By
dbminkoff
(#1860) The honest salesperson (© David Minkoff)
Jeremy owns a struggling wholesale company in London selling low priced pharmaceutical products. He employs just one salesman, but this person has not been very successful. So Jeremy pays him off and places the following advert in the Jewish Chronicle: -
PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
Baleboss requires a balbatisher salesperson, a sales maven with a yiddisher kop.
Contact Jeremy on ………….
One week later, Jeremy is going through the ten applications he’s received to the advert. The first nine are hopelessly unsuitable, but the tenth seems to have many of the attributes and qualities he’s looking for. So Jeremy sets up an interview with Benjy.
The interview goes well and right at the end Benjy says, "From what you’ve told me about the role, Jeremy, I think I would do a great job for you because I firmly believe that I am by far the best salesperson currently working in London."
On hearing this, Jeremy points his finger at Benjy and replies, "Benjy ….. you’re hired. You can start work for me on Monday."
Benjy turns up at 9am on Monday and is taken into Jeremy’s office. Benjy immediately notices that all the company’s products are on view in display cabinets. Jeremy briefly explains each product, then says, "OK, Benjy, you now know as much about my products as I do, so you might as well go off now and start selling them. Good Luck!"
One week later, Jeremy calls Benjy into his office. "Nu Benjy? What’s going on? You’ve not made one sale in your first week with us, and you don’t even have any prospects. I’m very upset with you. I took you on because you told me that you were the best salesperson in London – and I, like a shmuck, believed you."
"I’m sorry," replies Benjy, "but I wasn’t lying to you. At the interview, I really did think that I was the best salesperson in London. But now I realise that I’m only the second best salesperson in London."
"Well if you’re the second best salesperson," says Jeremy, "who is the best?"
Pointing to the display cabinets, Benjy replies, "the salesperson who sold you all this dreck."
baleboss: the owner of a store, shop, establishment
balbatisher: responsible, of some consequence, having admirable traditional virtues
maven: an expert, an authority on the subject
Yiddisher kop: someone who understands things quickly
dreck: excrement, rubbish, trash
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