2 A PLACE TO START This chapter features the first of five full multigenre papers, “Cosmetic Clips” by Jennifer Sorensen. Accessible to both high school and college students alike, “Cosmetic Clips” is as an excellent introduction to the multigenre concept. ‘When I met Jennifer, she was a student in the Theory and Practice of Writing master's degree program at Utah State University. Gaining less and less fulfillment from her job at a department store cosmetic counter, Jennifer enrolled in graduate school so she could make a profound vocational change The nature of the degree (and the writing culture of USU’s English depart- ment) encouraged graduate students to write in many genres: fiction, per- sonal essays, technical writing, and poetry as well as academic papers. Jennifer excelled in all of these. She wanted to write, and she also wanted to teach others how to work with words. While multigenre papers often come out of research in secondary sources, I've learned to wish students Godspeed in pursuing topics that arise from the countryside of the soul. Jennifer's topic cut to the core of her vocational discontent. COSMETIC CLIPS For all the Cosmetic Specialists I worked with and knew well. TODAY IN COSMETICS, NYMENS HAS A SPECIAL GIFT FOR YOU! WITH ANY CLINIQUE PURCHASE OF $12.50 OR MORE YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE BONUS BAG—FREE. OUR COSMETIC SPECIALISTS WOULD LOVE TO SHOW YOU THE LATEST COSMETIC TRENDS. STOP AT LEVEL ONE TODAY AND LET THEM GIVE YOU A COMPLIMENTARY MAKEOVER. REMEM- BER AT NYMENS, CUSTOMER SERVICE IS OUR TOP PRIORITY!8 | BLENDING Genre, The Make ALTERING STYLE Beas My customer looks in the mirror seeks transformation by an artis’s touch Layers of blue-red base to hide blemishes, dark circles, lingering lines She tells me about her divorce, failed career, and a close friend's death—while I blend them away in the folds of her face, chin, and neck apply gray liner, sketch soft peach shadow and blush the patch scars; massage regret With skilled strokes I make her face even — like a painted picture—one that has no memory of an earlier place and time. Beneath blotted lipstick she smiles while I complete her portrait with powder. Beautiful Red Hair “She had the most beautiful, long, red hair, and the kind of freckles that go with the red hair—you know the kind I mean.” “The dyed kind or natural red?” “Natural—anyway, she looked so bad. No makeup and dark circles under her eyes! I put her in the chair and we started talking. She looked like she might burst into tears at any moment. She told me that last week she came home from work—she’s a nurse and works night shifts—and found her husband dead at his computer. Thirty-two-years-old and he had a heart attack. They have two young boys and no life insurance.” “Exactly how old are her boys?” “Two and four—this was the first time she had left her house since his funeral.” “Did you sell her anything?” NYMENS TRAINING TIP NUMBER ONE: SUGGESTIVE SELL- ING IS A MUST! NEVER LET YOUR CUSTOMER LEAVE WITH- OUT BUYING MORE THAN ONE ITEM. MULTIPLE SALES IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS! May I Help You? “Sandra, how much do you have up?” “Four hundred, and you?” “Two, but I've been here longer than you.” “You'll do more soon.” “No way, Sandra,”oo Se ————E———— Se ee es “See that man in the brown suit standing at the fragrance bar?” eeaceteeat | ae “Yeah.” “Two hundred easy. Watch me.” Wendy's Waltz She starts by smiling, then she bends over just enough to grab the nearest perfume tester, Oscar. When she does, the man in the brown suit notices how short her black skirt is or perhaps he just likes the way her slim legs look in black panty hose “Does the person you are shopping for prefer a floral or a spice fragrance?” “My wife—girlftiend likes well—what do you like?” Wendy's high heels click as she walks around the counter and carefully selects Chanel #5, a higher priced fragrance than the one she previously held in her hand. “L like something in between. This is one that I wear. Would you like me to put some on for you to smell? When you spray fra- grance on a fragrance card, often it doesn't smell the same as it does on someone's skin.” ‘Wendy watches the man in the brown suit answer his cellular phone. The whole time he speaks he smiles at her and nods a few times, Wendy leans closer to the man, so he can smell the fragrance where she has sprayed it on her neck. The man’s eyes are now on . her low-cut, white silk blouse. a “Do you want perfume or parfum?” Wendy whispers to the man. He finishes his brief phone call and smiles at her. Wendy