This person had a name that could be either a man or a woman. It turns out to be a dude. He was quite well spoken and personable. He had relavent experience as he is the manager of a high end boutique on Madison Avenue. The problem is that he is a man. Can I hire a guy to sell women's clothing? I mean I get away with it because I am an owner and people know me from the show and my personality is such that I can get around it and sell. Can this guy do this?
He was on time and well dressed. By far and away the best candidate. I am seriously considering hiring him.
But he is a dude?
34 comments:
You never know. You might have the next Randy from "Say Yes to the Dress."
And then there's Pat.
So what would women customers think of a man selling them stuff?
I always like it when some pretty young cutie tries to sell me a blazer in the Men's Department.
But then men like pretty girls in almost any situation.
That was my question to the ladies in the house.
What side of the plate does he hit?
He is straight. A good kid. Didn't get a promotion where he works now because they gave the job to a white woman with no experience. It just sucks all the way around.
The thing is I have hired more black people to work for me than the Evil Blogger Lady and Larry have met in real life. It is such a fucking joke.
So what would women customers think of a man selling them stuff?
In the olden days, when you went in and had personal attention instead of being left on your own to figure it out, shoe salesmen at high end shoe stores and department stores were almost always men. It wasn't a problem or an issue.
I would think that in a specialty store with designer clothing it wouldn't matter if the sale person was a man or a woman as long as they gave great customer service, were knowledgeable about the products. Dresses, shoes, fabrics, accessories etc. Personal attention is what women want in a sales experience. That and flattery :-)
However, for the intimate items [underwear] and services such as bra fittings, you really need to have a woman and to do those types of sales in a less conspicuous area of the store. I hate shopping for clothes in the first place. I just want to try it on, buy the damned stuff and get out of there. but really hate looking at bras and other underwear in a public setting.
I agree with you DBQ. Not to be modest but I am very effective in selling but people know me from the show and that I am an owner. After another two days of people not showing up this guy is looking better and better.
I have to hire two people. At least two people. So I might hire him in conjunction with a woman to handle the intimate sales in the other store.
I just don't know yet. But I am very seriously considering this. You have to think outside of the box.
I kind of feel like Casey Stengel when he said "I finally get one and he can't run."
I finally get a good prospect for an employee and it's a dude.
I would think a man could be a real asset.
And if I may be so racist, a black man in particular.
I just don't know yet. But I am very seriously considering this. You have to think outside of the box.
Intuition. Intuition.
Hire him. My hairdresser is a straight male and no one has taken scissors to my hair but him in over a decade. A male perspective is authoritative and affirming. Much needed in a dress shop. Does Lisa like him? If yes, hire him.
Also...punctual? He at least deserves a shot.
Is he a Yankee fan? Hopefully not a hockey fan.
Does this potential employee love or know someone he respects and/or enjoys who is Plus Size? If so, he has a chance of being the kind of salesperson you need. If not, good luck. His attitude toward women, and large sized women in particular, will be as important as his ability to be punctual and close a sale.
What makes Lisa successful with the women who visit? What do they look for in her that invites them to see themselves as valuable, lovely and worthy in the clothing she designs and carries? What encourages them to look in the Valise mirrors and like what they see enough to buy it?
What I've encountered more often than not in women with eating disorders on either side of the scale (anorexia/bulimia or obesity/overweight)has been a significant experience with boundary crossing/control/authority in their early years, as well as experiences of inconsistent nurture (beyond food) and attachment. Which means the balance between being authoritative and affirming that Ruth Anne mentioned will need to be clearly and cleanly maintained if trust issues are to be overcome and women who do not always feel comfortable or beautiful in their bodies feel welcomed, appreciated and relaxed enough to let others help them with their clothing choices and comment on their appearance.
Hiring is very subjective, despite the best efforts to quantify the ordeal. Typically, I'm never surprised what sort of employee an applicant turns out to be. It may be better or worse than anticipated, but the general direction of the work ethic is usually what I expected. Of course, the Pygmalion effect may come into play, but that's another subject.
How much digging into an applicant's past you want to do can yield data ranging from good to worthless. The demographic I'm after is teen and young adult for the most part. Facebook is a great tool. Any kid stupid enough to leave his facebook account open for the world to see, including his likes of weed, hookahs, and gangsta rap, is too stupid for me. Others willingly put down "dishonest management" or "personal--will tell in interview" for their reason for leaving their last job.
