Benny was a good salesman who always followed his boss's orders. But one day he got a strange task that he had never done before from upper management. He had to throw out the old man in ratty clothes who had been walking around the dealership all day.
But why did his boss ask his to do this? And who was the man who was walking around the store?
Kick Him Out
Benny did what he was told, but with a heavy heart. He asked the old man to leave and he obliged, but the moment stuck out in Benny's mind for days. Why wasn't the old man allowed to stay?
He wasn't doing anything that would hurt business.
But soon he would have answers to all of his questions about this mysterious figure.
He Didn't Return Alone
The next time Benny saw the old man, he was surrounded by many other people. They got out of multiple cars to enter the store and Benny couldn't believe his eyes.
Not only did the old man return, but he brought about a dozen other people with him.
They all walked into the store and told the boss something he would never forget.
He Explained Himself
The old man finally introduced himself to Benny when he returned, but he had a few more things to say to the boss of the car dealership. Benny couldn't believe his ears when he heard what the old man had to say.
But what did this old man have to say that was such a big deal to the boss?
And who were the people that he brought with him?
It Was a Big Distraction
Benny had been observing the same situation for a couple of days in a row now. Should he involve himself?
Or would it be better to do nothing at all? Benny was wondering what he should do if this would continue for much longer, as it caused a lot of distraction.
Why this old man kept showing up here was a complete mystery.
He Broke Benny's Routine
For the last five years Benny worked at a car dealership for luxurious vehicles. He had been doing his very best and knew all the ins and outs of the business.
An important aspect of the job is to show the high class of the dealership in every way.
In this sense, the presence of the seemingly 'low-class' old man was definitely counter-productive.
It Caught His Attention
It started about a week ago. Benny spotted an old man through the windows between the cars in front of the revolving doors. It was almost like the guy was drooling over the cars.
The way he walked and the cloths he was wearing pointed to the immediate conclusion of Benny that he would not sell a car to this man.
Just a One Time Thing
On the first afternoon, it did not take long for other people that came by browsing for cars to make comments about the old man's presence.
Benny thought lightly of it, thinking it would be a one time thing. Maybe it did bother him a little.
And then again, the old man was only outside. What harm could it do?
He Showed Up Again
The days went by and the man kept showing up again. His visits were longer now, and closer and closer he feared the come.
On the afternoon of the third day, the senior passed through the doors to look at the cars more up close. Benny had tried multiple times to politely offer if there was anything he could help him with.
Apparently the old man was just “browsing."
Could He Even Drive?
The closer this stranger came, the more Benny noticed how old he actually was. This person could barely walk straight, he had to be over ninety years old!
Would he still be allowed to drive at this age? Benny thought about approaching the man to ask this, and also to maybe find out more about him.
He Was Left Alone
On the other hand, it would be better to leave the man alone, Benny thought. After all, he did not do anything wrong, and Benny started to feel sorry for him.
Not once did the man accept the offer of the complementary coffee or water he could have at this place.
He was just there, slowly browsing the cars, day in and day out.
Other Customers Complained
The customers that complained about the presence of the man were more the exception than the rule. And without exception, they were the snobby kind of customers that did so, the stuck-up people that Benny had to deal with on a daily basis.
He did not enjoy this and therefore he did not feel the need to please them.
However, not everyone agreed with Benny on this matter.
The Boss Took Notice
The dealership for expensive cars had an owner that apparently had better things to do than run this store, as he only visited the place about once every two weeks.
When the old man had visited for five days straight, it was the boss' day to check upon his store.
It only took him minutes to notice the old man that was discretely browsing in the back of the shopping area.
What Was That All About?
As bosses do, he did not approach the senior directly. Instead, he went straight to Benny to ask what this was all about. According to the shop owner, this broke old man did not belong in his store.
He did not like the guy's presence, as he would never buy anything here.
It was something that he could spot from a mile away.
No Harm Done
After the boss had told him what he thought, Benny tried to explain that the old fellow had been showing up lately and that he had decided not to do anything about it, because no harm was done so far.
It seemed reasonable to Benny, and yet it turned out that the dealership owner firmly disagreed with what Benny had stated.
There Was An Issue
From where he stood, the issue was clear. He did not need much time to make a decision on this matter.
He looked at Benny with a serious face, while saying: "The man has to get the hell out of my building, if he is not buying anything anytime soon.
No reason for him to stick around."
The Boss Was Irritated
Although Benny's boss always had a direct nature, he seemed more irritated today than normal. Benny sighed, accepted and hoped that at least his boss would have the class to tell it this the old man himself.
Unfortunately, this task would also fall to him.
The owner did not feel like doing the dirty jobs himself, telling Benny he had more important thing to do.
