NORFOLK, VA—For years at Halliburton Automotive, new salespersons and support staff have been introduced to the intricacies of their jobs and the work environment by several people. None, however, is more renowned and legendary than Gary Newsome, 58.
A 30-year veteran of the sales establishment, Newsome knows all of the ins and outs of the business. He estimates that he's sold between 8,000 and 10,000 cars during his career, and he reckons he's seen the likes of each new employee several times during those years. He makes it a point to thoroughly introduce each new hire to the idiosyncrasies of the property, including where each emergency exit is, how to work the microwave in the lounge, where they keep the coffee filters, and which water fountains are the special ones.
Indeed, on every orientation tour he gives, he spends no fewer than 45 minutes giving a breakdown of the 4 water fountains on the premises, including the one in the wash bay that is normally out of the way of the salespeople.
New hires have taken notice of the level of detail involved in Newsome's tours. "It was like, an enormous amount of information on the water fountains," commented January new hire, James Graves, 26. "He handed me a little map of the property that he had clearly created himself using some sort of computer aided drafting program, and the water fountains were clearly marked and labeled A-D. He must have put hours into this."
Newsome reports that he likes to list off the various pros and cons of each water fountain as he escorts each new hire to them. He shared with us, just outside the drinking fountain at the restrooms near the center of the facility in the showroom, "This is water fountain A on your map there. Or as I prefer to call her, 'Adeline.' Yes, this old girl is kept the cleanest, of course, because she's the most likely to be used by customers, and we like to make good first impressions. As far as pressure, you can't go wrong with Adeline. You're sure to get a steady stream, even when someone is flushing a toilet. Still, though she's dependable, she lacks a little in the temperature. If temperature's your game, then look no further than Clarece, labeled 'C' on your map."
The gray-haired gentleman went on for 10 minutes explaining how frequently the refrigerating unit in each particular water fountain cycles, the last time they had been inspected, and then spent another 15 minutes describing the flavor of each water fountain's stream.
"If you're more of a purist, then I reckon Adeline won't do you wrong. Her taste is really almost indistinguishable from a nice filtered tap from the south end of the city. But sometimes when I'm in the mood for a little more of a mineral flavor, I'll even venture all the way over to the wash bay to give Della a visit."
Just as he was seeming to draw to a close, Newsome then found a whiteboard in the conference room and began drawing up a detailed decision tree for when he has a thirst, and even used an acronym to help newcomers remember how to determine their thirst needs and which fountain would best satisfy them.
Although the experience was strange, coworkers report that it does not seem to be an issue after the initial tour, subsequent written exam, field test, and then bimonthly refresher courses that Newsome puts them through to ensure that they retain the information.
As of press time, Newsome showed no interest in retirement, and commented that Beatrice had recently had her drain scrubbed.