associate, adj. and n.

[Victor Steinbok]

Back in 2007-8, Circuit City laid of all such counselors, offering them
re-hire on the condition of loss of seniority and reduction in
rank--basically, reducing them to "sales associates" ;-)

Now we know why we don't have Circuit City to kick around any more,
although their demise, in part, contributed to the reduction of average
margin in large-screen TV sales (no such luck for ultra-large--over
60-in. diagonal). But, at the time, it was a big deal, as these were
still large-ticket items that required a good sales pitch. Firing
knowledgeable salesmen definitely put CC on the wrong path. I'm just
kidding about "associates". But if "associate" is a lower rank than
"counselor", that's a pretty good summary of what happened.

     VS-)

On 6/8/2012 9:43 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> Way back in 1984 I bought a stereo at Circuit City. The salesman's card
> described him as a "consumer counselor."
>
> That makes "associate" look pretty straightforward.
>
> JL

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