Culture Shock

I had spent the past ten years working in a predominately male environment. At the first plant I worked in Lex., not counting the Admin staff, I was one of four females in a work force of 250+. I was surrounded by testosterone and it was good. Truck drivers, merchandisers, the service department, warehouse staff, key account staff, regional staff, divisional staff, and the Mother of all Mothers Big Wigs from Atlanta, sales staff and area management and plant management....all men. A very masculine manly business this beverage business.

I attended my first sales meeting the first day on the job. Imagine my surprise, my shock, my jaw dropping disbelief that the entire sales staff, save the Advertising Director are women!

And as I met them one by one only one of them made me start praying, "Please dear God, don't let her be the one whose territory I am taking over." And, as much as I love irony, I was throwing a fit inside my little old head that yes yes yes, she has been covering the territory since is was abandoned several weeks ago and she has no intentions of helping one one iota.

The Advertising Director gets me in his office. "She is loved in that territory."

Yea. Yes, I can see that, by every man who has a breath of life left in him. The woman is a ex-beautician with mile high hair and perfect make up and boobs that are screaming to tumble out of her skin tight clothes.

"She is very anxious to help you as much as she can."

Oh yea, I noticed that when I requested to ride with her immediately that day she slipped out the back door and resurfaced seconds before a 1pm appointment in my territory.

I notice that she is more concerned with what the customers are saying about her. I tell her nothing, I tell the Ad Dir nothing, after all he is under some delusion about her being a team player. She is "its all about me" player.

This morning I felt my face beginning to flush and keeping my cool under wraps was taking enormous control. She ordered me to follow up with a customer she had taken care of and I asked, "what's up? Where is the ticket, what is the deal? Why are they receiving a free ad tomorrow?"

Today was day five I have spent in this brand new business. I can barely make out the rate cards, special inserts, Christmas Holiday specials, first time ad rates, full page, half page, quarter page...little 2 inches in classified (that sound sexy in a very perverse way). I know nothing and I am not so full of myself that I can't admit it. I know that it is like anything else, you have to learn and it is like training for a marathon, step by step.

She is a bitch and I know I am not the only one in the office to realize this. I am just the new girl, the lowest one on the totem pole.

Man oh man. Please never let me ever treat someone with such a cavalier attitude that says, "I don't care about you."

And I hear a lot of trash about this vixen out there and I know she knows.

I'm certain she is wondering what I am going to do.

Hell woman, I've been working with men for 10 years and I have learned a lot from them.....