Tales Of Fourth Generation Textile Executive: Thanks To All You Road Warriors

Karen Montgomery is my favorite writer for Fab Shop News.  Her articles are so practical and are very relevant to the pulse of the industry.  In fact, I find her article subjects to be similar to the topics that I like to write about in my blogs….stuff that relates to shop owners rather than consumers.

Recently Karen wrote an article called “Become A Savvy Buyer, How Green Is that Grass?”  What I absolutely loved about this article is how Karen steps up to defend the extremely challenging job of being a sales rep. Unlike some other shop owners out there, Karen is promoting the respectful treatment of the road warriors.  Road warriors are people too and they deserve R-E-S-P-E-C-T! What she writes in the article is very honorable and I love that it is coming from her, a shop owner, rather than myself, someone who is not a shop owner.  They are smart, hard working and brave to work such a tolling job.  They really do deserve the utmost respect, so please consider giving them some extra love in 2017 as it is never too late.

As Karen puts it, how green do you think the grass is on their side of the fence?  Unfortunately, it isn’t that green, but the sales reps enjoy what they do and they do it with pride.  Do they love being away from their families for such long periods of time?  Do they love staying in strange hotels/motels? Do they love being alone for so long?  Do they love driving for long periods of time in all kinds of weather conditions?  Do they love the food that they eat while on the road?  Do they love when they drive 200 miles to find out the shop owner forgot about the appointment?  Do they love that they don’t get to do the daily tasks that we take for granted because we are at home?  The answer to all these questions is a resounding NO!

Rather than rehashing her entire article, I just wanted to say how appreciative that I am for all the road warriors out there that work for my various companies.  I know that your job is not easy, but nonetheless you do it with your head up and I rarely hear any complaints.  I try to compliment you all as often as possible because it isn’t likely anyone else does, but I do appreciate you all so very much.  So let it be known that I value each and every one of the sales reps that sell Jaftex fabrics.  You definitely don’t hear it enough, but you should know that you are important.  You matter.  You are awesome for having the guts to do what you do everyday because it isn’t easy.  So without belaboring the point any further, THANK YOU SALES REPS FOR A JOB WELL DONE, A GREAT YEAR AND FOR YOUR LOYALTY!  Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah & a very Happy New Year!  May 2017 be filled with larger orders, fewer cancelled appointments & orders and safety! Cheers from my family to yours!

Sincerely,

Jaftex Sales Reps’ Biggest Fan!