He Works Hard For The Money

- Note: This blog was written in late February. But, I am just now posting it because I've just gotten copies of the pictures to include with it. -

Friday was probably the most interesting day I’ve had working at Oxylance since I started here in Aug of 2007.

When I started I was told my job responsibilities would involve two major responsibilities.
1.) Book flatbed trucks to haul orders to customers
2.) Inside Sales –Answer phone calls from our distributors and input orders into the sales system so the plant can manufacture the needed products. I am constantly answering questions, explaining proper use of our products, and giving out pricing information.
I’ve had many folks ask me what we do at Oxylance. If you’re interested, check out this video. We make these burning bars and the items needed to operate them properly.)


Another thing I was told was that I’d be working closely with one other staff member who also handles inside sales. Mrs. Annette Cox. A lot of people in the office call her “Mama”. Annette started working for Oxylance 7 years ago knowing that’d she’d be at retirement age within two years. Well here we are, 7 years later and she’s still working. That is until Friday. Friday was her retirement day. She’ll be 70 in April and decided it was time for her to enjoy her grandkids more often. She will be greatly missed. I’ll miss her because we’ve gotten very close during this time. We’ve been working together now for over a year and a half and I understand why people call her Mama. She’s so loving and kind, but doesn’t mind telling you what you need to hear every now and then. For a while I thought of her like a grandmother. But now that I know her better, she’s more like the crazy aunt that you love to go visit.




I’ll also miss her because we’re not replacing her. I’ll be taking on her duties in addition to the responsibilities I already had, so my days are about to get much busier. You probably won’t see as many blog post or facebook updates in the weeks to come. I imagine I’ll be on the phone more and trying to handle all the customer calls instead of the half that I’ve been used to.

This day was also interesting for another reason. Friday was the last day of the month so it was very busy. So busy in fact, that a prior offer I’d made was brought up and taken advantage of. A year ago I said “If we’re ever busy and you guys need help in the plant, just let me know. I’m not afraid of a little hard work.” Well our plant manager remembered that comment so all of the sales staff, except for Mrs. Annette, were “invited” to come out and help in the plant. So I spent 6 hrs Friday putting couplers onto lance pipe.



See, I can do more than sit at a computer all day. =)