Vendor Representatives

I like 90% of our vendor representatives; most visit the store monthly. Others come quarterly or once or twice a year or only when business is down. Their job is to put out coupons or signs drawing attention to their products, make sure we're displaying their items correctly, check expiration dates, report inventory problems, check for price tags, inform us about new products, and answer any questions or concerns we might have.

Today one of my favorite vendors was in. We've been working together, as in an hour once a month, for probably six years or so. While we don't work for the same company or see each other much, she's someone I could imagine myself working with/for. She's extremely conscientious with her work and despite our vast age difference she's not at all condescending or paternalistic like some people I've worked with/for.

I was exceptionally bored today (few customers, no paperwork, no projects, no stocking, everything was clean.....there was NOTHING to do). Since what she was doing wasn't something that I could help with, I hung around while she did her thing. We talked more than normal. It was clear that she was having a bad day, yet she was still professional and friendly. It sounds like she's overworked, although she didn't get into details about whatever's going on with that company. Sharing their issues wouldn't help the situation, so why be all negative about it? This is a lesson that I've mostly learned but am still working on at times.

Last week a different vendor mentioned problems he was having with our main competitor. I started to (wanted to) say something along the lines of, "And you're surprised? That's nothing new, they've always been bad at that," etc. But I bit my tongue. Criticizing Competitor would accomplish nothing. Instead I said, "Yeah? (long pause as I thought).....I'd better not comment on that." He laughed, I laughed, I didn't have to say it because we both knew it......Competitor sucks and we're great. Everyone knows that. There's no reason for me to rub it in or bad-mouth Competitor. They take care of that all by themselves. When customers say something about the poor service or high prices or whatever at Competitor, I say little. "I've heard that." "Hmm."