Problems, adjustments and the shopping

by John Passmore

Listening to the morning conference call has got me onto the Business Development Plan and that gives me two new adjustments to make (I was about to write “causes two new problems!).

1. I have to be up at 6.20 a.m. instead of 7.20 which means I need to go to bed an hour earlier - so when do I get to write the blog?
2. If I’m making three phone calls from my list, handing out ten Independences, three DVDs, sending three texts and doing two martinis. How on earth am I going to do six 30-second presentations?
… and write the blog.

So it’s now Friday morning and I’m telling you what I did on Wednesday – and I can’t remember. What I do know is that I had a meeting fixed with a prospective distributor at 7.30 in the evening and planned to go and put 50 Independences through doors and shift the DVDs before picking up my son from his school play at 9.20.

Well it didn’t quite work out like that. The prospect at the garden centre (see “Mistakes Happen”, June 2nd) decided to join and we ended up doing Meeting One and I only got away with ten minutes to spare. By the time I’d got home and helped Tamsin unload the Sainsbury’s shopping it seemed rather late to go sneaking round people’s front gardens.

But I was rescued by the shopping – not the shopping we’d got but what we hadn’t got. Nobody had put milk on the list and our distributor the milkman only delivers on Mondays and Fridays.

With great self-sacrifice, I volunteered to make a mercy-dash to Tescos.

(actually what I was thinking was that at least I could shift the DVDs in Tescos).

“Here you are, here’s a free gift” I said to the first person.

No, that’s no good. I need their name and phone number.

So the second person got: “Hi you’re just person I’ve been looking for. D’you want to make some extra money?”

“Sure.”

That’s great. Just write your name, your phone number and your email address on there and I’ll send you something… Meanwhile have a look at this. When d’you think you’ll be able to watch that?”

And for the last one, I played the helpless old buffer card. Taking my milk (and the half dozen bottles of wine) to the self-service checkout, I bleated to the world in general: “What do I do?” and a lovely motherly assistant bustled up to help me.

“You’re working late,” I said and we fell into conversation - as you do.

“Would you like to get paid without having to go out to work? Write your name, your mobile number and your email address in here and I’ll send you something…”

Well, at least I’d shifted the DVDs.

But then, on the way out of the car park, I spotted an AA man sitting in his van reading the paper – obviously waiting between calls. Pulling up next to him, I hopped out.

“Here you are, here’s something else to read…”