Friday, October 11, 2013
Well, what about this?
Okay, so, first off, scroll down to the last post, where I express my potential distrust of a car salesperson named Cinnamon.
Okay. Here we go. What if she was named Karen, and when I showed up for my appointment in the morning, she came out dressed in a lion costume?
Is that still okay? Am I still supposed to take her seriously?
Or, what if, say, she came out dressed in a sixties op-art maxi dress and platform shoes?
Look. I like to wear "fun" clothes, too. But fun clothes are not professional attire. They're just not.
And a name like "Cinnamon" is not a professional name. Oh, sure, she may have a lot of knowledge in her field (or not), and she may be an excellent salesperson (or not), but unless and until she opts for a different name in her professional life, she's gonna have a hard row to hoe.
Thoughts?
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7 comments:
Same hard row to hoe as a guy named Bobbie, or Buster. The big difference is that the lion suit or the psychedelic dress were chosen, where the name Cinnamon was not (necessarily).
In my first comment I was thinking about suggesting that maybe, if she does prove professional, you might ask her if she finds her name a distraction in a male-dominated occupation. The answer could be illuminating. But I didn't because that comment was long enough as it was.
Oh, and don't worry about her Googling herself. She'll find 149 screens of videos of people blowing cinnamon out their noses before she finds this.
Whoa! Weird thought! What if she's a redhead named Mary, and her coworkers nicknamed her Cinnamon?
I just Googled "Cinnamon car sales", and the first screen has two videos of a car salesman blowing cinnamon out his nose.
(Is it posible to get drunk on Robitussin?)
I'm with Silk on this. It's okay to judge someone based on their behavior, but she hasn't done anything to prove herself to be unprofessional except have an unusual name. There's no such thing as a good name or bad name. They're all made up by human beings. Just because Lisa and Cathy are common doesn't make them professional women who made a conscious choice to use professional names so people would like them better. They could be absolute dips who can barely spell their own names, but you'd at least give them a chance before deciding that.
I have an irrational prejudice against women named Debbie. I know it's not their fault but it equates to mean air head to me. Possibly because my first boss out of college was a b*tch named Debbie.
You know my secret real name and I can tell you being a woman in automotive with that name has not been an easy row to hoe. I even had a boss who tried to change my name to the more formal version and nope, it didn't work. But I also believe in using what ya got, and as an attractive woman with a good personality I have gotten more with the looks and the name than it has detracted. Once a buyer told me- I give you the business because all things equal if I have to talk to you or Bubba-I'd rather talk to you.
Did it just recently work against me, probably not but-I still have a job because my boss has known me for years and it was not the first one or two tries to throw me out that worked.
If you met me at work though, you would never doubt I am a serious professional and know my stuff. After you got past the name.
Sorry for the length-when my sales guy got promoted he personally sent me to "the best", whether true or not it made me feel better.
~~Silk, Cinnamon is, indeed, a redhead. But it's also the name on her business cards, and I couldn't figure out how to ask her about it without sounding rude, so I don't know if it's a nickname or not.
And of course,once I'd talked to her for a few minutes and determined that she was not, in fact, a dipsh*t, all was fine.
and Kate, I don't know about "no bad names". I can think of a few. Ha. I just think that it would be easier, professionally, to go with Amy or Sue. Of course, I am not the name police, so there ya go. I'm just the old fogey carping in the corner.
Becs, I don't think I know any Debbies. Isn't that odd?
and fmcetc., thanks for the insider view. Very interesting.
SO. I ended up spending three hours today with Cinnamon, who is a very pleasant person, and I may indeed end up buying a car from her. And if I don't, it won't be because of her name.
And if I ever hear the name Cinnamon again? I will think of a car salesperson, not a stripper.
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