding congratulated me on the first steps of fulfilling my vision.