Aug 06
20113
commentsBy Tim Washer
Tags42nd Street cheeseburger corporate comedy mad men Park Avenue Pershing Square Cafe sales xerox
Pershing Square Cafe
One of my first post-college roommates Bruse Loyd texted asking if I wanted to meet for lunch while he was in NYC this week. After some internal debate, I accepted hoping to finally get reimbursed for the October 1994 cable bill. No such luck, but at least I enjoyed the visit with Nick and Reese, who took me to Pershing Square Cafe located directly across 42nd St from Grand Central Station.
My first job out of college was in sales with Xerox Corporation. I’m pretty sure having that much fun on a job is not allowed anymore. The job introduced me to corporate comedy as I used to write sketches and emcee the sales conferences. Sales is an outstanding place to start a career as it forces you to learn the art of communication and negotiation quickly.
After each copier sale, we were required to spend two hours training the customer on how to use the equipment. Here’s a clip of my buddy Bruse :
And approximately 80% of our sales leads came from this commercial:
About the Cheeseburger & Comedy blog series.