I shared dinner a couple days ago with David (son), Lindsay (daughter-in-law), Elizabeth (daughter), Eva (granddaughter) and Donnie (Eva’s beau). We were discussing the tip process that Eva follows at the restaurant where she works, and the commissions Donnie makes at a fragrance store. I knew a little bit about tipping because all three of my kids earned them at one time or another. As for me, I earned a commission on the set of cookware I sold one summer while I was in college.
My pots and pan days were short lived. The process required that we scope out area malls in search of young females who might be interested in setting up their own household. We memorized a cold opening speech that we offered up to the unsuspecting girls. I wasn’t fully committed to doing the job, but I gave it a go. During orientation we learned how to present the product. It was a canned speech that we could tweak as we saw fit.
We were instructed to wear a sport coat and tie at all times. This was meant to impress the girls we approached. We gave each one a certificate for a free gift if she agreed to hear our presentation. Who can resist free from a young handsome guy? In the end the free gift was tied to the sale. If they purchased the cookware they received their choice of a place setting of china, a set of high-end stainless-steel cutlery, or a set of carving knives. The end game was to sell more china or cutlery. The carving knives were a one and done product. If they didn’t buy, they received a set of measuring cups.
During my orientation, I was given the phone number of a lead that wanted to hear about the product. I called her and made an appointment to meet her in her apartment. I asked her to invite any friends who might be interested.
I met her at the appointed time, made my pitch, and she bought a set of pots and pans for $300.00. I made $50.00. That was my only sale. She didn’t want the free gift.
After I started dating Ruth, I discovered they had a similar program in East Lansing. She bought a set of cookware from a sharply dressed Spartan. He threw in a set of encyclopedias and an accompanying set of children’s books. A couple of decades later, David took them to his fifth-grade classroom.
When I started teaching, I sold student accident insurance for two summers. I made some money, but my take was minimal. I had a couple of friends who made it big selling the product. I was more of a “sure thing” kind of guy, so I opted to teach drivers training. It was a bit riskier, but I knew what I was going to make.
I didn’t talk about any of that during dinner, but I did talk about making tips for our school’s band program when the kids were in high school.
Elizabeth and Michael were in the high school band. Addison’s band was very good during those years and a ton of kids participated. One of the draws was the trips the band made. They marched in Mackinaw City’s annual Labor Day Parade, the Holland Tulip Festival, and made a couple of trips to Florida where they played in the Gator Bowl.
Each student had to pay to participate in the trips. The band parents did a lot of fundraising to help the kids earn their money. The biggest draw was working at the NASCAR and Indy Car races at the Michigan International Speedway. I preferred serving the NASCAR crowd rather than the Indy Car followers. They were two different groups. One wore blue jeans and tank tops while the other wore Dockers and polo shirts. The blue jean crowd had a lot more fun.
Addison’s band parents earned a percentage of the money they took in working a concession stand and a beer tent. Each student, and their parents, earned a portion of the money raised during each race. Having parents work was an essential part of the program because the students were too young to sell beer.
I volunteered to operate the beer tent. We had one product and one price. It was $7 for a 12-ounce cup. We were given very specific instructions. The vendor counted the cups. We were charged $7 for each cup we used. If we received tips, they went into a tip jar, and the money was a part of the group’s earnings.
About an hour into my first shift, I had an Epiphany. The vendor didn’t care how many kegs of beer we went through. They just counted the cups.
When customers complained about the $7, I offered to refill it for $3 if they brought the cup back. I added the $3 to the tip jar and took in about an extra $150 a race that way. That was about thirty years ago, so if I committed a crime, I believe the statute of limitations has expired.