Typical Day
Tom Collins' alarm goes off at 8:00AM. He doesn't have his first meeting until 11:00AM, but he's learned the hard way that going to the gym after a long day of selling is a bad idea. He never drinks to excess anymore, but there's a big difference between the gym before and the gym after a couple drinks.
Not going isn't an option either. Tom's boss, Harvey Wallbanger, has shown him the research. The United States is an image-conscious place, and the in-shape guy always sells more than the out-of-shape one. Besides, spending a day drinking and eating has a way of packing on the pounds.
After an hour on the treadmill, he comes home and eats a simple breakfast of toast and coffee. He had to cut out the dairy, mostly because it gave him the winds. Silly as it sounds, Tom has to be aware of these sorts of things. Anything that might upset the client, even if it has nothing to do with the product, must be eliminated.
He puts on his slacks (freshly ironed from the night before), a crisp shirt in dark, muted colors, and a matching tie. Tom wasn't a clothes horse before the job, but he is now. He has to be. It's all in the image.
Tom has to drive across town for his meeting at a new restaurant. He's not listening to the radio, instead he runs through his pitches in his mind. He's coming up with the various ways his prospective client might say no, then addressing the concerns. He works on commission, so this sale determines if he's paying rent or if he's calling his parents for a loan.
He arrives just before noon for his lunch meeting with Brandy Alexander, the restauranteur opening a new place on the west side. Calling it a lunch meeting is a little disingenuous—Tom is staying until the sale closes or Miss Alexander throws him out. Nothing light-hearted about it. Fortunately, it goes well. Tom's preparation saves him and he closes a deal.
As he leaves, his stomach groans. He hopes Miss Alexander doesn't notice. He only had a light salad, not wanting anything more complicated to get in the way of his pitch. Now it's after 2:00PM and he's starving, and the sips of various gins and whiskeys sloshing around in his stomach aren't helping.
He grabs a sandwich from a supermarket and eats on his way back across town. He has another sales call, though this one should be a bit shorter. He's not selling new business. He's just making sure one of his regulars is feeling well taken care of while she renews her order.
Next he needs to go to the warehouse. That's where his distributor is located, and he has some paperwork to update. Fortunately for him, it's an easy day—all good news. He tries not to think of the karmic debt he's racking up.
Harvey Wallbanger pats Tom on the back and congratulates him on the new sale. Tom can't wait to head home. Though he spent the day drinking and talking, it's still tiring. He needs to recharge his batteries before he sees his girlfriend this evening. The pressure of pleasing people all day means he can start to feel pretty selfish in the evening. He'll need to treat himself to thirty minutes in his massage chair watching TMZ before speaking to anyone.
By the time she's over, he's in much better spirits—no pun intended.