CBC staff caught selling cheap T-shirts out of a 1/2 ton truck on the street. Have budget cuts to the gone too far?

After a week of Tough Town Hall meetings Prime Minster Justine Trudeau was hit with the incredible news that CBC staff have been selling T-Shirts on the street. The cash strapped broadcaster has been looking for ways to make money to support it’s programing commitments.

It’s not a bad thing for a crown corporation to show a little entrepreneurial spirit, but the CBC was way off track on this idea. Staff from the CBC produced show Marketplace were selling T-Shirts out of the back of a pickup truck in Southern Ontario cities.
It wasn’t a classy retail venue but that was the least of their problems. A good salesperson can sell anything, (Trump is President isn’t he?) but they hired an actor to do sales. A big mistake.
Actors might be stereotypical great wait staff in bars and restaurants but they don’t do so well at sales. Proving of his lack of sales finesse – This actor picked a fight with almost every potential customer. Many were angered and hostile towards him. He barely closed a sale.

Added to this gap in sales abilities was a group of aggressive market researchers. Research is a good idea to improve a business but in this case it was ridiculous. They argued with passers by and chased them away before they had a chance to look at the merchandise. Then they chased down customers who made a purchase and argued with them about their purchase.
It is also hard to see how they could do this on a scale large enough to make it profitable. Based on the observed sales results, there is no way to cover staff labour costs and vehicle expenses let alone the cost of producing the T-shirts.

CBC would have had much better results if they filmed this for broadcast purposes. If they are smart they will feed this line to Trudeau – “we were filming a new episode of Mr D.”
Lets hope the Actor/Salesman was on straight commission.
You must not let feelings of self-doubt hold you back. All kinds of great things are possible for you now if you only have the courage to take a few chances. Get over your fear of losing. You are and always will be a winner.