"You have a call on the line that's blinking. I think it's the pharmaceutical salesman again." She didn't wait for an acknowledgement; she simply hung up. Despite Cambra's instruction to her to alway, always, always ask who was calling, Glenda rarely remembered to ask. Three weeks as a receptionist and she still couldn't seem to get a grasp on communicating which line was 'line 1' and which was 'line 2.' Cambra unwittingly scowled as she glanced at the telephone, but caught herself almost immmediately. As she raised her eyes from the phone, she looked into the mirror affixed to the left side of her computer screen, a habit she'd had since attending a seminar on telephone etiquette twenty years earlier. One of the tips the instructor offered to ensure a pleasant voice when speaking on the phone was to look into a mirror and smile before you speak. 'A smiling face can't help but speak in a happy tone,' the instructor said. As a new receptionist aspiring to greatness as an administrative assistant, Cambra decided it couldn't hurt.
She waited for the better part of thirty seconds before taking the call. She glanced into the mirror again and picked up the receiver. "This is Cambra Bennett. May I help you?" Her voice was chirpy.
"Cambra, this is Bruce with D-Seas Medical. I thought I'd give you a ring to see if you've made any decision."
"Yes, Bruce, I'm sorry." Another quick look at the mirror. "I thought I told you. We chose another vendor, someone we've worked with before. Your prices were competitive, but we are just more comfortable dealing with a known quantity." Mirror again. "We really do appreciate your bid, though, and you can be sure we will invite you to bid again on our next major job."
Bruce had not been a salesman for long. Just out of college, he hadn't gotten used to rejection. "Cambra, I understand that you want to deal with a known quantity, but I think you'll find that D-Seas' products are second to none. Give us just one opportunity and I will personally guarantee that you will be satisfied."
No mirror this time. "Bruce, I just told you we will give you the opportunity to bid on our next major job."
"Yes, I know, but I know how important this job is to you and I'm certain that our product will get the job done with no complications. Listen, you're the first account I've worked with that is just perfect for our products." Bruce's voice was almost pleading, Cambra thought. She wondered whether D-Seas had quotas for new salemen.
"Bruce, the decision has been made on the current job. I can't change it. But if you can give me the same unit price on a single dose of the product, I'll give it a try."
[This is as far as I've gotten...it seems like it's stuck. Also seems utterly uninteresting...I may have to start over. But maybe I can salvage at least a little to put in another story sometime.] My concept on this story involves the product, a drug that has been approved as safe for euthanasia...Cambra has a big job coming up, involving quite a number of candidates, but the single dose she's interested in testing is for a much smaller test, probably involving Glenda, the stupid receptionist.
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