Billy Goat Industries

While working at Sears, I found myself mulling over a couple of thoughts.  First, I am not sure that I am a salesman at heart.  Sure I can sell something, but at the time I could not manage to wrap my mind around a few thoughts:

1. I didn't like the “up-sale” when I didn't believe the customer needed it.
2. I didn't like the selling to people that were already overdrawn on their credit lines or who were purchasing indiscriminately.
3. Through no fault of Sears, there tended to be a lot of backhanded actions and comments in the group.

Looking back today, I realize that on the first two, I didn't take care of the customer.  Rather I focused on achieving sales goals only.  The third one was partly my fault as I certainly took part in my share of the gossip and vengeful words.

I had just graduated from high school and needed to find a consistent paycheck to start saving for college.  While I could have worked at Sears for another year before I would head off for college in 2002, I realized that I needed a job I could count on a certain amount of money every paycheck.  I needed consistency.  A family friend let my brother and I know about a family-owned company named Billy Goat Industries.  They specialized in commercial and residential grade lawn care and road cleanup equipment.  After seeing the starting hourly wages to work in the manufacturing and assembly departments, we decided to apply.  At first, I was going to keep my other salesman job at Sears, but it became clear that Sears needed someone who could work during the week.
My brother and I would get up extremely early, drive to the factory, perhaps sleep for 10 minutes if we arrived in the parking lot early and clock in bleary-eyed.  Ten hours a day in the heat or the cold of the factory floor we would help build and box each of the units.  When needed we would work on the powder coating line or one of the other departments.  Grunt and gopher work alike. 
I was a bit of an oddity in that place.  I didn’t smoke or drink.  I knew a lot of the short, crass words used over and over in the factory—whether you were mad or just breathing—but I tried not to be a part of that.  I was a Christian with certain expectations of what being a Christian meant.  Many of the people called themselves “Christian” but seemed no different really.  I yelled at and was yelled at because of my incompetence or theirs. 
In all of this I found myself slowly sliding down to the level of least resistance.  It was just easier to become like the people I worked with rather than stand out from the group.  It was easier to laugh and enjoy crudeness, then to let them know they were  making me uncomfortable.  It was easier to engage in mediocrity than to excel and rise above. 
Thankfully, through the mundane came a furtherance of education. 

1. There is nobody to tell me to excel, but everyone would like to keep you just below their own level.
2. Vulgarity is usually a symptom of those who have lost hope or at least sight of bigger goals in life.
3. By being a part of the crowd, I became worthless.

As always, there was Room4Improving.