Hawaiian Tropics

It is evident that we live in the great white north. Temperatures dropping to minus 30 without the windchill and the everlasting lust for warm weather and sunshine weighs on everyone's minds.

In a season that comes with seat sales, spring break, trips with the wife, it's all about getting away from the frigid north and experiencing pina colada's, cigars and the occassional sloppy night on a beach all the while making memories.

Insert Hero here...

As is the norm, calls are made to clients to see how everything is going, to assess situations and potentially do damage control and... in the case of our valiant leader, simply to just chat.

A call was made and a conversation surrounding a trip down to the promise land was casually brought up by the client. Flick switch to optimal customer service overload...
Our daring Hero jumps on to the WestJet website and discovers a jaw dropping seat sale to Jamaica!! Upon informing his client of such sales he has switched gears to Porter Airlines and points out the same seat sale is available yet with complimentary beverages. A bonus in our Hero's eyes and a lesson in rediculous, over the top, going the extra mile customer service opportunities.

Our leader takes it one step further by describing his undying love and potential obsession for... Tanning Lotion and skin care products. He goes in to great depth about how his frequent use of such Hawaiian Tropics products keeps his skin lose and moist and he cannot leave home without the sunkissed bottle. The sales pitch for this product was in full force "Feel free to go out and grab a bottle, it will make you feel good, excited and just so much better about your trip."

Based on walking through the Hallway at the point I did, it sounded like our lubed up Hero was discussing the pleasantries of a solitary weekend with his own bottle of Hawaiian Tropics tanning lotion and caused me to require immediate attention for mild whiplash after discovering this was a client he was speaking with.

Regardless of where your travels take you this vacation season, may your beer be cold, your beach be white, your bottle of Hawaiian tropics be close by and your travel agent, our Hero, be on speed dial...

The Wire

The art of Sales...

The cold calls, the hot leads, your current clients, your sexy prospects and people who just want to talk business.

The daily ongoings of the Hallway are simple, pound out as many calls and emails as possible while fostering professional relationships. Monotonous at times, there never proves to be a dull moment coming from our boisterous Hero.

There are the main topics of conversation that seem to reapeat themselves seemingly every touch point that is experieced. Most notedly the cross-country trip from Vancouver to where he now resides, in the Nation's Capital. From the detailed map of the Trans-Canada highway, to his every stop and sight seeing adventures, to our beloved girlfriend misplacing her purse and re-routing the trip, I have come to know his every move and can mindlessly finish his sentences before he can even consider finishing them himself.

From the palm trees outside his Vancouver abode, to golfing on the ocean... in February?? to skiing in the Alpes of Banff, I live my life vicariously through our Hero and wish I could have shared such touching experiences with him. Nevertheless one conversation stands out...

A call to Narnia...

I understand making the necessary touch points with prospects in outlying areas. These far-flung locations are, in essence, a necessity and can turn into very positive buisness to business relationships in the future. But what I fail to understand is how a partnership can be fostered from our Nation's Capital and... Sweden?!?!?
This telegraphic conversation lasted approximately 33 minutes and was aimed at nothing less than simply building a relationship with such an individual that if our Hero happened to backpack the Swedish moutain terrain he would have a cot to sleep on and a comrade to explore the breathtaking Gothenburgh Botanical Gardens with.

I am happy to report that Lars and our Hero are in constant communication and a face to face meeting is imminent in the near to distant future... Livestrong Lars... Livestrong

The Peace Keeper

As is the norm in the office, personal calls are inevitable. Whether it is a call to your loved ones, a random call to your buddies to see what's up this weekend or even to order pizza. Everyone does it, it breaks up your day and refreshes you and I am certainly all for it. But it gets to a point, with our fearless leader that these calls can often be a bit much.

New reporting’s as of 12:02pm today, phone call from the wife still in proceedings in regards to the labour board and tenants act based on her quitting her job and an imminent move to a downtown appartment from their current dwelling.

A 15 minute chat with a lawyer was discussed at $350 per quarter hour to remedy their situation within their old dwelling and current landlord as he has been called “a big bag of douche”.

He has broken down the process in steps from A-E for her so she can fully grasp the limits associated with such situations.

“We can do this without bloodshed, but if this comes to it we might have to start dropping bombs. Lets play the role of the UN before we start lighting these guys up with our ‘Big Guns’”

No day would be complete without a call from our beloved favorite girlfriend to our valiant Hallway leader. Love is in the air, breathe it in ladies and gentlemen.

I Love Lamp

A disaster of epic proportions that required immidiate assistance...

Our beloved leader has lost power.

The layout of the Hallway is simple, cubicles facing one another in groups of 2 all the way down. Our Hero is stationed at the beginning of the Hallway. His office, his perch, his sanctuary, littered with debris, papers, mouldy coffee cups and the slight aroma of man musk.

In order to get to the office everyone must cross paths with our Heros desk, on one occassion everyone was greeted with a dark cubicle dimly lit with romance, ambiguity and a sense of je ne c'est quoi?

A phone call was made to the janitorial department "This is of the utmost importance, my cubicle light is not working and it is imperative that this situation is dealt with immidiately, please advise on when action will be taken to remedy this situation."

In the mean time our Hero took it upon himself to race home (approximately a 20 minute drive - one way) to pick up his very own household lighting device. Upon his return I noted a garbage pale overturned with a stylish yet chique, silver brushed lamp sitting beside him. Clutch performance of the week...

The cubicle light was fixed later on that afternoon much to the dismay of our Hero, voicing his displeasure of such working environment. "I have some very important calls to make, how long will this process take?" Needless to say the first call made after the light was fixed was to a car insurance broker for his own benefit.

The lamp still remains in close proximity to his desk, alluminating smiles, hearts and spirits alike everytime the preverbial chain is yanked

And So the Saga Begins...

In the beginning... man created jobs

Within these jobs there are ranks; the boss, the supervisor, the every day workers, the interns. There is always that one person who seems to stand out whether it is for their brash personality or their unequivocal ability to shock, awe and entertain everyone within the office without even knowing it.

Every work place has one of these Heros and through sharing excerpts from our day to day on goings internally, I have taken it upon myself to share the wealth based on the knowledge that everyone, regardless of your professional setting has one or two of these so called Heros within their office setting. This is by no means meant to be demeaning or hurtful, it is simply meant to share the rediculous antics in which my colleagues and I deal with on a daily basis.

The story begins with "The Hallway"...

Where all the new, green, excitable newbies are placed to do the grunt work of a major organization. Comprising of interns and their valiant leader who has a knack for schmoozing current and prospective clients on the phone, who is known for making inopportune personal phone calls all the while bewildering his fellow Hallmates.

Every day is complete with it's own story line that keeps us on our toes...

This is our story... Enjoy