I have been working on this HUGE project at the office for my dad. I'm his, what he likes to call, Marketing Manager, which means I'm the one heading up the production of Sample Books. Which means I'm the one who makes them, ha. Anyways, it goes like this:
- It begins with the Master Sample Book, getting it edited by the head boss-man (a.k.a. my dad), revising it, making sure all the right styles of fabric are in, and all the wrong ones are out.
- Next I take an inventory of each style we have in stock, update the organization to match the Revised Master Sample Book, and place orders of any styles we are out of or running low on.
- While that is all being taken care of, I do an inventory of the pre-cut samples, again making sure we have all the styles that belong in the book, and taking out ones that no longer belong.
- Meanwhile, I have to maintain a healthy supply of the pre-cut samples (the ones that go into the book), which means I cut each individual piece from the sample roll, and organize that according to how it is all placed in the Sample Book.
- Of course, after each piece (and I'm talking about 600 pieces of each 22ish styles...you do the math.), I have to label each one, so the customers know what to order.
- Which means I have to make sure we are never out of labels.
- BUT, there IS a top and bottom to each piece, so if anyone else is helping cut or label samples (which there were this past couple of weeks), I, personally, have to make sure there were no mistakes made. (It has happened in the past, and it was not pretty...I spent half my summer fixing Sample Books that had been messed up because the fabric was upside down).
- Anyways, after the samples are all cut and labeled, they need to be stacked altogether into the books....very neatly, perfectly aligned, making sure each label on the samples are lined up so you can't see them through the fabric, and stapling the headers on to keep it together, thus forming a book.
- Which means the headers always need to be available and ready also....which means printing them, and cutting them out, trimming the edges perfectly (after all, this is our main marketing campaign, and the sample product needs to be perfect in order to be presented to potential customers.
Me, being a perfectionist, and also being the liability for the department, took the time to create, type up, and hang a detailed outline of all the instructions regarding making a correct Sample Book.
And we actually produce two different kinds of Sample Books, which use some of the same fabrics, but different headers, and different labels, with different style names for the fabric....
So, anyways, if you didn't read all of that, it's perfectly okay because I think you get the gist without reading it. So, after I finished making the books for last month's convention, my boss/Dad, ordered 200 of type one, and 100 of type two for this month's convention....(I had SCRAMBLED to make the 75 I had sent him with to that convention)...He called before he even returned home to change his order to 400 of type one, and 200 of type two for this month's convention, after realizing the demand for the books, and the potential marketing benefits...
Not ONLY that, but i worked 57 hours in those two weeks, but was only paid for 46 hours; the government robbed me of 11 hours through taxes and deductions. Welcome to the American Dream.
Not ONLY that, but i worked 57 hours in those two weeks, but was only paid for 46 hours; the government robbed me of 11 hours through taxes and deductions. Welcome to the American Dream.
So, that's why I have not posted anything for a while....now its 1:37am, and I am going to sleep. Buenos Noches, imaginary reader.
;)
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