rubs one hand along her side and then taps her red fingernails against her belt. 4 “What's the difference?” < % “Perfume has more oil in it and therefore lasts longer, especially if you layer it with lotion and powder.” Wendy reaches into the case and pulls out a Chanel lotion and € powder and places it on the counter. fe “Do you want the full ounce or the half ounce perfume?” “Why don't you give me the full ounce.” Wendy smiles. She can see Sandra walking toward the fragrance counter. “Well, your girlfriend is certainly lucky to have a great man like you to spoil her. Would you like me to wrap these for you?” Sandra is now at the counter next to Wendy. “Look, Sandra, this man is giving Chanel to his girlfriend.” “L wish it were me—I'm jealous.” “bet you are,” Wendy winks at Sandra and smiles. “How much did you say everything came to?” the man inquires. “Only $272.69 with tax, and I've included a free sample of bath gel.” so: an1 | Bepwne Genre, ‘i NEVER LET YOUR eee CUSTOMERS KNOW THAT YOU WORK ON COMMISSION AND NEVER DISCUSS YOUR SALARY WITH ANOTHER EM- PLOYEE. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT DOING EITHER OF THESE THINGS, YOU WILL BE SUSPENDED IMMEDIATELY! Vanity Keepers After a hectic work shift, we are restocking merchandise, sacks, and supplies. We are cleaning smeared lipstick, foundation, blush and handprints from the rows of glass cases. We are exhausted; our legs and backs ache from standing all day on tile. Our fingers itch with dryness from continued cleansing between makeovers. Some of our friends envy us because they believe we are beautiful women with perfect skin because we know all the skincare secrets. Men flirt with us; frustrated housewives hate us. We watch some customers spend more money in one hour than some of us earn in one pay- check. Help Wanted Nymens’ Cosmetic Specialist Attractive women ages 21-39 with prior cosmetic experience. Must have excellent communication skills. Single, non-mothers preferred. Must be able to work anytime Monday-Sunday including holidays. No wrinkles, age spots, facial scars or bad teeth. Heavy foundation, panty hose, high heels and hairspray required. No sick pay or personal leave time. Overweight applicants and applicants with physical handicaps need not apply. No job security unless you maintain sales goals. Aggressive, self-motivated, persistent women only. Big busted blondes encouraged to apply. : Actresses and anorexics preferred. Please contact Sherrie Airs at 231-2343 for an appearance interview.a No One Can Leave tn gry, Ann's school just called and told me to come and pick her Tree oa neh g fever—probably the flu. What am I going to do? oat out if town and I have no one to leave her with.” ‘ue will never let you go. We're shorthanded in the department today. Have you taken your lunch yet?” . “No, why?” vet A a long lunch—t'll try to cover for you. Then call Sue right efore she leaves to go home and tell her you have car trouble and you'll be in as soon as you can.” “Do you think it'll work?” Do you have any other options? Remember Amie? She got fired at first of the week because she left when her daughter was sic “Thanks, Wendy. I owe you one.” NYMENS TRAINING TIP NUMBER THREE: DON’T ACCEPT CUSTOMER RETURNS WITHOUT EXCHANGING THE MER- CHANDISE FOR SOMETHING ELSE. REMEMBER, RETURNS ARE SUBTRACTED FROM YOUR MONTHLY COMMISSION. Stacey Everyone knows that Stacey is the perfect wife, mother, church leader, and Nymen’s top-selling cosmetics specialist. Petite and at- tractive, Stacey is never late for work and makes more commission than any other coworker on her cosmetic line. She works past her shift even when the cosmetic manager doesn’t ask her to, and she never takes breaks. Stacey is always pleasant and knows all her cus- tomers by name. No one knows that Stacey steals: when they are not around, she takes her coworkers’ holds (merchandise they have either selected for or helped a customer with and are waiting for the customer to return and purchase) and rings them up on her own number so she can get their commission, she often enters her cos- metic line codes into the register instead of the actual ones so her sales appear to be bigger, she puts extra testers from the stockroom in her pockets and takes them home, and she snatches money from unattended employee wallets. No one has caught on to the creative accounting methods she uses when she balances her line book. In the six years that Stacey has worked for Nymens, she has stolen over $25,000. APlace to Start | 112] BLENDING GENRE, ALTERING STYLE Doing Books All day long we're doing books doing