''But, nobody leaves this Company, it's not the done thing. Not cricket old boy.' '

''But, nobody leaves this Company, it's not the done thing. Not cricket old boy.' '

Mike Mahon remembers the salesmen training and his decision to leave.

Mike Mahon

Trinity College Dublin

1960

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Mike Mahon

Work and Employment

Life Story

London

1960s

The course was a series of lectures and demonstrations on how to be a successful salesman. We had the dubious pleasure of meeting one of these rare British specimens one afternoon. We were informed that he had just returned from a sales mission abroad, abroad - that mysterious place beyond Dover. He proceeded to regale us with stories of the difficulties of selling to foreigners; some of whom didn't even speak English. One would think he had just returned from the front and deserved a medal! The course dragged on in this tone. One day we were informed by the chief salesman (there were no sales women in those days ) that one of their representatives assigned to Rolls - Royce had his own office with his own name emblazoned on the door in gold, 'And someday some of you gentlemen may have YOUR own office with YOUR name in gold letters on the door. ' Halleluiah, thanks be to the good God above I never aspired to such lofty heights.  But I was to be saved from this funny farm. As luck would have it halfway through the course I got wind of a flying job in the Belgian Congo. When I offered my resignation it was greeted with cries of incredulity. 'But, nobody leaves this Company ,it's not the done thing. Not cricket old boy. ' I was promptly relieved of my airline ticket to Dublin and proffered a 3rd class rail ticket for Holyhead and the Mail Boat Thus ended my brief career as a not to successful salesman.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)