Anyhow, a sneaky tactic could be to send Lisa and other willing parties to his old place of business and inquire about where he is...that he was helping them. Management, if they're smart, won't say anything, but another salesperson may give up some good information like, "he left because they screwed him over" or "he always had a chip on his shoulder and left" or "they canned him."
No matter how much time you spend debating whether or not to hire someone, you really only know after you hire him if you were right. If I work with a new person their first hour, I can predict how the rest of their time is going to go. Again, the Pygmalion effect may play into that.
As unbelievable as it is, in this economy, I'm having trouble staffing this year. We typically begin ramping up in February, so that we're fully staffed and trained by the summer. Nobody wants a job. How can that be? Kids run around in their cars, sucking up $3.60-a-gallon gas, and they don't need a job? What gives? It's a strange new world the commies in charge have handed us.
Well the situation resolved itself. It seems another dude showed up at the store on Saturday and said he was the original guy's "cousin" and wanted to submit his resume. He was dressed much differently very "Hippity Hop" if you know what I mean. It seems his cousin told him we were hiring.
Now I wasn't in the store since Lisa let me stay home as I wasn't feeling well and it was just her and her sister. They were very uncomfortable. So this is a deal killer. You don't send somebody over like that. What did he think? I was going to staff the women's boutique with all guys? Especially one who dresses like Biggie Smalls? Ain't happening. Homey don't play that.
Back to square one.
If it feels weird than it is weird. We have learned to go with out gut in situations like this.
Windbag is 100% right. It is very tough to find someone who wants to work even in this fucked up economy.
Either you get someone who is overqualified but thinks the job is degrading or you get someone who is not educated and self-entitled.
People who job shop as a team usually have a game plan. They can work that plan elsewhere. It's hard enough to deter theft by individuals, but way harder to deter theft by a team.
That's the point. I can't have this kind of nonsense.
I remember a famous case where the cousin of an employee held up a Wendy's or Burger King or something and killed five people.
It was totally out of bounds to send some dude to look for a job at a ladies boutique. Come on dude!
I misremembered the "Wendy's Massacre."
It was done by a manager of the Wendy's with a buddy and they killed five people and two others were badly wounded.
You have to think about stuff like that when you hire people.
It is a fucked up world.
Now I want to apply.
My first rule of hiring was to always hire the highest skill applicant, with skill having a broad definition that included experience, qualifications, personality, etc. Always. There might be a rough edge that needs burnishing here and there, but starting with a high skill set is always better than starting with a low skill set.
Hire the guy. You can over-think the gender thing, but your customers are probably a generation younger than you and it's less of a deal for them than it is for you.
If the guy can move into doing some management things for your growing enterprise, bingo, double bonus.
Did he play a T1000 in T2? Does he run a sports store? Will a bust-out be involved?
Dude, you need to quit slackin', you slacker.
It was totally out of bounds to send some dude to look for a job at a ladies boutique. Come on dude!
It sounds to me like he told his cousin about the job he was applying for and the dude might have tried to jump the line on him.
In any case you're right - bad vibe. Lose it.
Hire the guy. You can over-think the gender thing, but your customers are probably a generation younger than you and it's less of a deal for them than it is for you.
Hiring a guy to help out with some of the work Trooper and Lisa have been doing to keep the store running is different than hiring a guy to sell clothing (and underwear?) to plus sized women. I see Lee Lee's Valise as a specialty shop devoted to women who can't find what they need in the way of clothes, service, attention and acceptance in regular stores or in the fashion industry at large.
What Lee Lee's needs in the way of help and what the specialty customer needs are two issues that need to be taken into consideration together.
I thought this was a Who's that dude? post
I found a woman to hire instead. A nice black plus size girl who will fit in just fine in the shop.
I would have considered the guy if the cousin hadn't shown up. That just felt hinky.
I don't do hinky.
Good to know you found help.
And you used Urkle to sell this thread? :D
Trooper York said...
The thing is I have hired more black people to work for me than the Evil Blogger Lady and Larry have met in real life. It is such a fucking joke.
Black people to TOP is like those people who go to destitute 8th world open shit hole toilet countries to take pictures of the utterly poor and say they helped them out.
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