No Chicken Nuggets

This past weekend, the wife and I went to Las Vegas.  Even though the casino we stayed in gave us a free room, they definitely got their money back and then some.  But this article is not about that.  As usual, traffic driving back to California from Las Vegas was horrendous; so we decided to grab a bite to eat at the state line and wait for traffic to die down some.  Being the fast food junkie that I am, I used every sales trick I know to convince my wife to eat at McDonalds.  I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get these cravings for certain items at various fast food restaurants.  This day, I could not wait to sink my teeth into some Chicken Nuggets and eat some fresh out the fryer French fries (I always ask them to make the fries fresh for me).

We don’t have that

Finally, she and I were next in line.  The couple in front of us ordered 2 cups of coffee and 2 McRibb sandwiches.  The young girl taking the order shook her head and said, “We don’t have the McRibb.”  The man said, “What!  No McRibbs.  But the sign on the menu board right behind you says that the McRibb is back.  Where did it go?”  She just shook her head again and said, “We don’t have the McRibb.”  Then he said, “Why don’t you take the sign down.  How can you advertise something that you don’t have?”  But he was not done.  “OhOh wait just a minute.” He was looking at the lady making his coffee.  “You guys put cream and sugar in the cup before you pour the coffee!  That does not make any sense.  How do you know if it tastes the way that you want it to?”   She said, “Sir, that is just how we do it.  If it does not taste right to you, I will make you another one.”  She gave him his coffee and he took a sip.  “Oh my goodness,” he yelled out.  “This coffee is cold as ice.  Ya’ll don’t got the McRibb, you pour your coffee wrong and then you give me cold coffee.  What is this!”  She apologized to him and they made him 2 fresh cups of coffee.  By this point, a line had built up about 15 people deep and it was our turn to order.

We don’t have that either

My wife ordered 2 chicken wraps.  No problem.  I was craving chicken nuggets and wanted to get a My Little Pony toy for our daughter so I ordered a 6 piece McNugget kids meal.  The same young girl said, “We don’t have any chicken nuggets.”  “What!” I said with an astonished look on my face.  “This is McDonald’s.  You are known for your chicken nuggets.  How can you not have chicken nuggets?”  She calmly said, “We don’t have any nuggets.”  I gathered myself and said, “OK, I will take a Cheeseburger kids meal with fresh fries and a My Little Pony toy.”  She said, “French fries.”  “No, fresh fries,” I said back.  She said, “French fries.”  “No, fresh fries,” I said again.  Again she said, “French fries.”  Flabbergasted, I said, “I want you to take some uncooked French fries, put them in the square frying thing, drop them in the hot oil and when they are done, sprinkle salt on them and give me a small one.”  “Oh, you want fresh fries,” she said.  Almost laughing, I said “Yes, please.”  “Would you like anything else?” she said.  I said, “Yes, let me have a fruit and walnut salad.”  She said, “We don’t have anymore fruit and walnut salads.”  At that point, I looked around to see if I was on candid camera.  Not seeing Howie Mandell or Ashton Kucher, I said, “Ok, since you are out of the fruit and walnut salad, then I will have a Carmel Sunday with nuts please.”  You can guess what she said next.  “We don’t have any ice cream.”

Everything we couldn’t get

By this time, the gentleman from earlier was just getting his “fresh” cup of coffee and overheard our entire conversation.  He went into a monologue about all of the items that they didn’t have that were still being advertised on the menu.  “You guys, don’t have the McRibb, the coffee is cold, no chicken nuggets, no fruit and walnut salad and no ice cream.  This is amazing.”  When he was done, I asked for my check and waited for my order.  When it was ready, I took it to our table and opened the bag.  I was surprised to see a transformer like toy in the bag.  I turned to my wife and said, “Didn’t I order a My Little Pony toy.”  She gave me that I know what is coming next look and begrudgingly said, “Yes.”

Oh, we don’t have that either

I got up from our table and went straight to the counter with the transformer looking toy in hand.  When I reached the counter, I said, “I ordered a My Little Pony toy, but was given this thing.”  The young girl turned to me and said, “We don’t have anymore My Little Pony toys.”

Disclaimer: I am a big McDonald’s fan and have never had such an experience before.  I can safely say that my experience this time was a one off situation.

To your story!

Ja Marr

Dear Friends,

Sometimes in life, you can work so hard to achieve something and either loose sight of why you went after it in the first place or even wonder if your efforts were in vain or truly made a difference.  This can range from parenting, mentoring, volunteering or in my case, writing a book that I hoped would touch and inspire the reader to not only achieve their aspirations but to also share their story with others.  The letter below was sent to me by someone that read my book, “What’s Your Sales Story?”   This is the reason why I wrote the book.  I want to thank this individual for sharing their story and I would be honored to have those of you reading this post, read my book and tell me your story as well.

The Story From a Reader

Dear Ja Marr,

I wanted to write you and thank you for being such an influential speaker to not only the kids at the SBA mentoring program but to me as well. I read your inspiring story and can only explain my reaction as deeply moved. I thank you once more for generously giving me your book. I found it comforting that I am not alone in the world of medical sales. Since I am new to medical device sales, I found myself relating to your story quite a bit. I continuously caught myself reliving similar experiences throughout the read. Everything from not taking responsibility of my own territory to letting my ego stop me from asking for the sale. I particularity love your chapter about earning the right to ask for the business. In that chapter I felt I was reading my story not yours. I am shocked at the familiarity of your story and feel truly blessed that I read about your young career before destroying my own. Your book is a crucial guide to every new sales professional, especially those in medical sales. I have read many sales books, even medical device sales guide books and none of them prepare you for the mistakes you will most likely make like your book does. I can safely say your story may have potentially saved my career because of the path I have been leading thus far.

I would love to share my story with you and there is a good chance you will be taken back by the similarities. I have recommended this book to my VP of sales. I do not know how to thank you for sharing such a personal story and opening my eyes to what the sales industry should be about. Before I started with surgical sales my hopes included that my knowledge and accountability would help doctors perform better in surgery thus leading to higher patient satisfaction and surgical results. I wanted my doctors to see me as their consultant rather than their vendor. The pressure for increasing sales numbers changed my perception pretty quickly. I felt none of my managers cared about my expectations for the position, instead the focus was on the bottom line. I lost sight that I could achieve my initial goals and increase numbers in unison. Ultimately, in our business it is about the bottom line. The problem lies with only recognizing this piece and this is where you cause trouble. I appreciate the chapter of your life where it was no longer about the rankings to you and because of that you not only earned success but you earned the number one spot. There is something to be said about that and it is no coincidence you earned respect from your ophthalmologists.

Congratulations to your success, I truly admire you for sharing your struggles in this world of constant judgment. I would love to learn more from you and consider you a mentor. Please feel free to contact me anytime. I would love to attend one of your upcoming programs or events.

To your story,

Ja Marr