books All day adding columns, sales and profits Red for sold, blue transfers, green orders— Not enough red. All of us doing books doing Books. Can't leave until our columns match The sales reports—they must match the columns Sold—but we struggle to get our columns to match. There can be no errors—we fight tension, anxiety, Stress and headaches until the final figure When we finish doing books doing books all day Long we're doing books. Reflection My husband told me this morning that I have become hard, almost plastic—ike a Barbie doll. Instantly, 1 was angry, then the tears came. He was the one who wanted me to make more money. Why doesn’t he understand how hard it is—how hard 1 work? What would he be like if he were under constant pressure to sell or be fired. He says I'm not as much fun to be around as | used to be. I look in the mirror and I see a tired woman with too much makeup—suddenly I don't know who I am anymore. Returner’s Strategy If | empty the Clinique foundation 1 bought yesterday at Nymens into another bottle, and fil this one with water, then I can return it to Nymens tomorrow and get enough money to buy the new shirt wanted for the party on Saturday. I'll just tell the saleswomen I'm allergic to it and I'l still get to keep the free gif. 'YMENS TRAL NUMBER F REMEMBER, THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT. DON'T DO. ANYTHING To JEOPARDIZE NYMENS’ EXCELLENT CUSTOMER RAPPORT. Circles When I sell, sell, sell Imake more, more, more And I'm happy, happy, happy Until next year when Thave to sell More, more, more to beat the sales | did this year in order to keep My job, job, job.. : My Mommy Sells Lipstick “eae, I'm depressed. Yesterday Dylan came home from school ind asked me what I do. He explained that Billy's mom is a nurse and Alan’s mom works for Novell. I started to say that I used to be a teacher—that teaching was something I loved to do and how re- warding it was to teach fifth grade but the pay wasn't very good and Nymens pays more—but then I just looked at him and an- swered, “Your mommy sells lipstick.” Dear Nymens Valued Customer, I must confess that I was immensely disappointed that you did not purchase more during our Holiday Makeover Madness Weekend. After all, do you really think I pamper you because I like you? I have to make a living too! You only bought one blush and then you had the nerve to return it on Monday. So I wasted a half an hour on you when I could have made more commission assisting someone else. Big mistake! And T'm sick of hearing about the Italian lover you met during an EST meeting. Who cares? Anyway, about all the free samples I've been giving you—well I need them back. I need them for my real customers—you know the ones who buy two hundred dollars in my line each time they come in and don't return anything Please do me a favor and change cosmetic lines Your Cosmetic Specialist, Louise At the Cemetery December 7. It’s cold and windy. We only have an hour for lunch. When Sandra and I get out of the car we can hear LeAnna wailing, “Not my baby. My beautiful baby.” LeAnna is pacing around the grave site. She is dressed completely in black, and she is wearing Sunglasses, no makeup; her face is stark white, The snow crunches tinder our feet as we move to keep warm and place red roses on the tiny casket. “Not my baby,” LeAnna’s voice echoes over and over in the wind, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. A Place to Sart | 13BLENDING GENRE, Back at Nymens ; mbering how ag- tum drive no one speaks. I'm reme poe Le How easily she takes customers LeAnna is on the sales floor. from me if I turn my back for even a minute; how perfect her makeup always is. When we return to tice two fat women tugging on the same fragile each one arguing that she had it first. There's no time to waste. We have to sell atleast two hundred dollars to the demanding Nymens holiday shoppers before the end of our shift. the cosmetic department, Sandra and I no- fragrance wreath— 1 Want to Retire In the mirrors around the cosmetics counter I see wrinkles under ry eyes that I've never noticed before, a small run in my new panty hose, my hips bigger today, my uniform falling apart, my lipstick smeared, my shoes wearing out, and my hair turning gray. T'm not perfect. Perhaps I'm too old for this job. THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING AT NYMENS WHERE OUI BER ONE GOAL IS TO PLEASE YOU. DON'T FORGET TO stor AT OUR COSMETICS DEPARTMENT ON LEVEL ONE, TODAY 1S THE LAST DAY OF OUR CLINIQUE BONUS GIFT, JUST PUI CHASE $12.50 OR MORE AND YOU WILL RECED ao BONUS BAG—FREE! ae