Meet My Needs Part II

The one thing that I really appreciate about working at Sexy Street is that when people cannot find what they are looking for- they politely leave. They leave and it somehow doesn't mean that the store is a complete failure or that I am an incompetent salesperson- it's okay that they just look elsewhere. There are just some needs we can't meet and it's okay to admit it that.

Yesterday a woman came into the store looking for a "shawl." After some careful conversation narrowing down what it was exactly she was looking for- we deduced that it was a bathing suit wrap that you tie around your waist. We have an assortment of robes and terry cloth skirts, but we didn't have a wrap per se to meet this woman's request.

Just because she thought we should carry these wraps doesn't mean that we had to and certainly didn't mean that we had to call corporate in order to get them added to our future product line. It was okay that we didn't meet her expectation. I didn't have to put myself into physical, mental and emotional contortions to meet her needs. She made no demands and there were no special meetings to discern why we couldn’t meet her needs. It was just okay. Okay that we didn’t have what she was looking for and even more okay that we never would in the future either. We stick to what we’re good at, invite people to utilize the products that we do offer and try the best we can to meet the customers’ requests.

And when we don't it’s okay for them to leave.

Meet My Needs

A lovely couple came into the store this morning. I always find those who visit a sex shop in the morning to be especially interesting. After I greeted them and asked how I could help, she quickly said that this was their first time and that they would be "just looking." He then turned to me and said "she needs a vibrator, one with external clitoral stimulation."

"Don't we all" was my internal response.

However it was my pleasure to introduce the wide range of vibrotechnology and to speak of self-empowerment in the area of meeting one's own needs. "She needs more self-esteem in the bedroom" he went on to say. The two of them squirmed their way through the game room, past the crotchless underwear, the leather cuffs and whips and made it safely to the front desk, empty-handed, reporting that "they only had $25.00 and they needed to buy diapers."

I was then assured that tomorrow would be pay day and at least one of them would be back! I look forward to seeing what tomorrow may bring.

MM

In the Beginning

In the beginning God created and God called us "good." I think we tend to forget that. Everything that is of this world...the flesh....is perceived as the antithesis of God's good creation....for some. For others, they develop a chain of stores that tend to the needs of the flesh and thankfully they were hiring!

I've been ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the protestant faith tradition since 2003 and I have been unemployed since October of 2007. I have said that the geographical state I live in, the state of the church I serve and at times my own disposition has a propensity for depression and in order to be happier, one of the three must change. The one that changed was not the one I expected.

Less than 2 miles from my home is a store whose sole purpose is to tend to the needs of the flesh. Sexy Street posted a "now hiring" sign at the end of January and was the first great hope of employment that I have had since October. Unlike the church, they embraced my open-minded, non-judgemental disposition and offered me gainful employment.

It is my hope to share this unique crossroads of my life with you and look forward to hearing from my future conversation partners-

Thanks for listening!

Mary Martha