I was called by a former co-worker that had been promoted from my previous store location. I had since left the company with no intentions of returning. This Manager had been given a department with more problems than lipstick inventory. Being the smart cookie that she is, she had a very short list of people she wanted to help her fix her department. I was one of the party of 3, and the only one not currently working for the company at her pre-promoted location, so I got the first phone call. She laid out her challenges for me, which I was familiar with through the grapevine, and laid out her plan and my role. Then the dance began. She worked every angle she could think of to convince me to return to the company at the new location (which was one of the pros in the conversation). I wish I had a recording of it, because when push came to shove, we both knew what her trump card was going to be, and sure enough, she played it and won. She's a manager who knows her people, she appealed to my sense of loyalty and friendship. She asked me to do it for her, because she couldn't do it without me. How can you say "No" to that? You can't. After that, I had a 2 minute interview with another area sales manager that said " if you're good enough for her, you're good enough for me!", no questions asked, and then I met with the store manager for what was just a bull session for about an hour and we talked as if it was a done deal that I was onboard. After that, I went downstairs to check out this "problem" department. Seriously, I could already feel the hostility on my ankles as I was coming down the escalator radiating from the sales floor. What I saw was the last cosmetic department that I'd ever want to shop in with a sour puss, atop a rigid stature, regimentedly stationed at every cosmetic bay lined up the middle of the sales floor from the bottom of the escalators to the front of the store and all pusses were staring me down. You could cut the hostility with a knife. What did I get myself into?
