My Awful Day With a Multi-millionaire

I was working at the largest national pharmaceutical company. The corporate entity had bought out a much smaller company that had strong growth prospects and good market share in some niche markets.

Part of the agreement of the corporate buy out was that the son of the owner of the smaller company that was bought out would work full time in the corporation. He would receive an agreed package and share options in the new corporation. He would also receive a twice inflation rate increase on his already lucrative base package, amongst other perks was the rumour.

We all knew he had a lot of money, given that his father and he had built their business from nothing. I was most respectful of his entrepreneurship and business acumen.

I was at middle management level, and I had to accompany this gentleman whom we will call ‘Myron’. We were flying to brief our sales force in a different region of the country. I was there to train them on our new product launches, and Myron would train them on selling techniques.

Personally, I am not a pushy person, it’s not part of my DNA. I am confident but not pushy. I detest pushy, belligerent people. They make my blood boil.

Well, was I in for a surprise with Myron.

The Airport

We arrive at the airport and immediately Myron tells me I will join him in the first-class lounge. I protest because I am a lower tier traveller and the rules of that airline were no guests allowed; they have since changed the rules to allow one guest.

“You just go over there and wait for me.” Myron tells me.

He walks up to the staff at the entrance to the first-class lounge and throws his platinum membership card down. “You lot have screwed up my miles!” he says.

The flustered staff all attend to his rather loud outburst, he has them all flustered. “Why are you trying to rob me? Do you know how much money I spend each year on this airline?”

“Sorry Sir, let me check for you.” the sound of frantic typing and searching on the computer ensues.

After a while. “I’m sorry, sir, it seems your miles are correct. We have captured your two overseas trips.”

“Oh, okay must have been my mistake. Now where is my colleague?” he says nonchalantly after causing a scene.

He turns around and calls me while the flight staff member humbly returns his card to him.

We walk into the lounge without a question asked. They wouldn’t dare.

I was amazed.

“That is how you do it. You cause a scene, you put them on the back foot and keep them guessing.” said Myron, rather proud of his antics.

We Boarded the plane, and he went off to first class and I was in economy, happy to be there, to have a break from the man.

Shopping for suits and shoes

When we landed, and had received our hire car for the day, our first stop was a clothing store. A department store. Myron buys some suits and some fine leather shoes.

“I want a cash discount. With so much bad debt going around, I want a discount for cash.” he says.

The pimply faced youngster serving him is in a flat spin. He has never had such a request.

“Who is the store manager? Tell him I want to see him.”

After telling everyone in a 20 metre radius of the bad debt and why he deserves a cash discount, because he is paying so much for suits, the manager agrees under duress and he receives a 15% discount.

“Always remember,” he says to me, “If you don’t ask you don’t get.”

He changes the shoes that he was wearing for his newly purchased leather ones, placing his own pair in a bag to carry and gives them to me, like I am his servant. Later he is angry when he feels blistering and pain from the new shoes.

We go back to the store and he makes another scene, asking them if they are trying purposefully to harm him and threatening to go to his lawyer. They want to appease him, so they ask what will help him.

He tells them he wants some suit covers and another pair of shoes for free, once again reiterating how much money he had spent with them in cash earlier.

Finally, we have our business meeting with our salespeople and we get back to the airport to fly home, as it was just a one-day trip.

At the airport he is back to his good old self. “Do you know that on the way here, you lot didn’t give me a fork, only a knife and a spoon. I had to wait for them to look around for a fork for me. Do you know how many miles I fly with you lot every year, now surely you can allow me one guest into the first-class lounge? Once again the flustered staff allow me in no questions asked.

I was happy to say goodbye to Myron, and it was a day business trip I would never forget.

Conclusion:

What did I learn?

Well, I learnt that if that is the person who I have to become to be wealthy then I would rather not.

Later I learnt that not all wealthy people behave in such a manner.

Myron got what he wanted because he didn’t care about what people think of him, but personally I cannot live like that, disrespecting people.

I said to Myron when we returned home. “Myron you see everyone as cows don’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You like to milk them, for your benefit.”

“Hey, like I said, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. People give you as much crap as you take from them, so why not be the one handing out the crap?”

And there end eth the lesson. Personally, I learnt how not to be a human. Wealthy or not