Meet the SmartSign team: Gerson Cordero
Gerson Cordero has been a part of the SmartSign sales team for two years. We chatted about some of his favorite SmartSign memories.
Monica: What do you do here?
Gerson: Well, I am a sales rep or sales specialist. So, basically what that entails is picking up phone calls, advising customers on the large variety of items that we sell, and helping them make the best decision. Actually, most customers pretty much know what they want. They just want to process the order over the phone. People have trust issues, I guess.
Monica: With the Internet?
Gerson: Yeah. With leaving their cards online. So, we help them do that. But even if customers don’t know what they want, we advise them on what’s best for them.
Monica: And how long have you been here?
Gerson: Two years. Two long years.
Monica: Have you been in sales the whole time?
Gerson: Yeah. I’ve been in sales the entire time. I started February of 2012. My friend, Eric, was actually the one that referred me here. So, it’s been good ever since.
Monica: Have you been living in New York for longer than those two years?
Gerson: Yeah. New York all my life. I used to live in Washington Heights. I was born and raised there. And about a year ago, I moved out with Eric, the guy that referred me here. We actually live in Bushwick now.
Monica: Oh. Cool.
Gerson: So, it’s very similar to Washington Heights. I like it a lot. It’s kind of got this Williamsburg vibe to it, too, so that’s pretty nice.
Monica: Are you welcoming those changes? Or are you opposed to them?
Gerson: No. I mean, I love it. I love it. I feel like it’s the best of both worlds, because you still get the culture. But you still get — like, there’s two new bars that opened up. So, that’s nice. But you still get the taco trucks and everything like that.
Monica: That’s good.
Gerson: I wish the rent wasn’t so high.
Monica: Don’t we all!
Gerson: That’s what you get for living in New York.
Monica: Do you have any SmartSign products at home?
Gerson: Yeah. Oh. The mats. The mats. I love the mats.
Monica: Lots of people seem to have the mats.
Gerson: Yeah. I love the mats.
Monica: What do you use your mat for?
Gerson: I have one in my living room, and actually, I have two that I’m going to take home now. Because since we get these returns, I just switch them every few months, every time we get one that’s the right size. So, I have a brown one now in my living room. I’m going to get a blue one for spring and whatever. And there’s also another one that I’m going to put right by my outdoor space that we have in our apartment and have people clean their feet there.
Monica: You have outdoor space in your apartment?
Gerson: Yeah. Yeah. That’s one of the reasons for the high rent. It’s Brooklyn, and it’s not a railroad apartment, and it has an outdoor space.
Monica: How did you end up at SmartSign? What did you do before?
Gerson: I was working at a bank, and I hated it. Being a bank teller is probably the worst job. I was going to use another word that wasn’t ‘worst,’ but, it’s one of the worst jobs ever. It’s because of the fact that since it’s such a big company, and they’re all about customer service, they basically want you to bend over backwards, no matter what. Actually, my last day — the day that I got my job interview here — I took the day off, and I finished my interview here. Mike was like, “Hey. You want the job?” I was like, “Sure. Duh. Why you think I’m here?” And I swear, within an hour, I was already on 72nd and Columbus, and I was like, “I’m out. Gone. I am done. No more. I don’t want to do this anymore. I got a new job. I’m out.” That was pretty much it. Also, for a small period of time, I was working for this divorce attorney.
Monica: It’s also not a fun job, right?
Gerson: No. It’s not. I heard so many voice mails and just people — marriage is hard, and divorce is even harder. I guess that’s why some people stay married. But, oh, my God. I remember one time. There was a guy who called, and he was in the parking garage. He’s on the phone. He’s talking to the attorney. He’s like, “Oh. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do. This lady, she’s annoying,” and all this and that. All I remember hearing was his car speeding away. I thought it was somebody else who was in a rush. It was his wife that took his car and sped away in his car, while he was going to get it. I wanted to be an attorney too before. But then, all those experiences. I’m like, no. I’m fine being whatever I need to be, but not an attorney.
Monica: What’s your favorite SmartSign memory?
Gerson: Oh, man. That prank. That prank that Marco pulled on me.
Monica: Go on.
Gerson: So, I forgot why it was that he did this, but I know that his revenge, which he thought long and hard about — I’m pretty sure he thought about it before he even had a reason to do it. He just wanted to do something to me.
Monica: And he was waiting for an excuse?
Gerson: Yeah. So, basically, I get here one morning. Marco is always late. Every single day, Marco is late. It’s guaranteed. So, I get here. I’m going upstairs, and Marco, somehow, is down in the lobby. So I’m like, OK. I guess he got on the train, on the right train, and got here early. I turned the corner. I used to sit where he sits now, right there in front of the office. My entire desk, I mean the keyboard, the monitors, the mouse, my seat, completely covered in duct tape and aluminum foil. It was orchestrated so well that he had my notepads, my pens, everything aluminum foiled.
Gerson’s desk after Marco got to it.
Monica: Wow. That’s some dedication.
Gerson: I wish he would dedicate himself to getting here on time. But, that’s definitely my favorite memory. And also, all the team builders. We have so much fun.
Monica: Do you know when the next team builder is?
Gerson: I think it’s — It should be, actually, in like a couple weeks. I’m pretty sure.
Monica: Do you have any idea what it’ll be?
Gerson: I forgot what the name of the place is. It’s like Zombie something. I forgot. I know it’s a bar, but I think they have activities and things that we can do. But I like the karaoke. I kind of wanted to do karaoke again. Everybody was singing the Backstreet Boys and all that. It was fun. It was a good time.
Monica: What have the other team builders been?
Gerson: We went to Brooklyn Bowl, and it was like a Cabaret show. We did that. I mean, most of the time, we did bowling. I think we did bowling like three times. We went to a few Mexican places, actually around here. That was the first one that I ever went to. I remember I went, and I made this one joke that Abhay loves. The place that we went to was here in downtown Brooklyn. The bathroom was really small, and obviously, I’m a pretty big guy, so I told him that I had to use it sideways. He found it so funny. He told me he went home, he told his wife. Every single day he saw me, and he was like, “I remember when you had to go to the bathroom sideways.” He loves that joke. But, that’s pretty much what I’m up to at the office. I’m the jokester. I’m the funny guy.
Monica: Did you win that at this year’s Smarty Awards?
Gerson: I won so many awards. I don’t even know. I think I did. I know last year, I got cheated, because they voted Brandon as the office clown, but I think I did win this year. I won that and best sales rep, which is funny because if I was joking around, you would think I wasn’t the best sales rep. It’s two years’ worth of knowledge. I’m telling you, I’m good at what I do. I like it.