They Got to Know Each Other
The moment had come for them to decided the old man was not going to buy anything. It meant that Benny, with a heavy heart, had to make his way towards the old man to tell him he had to leave immediately.
Benny felt horrible about it. Over the past couple of days, Benny had really grown to like the innocent old man.
He Showed His Appreciation
Even though they did not talk a lot, due to the fact that the senior was smiling all the time, Benny thought of him as a sweet fellow with a genuine appreciation for the cars that were there.
It was a different scene compared to the usual visitor that would walk into the store, regarding the cars as playthings - some of them would not even drive it more than ten times.
He Took a Sigh
Benny was greeted happily and called by his own name when he walked up to the old fellow. Benny, on the other hand, did not smile. He did not enjoy this moment at all.
Instead, he wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.
After a deep sigh he looked the senior in his eyes.
He Turned to Leave
Benny started by saying something kind that he had not said to the man before. He told him that he had really started to enjoy the old man's energy and presence over the last couple of days, even though they did not talk much.
He continued by saying that his boss, however, did not like him being in the store for no reason, which meant that he had to leave.
He Didn't Say a Word
For a small moment, the old man didn't seem to know how to react to this. But then, he looked to the ground while nodding softly.
Now he slowly started to turn away from Benny, and walked to the direction of the exit of the store. It seemed as if he would leave the building and vanish into the street without saying a word...
A Kind Moment
But then, just before the man reached out to move the door handle, he turned around and thanked Benny for not making his daily presence in the store a problem.
He emphasized that he would not forget it. It was now that he went through the door and onto the street in front.
This last sentence was going to stick with Benny.
He Told The Boss
Benny now returned to the office in the back of the store to tell his boss that he had sent the old guy away.
However, the dealership owner was already busy with something else as if he had completely forgotten about their particular scene before. Soon after Benny ended his shift and went home.
And yet he could not get the thought of the old man out of his mind.
More Questions Than Answers
Something stuck in Benny's head that night. Something was off about the old male saying these last few words. "I will not forget that".
What did he mean and why did he emphasize this? Benny surely thought that this was the last time he would see this person.
But soon after, he would find out that this was actually very far from the truth...
He Forgot About the Man
The next couple of days Benny had started to forget the old man. The man hadn't shown up himself for the last days out of the store.
Benny had a lot of work to distract him, so he hadn't enough time to think the words that the old man told him the last time.
But somewhere deep inside he believed that the old man would appear again.
The Store Stayed Empty
This month was supposed to be really busy for the store, but the store stayed strangely empty. Benny and the other salesmen were tasked with trying to get more customers through the door.
So, he was making calls all day long and he was trying to achieve a big sale.
He was really upset about that situation but he didn't want to quit.
It Wasn't Easy
Benny knew that was not easy to sell a luxury expensive car to someone who was not interested in buying one already.
Nobody has that amount of cash lying around. He didn't know what to do for saving his position for this job, but he knew that he really needed this job for living his life better.
Just Getting Worse
As the days passed by, it was getting worse and worse. At some point, the store had a whole day without anybody even showing up.
Now, Benny started to worry about his job more and more, this had never happened before.
He had to do something quickly or else he would end up unemployed.
Fear Overtook Him
Benny if was not selling cars, he would not be making any commission. So, he wouldn't earn enough to make ends meet and it was if he even managed to keep hold of this job.
He believed that he wasn't completely useless but it was just really bad timing for the company.
They Didn't Understand
They searched really hard and they asked a lot of people for making sales. Nobody could seem to figure out what was happening.
It was the first time that such a big crisis happened to this company and influenced his and other worker's life badly.
Although Benny did feel like some of their rich potential customers were holding information back.
They Wanted Answers
When they asked the buyers what happened, most of them gave a reason like "I am just not interested in buying a new car now, probably later again".
But nobody could say when they will become ready to buy a car or the reason why they are not able to buy one now.
Something really strange happened and Benny really needed to find out what it was.
A Meeting Was Called
After three weeks passed and not a single sale had been made, the owner of the dealership called for a meeting.
All the staff had to be present, Benny has started to feel really anxious and worried about the upcoming meeting.
He really didn't know what was going so wrong and he even didn't find a solution to what was happening.
His Biggest Fear Came True
Benny's biggest fear was losing his job and it took only 3 minutes for the owner to confirm Benny's worst fear. The store was going to put off for sale and all of the staff were going to leave the company.
Benny was feeling devastated about what just happened because he has a family to take care of.
But that was not all, it was going to be worse.
Surprise, Surprise
The owner was not only closing and selling the store, but he had been able to file for bankruptcy.
Despite him still having a huge amount of money in his bank account, his lawyer found a loophole in the law.
This was an unpleasant surprise for all the employees but especially for Benny.
