Sales rep makes awkward first impression with new Senior Director

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Apr 19, 2026 3:15 PM EDT

This sales rep made the most awkward, unforgettable first impression with their new Senior Director, and now they're wondering what she really thinks about them. 

Has there ever been a business acquisition that wasn't a bit awkward for all workers involved? Doubtful! 

In many cases like this, one company will acquire another, and bosses are quick to reassure employees that nothing will change. But suddenly, there are twice as many workers under one roof, and they'll inevitably have differences in how they do business. 

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  • Sales rep smiles awkwardly at new Sales Director, who looks put off by him.
    via Getty Images

    Sales rep smiles awkwardly at new Sales Director, who looks put off by him.

  • For example, at some companies, a rush job might still take a few weeks, depending on how many people are lined up in that chain of command. The other company might consider a rush job something that needs to get done by EOD.

    The employees are bound to bump heads on that, as well as just general etiquette issues. 

    Like, at some offices, it's commonplace for a boss to stop by their employee's desk to inquire about a project. At other companies, that would be seen as totally impolite — instead, they're used to things like that happening over email. 

    This person thinks they messed up bigly when talking with their new Senior Director… but did they? 

  • Today I messed up telling a director with 1200 reports the corporate version of hurry up

    I'm on the sales team and it's been quite interesting to offer and learn all new services etc. I happened. to have been the first one in our geography to find a client opportunity that could be done by our teams abroad so after reviewing the proposal
    via PortugueseRoamer
  • with our local CFO he asked me to validate how billing would work when it comes to projects done with teams outside of our geography. Fuck, I didn't think of this. Client deadline is fast approaching.
    via PortugueseRoamer
  • I Talk to the tech guy who made the technical part of the offer and he tells me he doesn't know and to get in touch with person XYZ. I send a quick teams message to XYZ. She quickly replies. "Hey
    via PortugueseRoamer
  • PortugueseRoamer, nice to meet you, sure let me check." I thank her for answering quickly and say. "Please do note this is very time sensitive as we have a deadline".
    via PortugueseRoamer
  • So my company has been acquired by a large multinational which is huge in what we can bring to clients and sell them in terms of services.
    via PortugueseRoamer
  • 30 minutes go by... Nothing... 1 hour goes by... Still nothing... I give her a phone call, no answer. Time to shot a message;
    via PortugueseRoamer
  • "Hey, any news on this?? Quick reminder that its time sensitive." Another person answers the email chain. Thank god finally.
    via PortugueseRoamer
  • Boss smiles at sales rep as they go over charts together.
    via Getty Images

    Boss smiles at sales rep as they go over charts together.

  • I open teams again on my conversation to thank her and let her know we got an answer only to open the organization tab and see 1200 reports. Shit, way to make a good first impression.
    via PortugueseRoamer
  • TL;DR: Hasty sales guy thinking of his paycheck disregards common courtesy and tells person blocking his work to hurry up as a client is waiting, only to find out the "blocker" is very high in the corporate chain.
    via PortugueseRoamer

  • Pestering your new boss because of an emergency on your end is certainly a choice! It happens every now and then, though. And I imagine she had sympathy for this guy, because as a sales rep, getting things to your clients on time can affect your income stream. If you can't get something into the client and they drop you, you're losing out on commissions or bonus money. 

    That shows that this boss has a good heart and is caring towards her employees. After all, she could've pulled that “Poor planning on your end does not constitute an emergency on my end” card, as so many folks do in the corporate world. They're correct about that. But working in this manner has bought this boss loyalty from an employee who remembers how she helped them in their time of need. 

  • This person added a little epilouge

    Edit: Director just answered me "No worries, just make some sales." and invited us to do a virtual meet and greet. Thank god she's super nice.
    via PortugueseRoamer

    Good news! She didn't take any notice of this person's hasty demands. She seemingly just took it all in stride. Let's hope they continue their harmonious working relationship from here on out. 

  • Edit 2: As with everything in life everyone has an opinion about everything I did wrong here. But I did receive some excellent advice from some people which I would like to thank. To all the haters | hope you guys have a
    via PortugueseRoamer
  • lovely weekend. There's more things to worry about besides some guys' fuck up in his job :)
    via PortugueseRoamer
  • Office worker and his boss laugh together.
    via Getty Images

    Office worker and his boss laugh together. 

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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