Rock Bottom
The store filing the bankruptcy meant that the owner would not have to pay the employees anything for just firing them like this.
Benny felt awful because he realized that he wouldn't be paid the amount of money that he had to.
That meant that his financial situation was really bad at that very moment.
New Job Hunt
A few hours later the same day, he went home not having a clue what supposed to do now.
He barely had any money left and seeing that he was not going to be paid his last salary, he would have to find a new job quickly.
He was really worried about his family and his wife didn't know about that yet.
The News Went Through His Head
The whole night he could not sleep a wink and in the morning, he got some news that made him really furious. It seemed like the rich just seemed to keep getting richer.
He was felling that what happened was a grave injustice.
He was a good and decent man and he didn't deserve this.
The Price Wasn't Enough
Apparently, the owner of the store had managed to sell a very luxurious and expensive car that very same day that the store closed.
It was a cutthroat price, but still a lot of money for a store that nobody visited in the last months.
He believed that this was really weird and he was wondering who was the rich buyer?
Unexpected Mail
Benny just felt that was really unfair for him. His life was being turned upside down while the owner barely had the slightest bit of discontent and still managed to turn a very decent profit.
Suddenly, a pop-up mail showed up in his mailbox. It was from the dealership; it was really unexpected but Benny really wanted to open it and find out what was about.
The Hidden Message
The email was from the new manager of the store, he would like to invite all the employees to come in and answer some questions for him.
At first, Benny had no interest in returning to that place, but then he thought that maybe was a good chance for him to find a new job or to get back at the previous manager.
His Plan
Benny thought that maybe if he told the new manager about the illegitimate filing for bankruptcy, they would be able to do something with that.
After all, nobody was going to do listen to him or any of the other employees, but someone with money like him, probably has a lot more influence.
On His Way Out
So after a lot of thinking, Benny replied to the email, that he was going to visit the new manager and help him with all the questions that he had.
They planned an appointment for that very afternoon, Benny was going to be the first old employee that the manager was going to meet. Benny was feeling anxious before the meeting but he didn't know why.
He Finally Arrived
When Benny arrived at the store, Benny was directed to the old office of the previous owner by a man who was really dressed up.
Benny was sure that those people who bought the store were really rich. But Benny was never prepared for who was going to meet, that was going to be a huge surprise for him.
The Man In The Office
When Benny opened the office door his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. There was no doubt in his mind, he knew this man and the man recognized him.
The new owner looked at Benny and just smiled, he only said " I told you I would not forget about you".
That very moment Benny froze and was just looking at that man.
The New Owner
The new owner was the old man that Benny kicked out of the store a few months ago. "How's that even possible", he thought.
The old man saw how confused Benny was, so he sat him down, he wanted to explain to him everything.
Benny was obviously not ready for that news but he had to learn what was going on.
The Truth About Him
Apparently, the old man was not just a car enthusiast. He was a really wealthy businessman, the richest man in the city.
He had been considering buying this leadership for a while, but first wanted to get an honest feel for it.
Benny didn't know how to feel about that and he didn't know what to tell this old man.
His Daily Routine
The old man explained to Benny that he visited the store every day for a whole week to see how the store's state was.
Also, he wanted to see how the employees would treat him and the other customers too.
The old man also visited the store because he just enjoyed looking at the cars there.
He Was Looking For a Deal
He had already made his decision to buy the store, but when he was kicked out by the previous owner, he changed his approach with this.
Instead of making a formal bid, he wanted to get the price down as low as possible.
The man was confused about what the old man told him but soon or later he is going to understand.
Well Connected
So, the old man started to make some calls. A man like him was very well connected and he made sure every possible customer anywhere near the store was told to wait until buying a luxurious car.
Of course, they all agreed with no hesitation.
Now the man understood the reason why the last months, not one customer wanted to buy a car.
A Clever Plan
Eventually, doing that led the previous owner to file for bankruptcy and the old man to be able to buy the store for a very low price.
He wanted to open it back up in a week so everybody who delayed their purchase would come back to the store as soon as possible.
This plan was clever but it was harmful to Benny because he was fired because of this.
Help Wanted
The only problem for the old man was that he needed employees to reopen the store. And who was better than the people who knew how to run the store already.
Everybody was rehired and the old man promoted Benny to the manager of the store.
Benny was really relieved because now he has a job again.
Grand Reopening
The store reopened again 3 days later and customers started flooding in. It had never before been this busy, they were starting to make big sales again.
Benny had never been happier because everything seemed to work out in the end for him and everybody else working in the dealership. All these happened because Benny was nice to the old man.
The events of this story are entirely fictional and are products of the author’s imagination. Images included are meant for illustration purposes only. Any resemblance to actual events, places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.