| 19 August 2010
As many of you guys know, Bottom Line Apparel can be found outside Fenway Park after Red Sox home games.
What you might not know is that it's me standing there in Kenmore Square peddling our Sox tees. It makes for long nights and long weeks, but there's an endless supply of entertainment when you're hanging around the Fens from six to midnight.
Hence the creation of "Tales of a T-Shirt Hawker." I'm not sure I love the name, but when there's a story worth telling, I'll post it... perhaps we may even get some video down the road.
Last night, the Sox picked up another win, so the crowd was cheerful, but the entertainment factor was a disappointing 4 out of 10... until about 10:30ish.
Episode 1: The Laser Show Family
A major part of hawkin' t-shirts (or any product) is reading the crowd. Most people, if they're looking for a souvenier or t-shirt, will take the time to walk slow and check on the different options. Others, are racing for a seat on the T or too drunk to notice, so you have to yell to get their attention. Still others, simply can't wait to give you a hard time for your price or you design... or your haircut.
You learn to ignore those people, but sometimes it pays to listen to the commentary from the crowd.
Last night, as I was about to tear down my T-shaped-t-shirt-displaying-apparatus, I watched a family of eight, or so, walk by and comment on the always popular Boston Runs on Dustin t-shirt. One of the teenagers in the group mentioned that he liked the shirt, so I yelled for him to stop and take a closer look. He yelled back the he was Dustin Pedroia cousin, offering a reason for his appreciation for the design, so I told him to come get a freebie to give to his alleged "cousin."
With that, the entire family pulled a u-turn and before I knew it, I had short blonde woman, bartering with me to get all the kids a free tee.
Now... this wouldn't be the first time a fan has attempted to convince me that they're related to a player, or that they themselves are famous, or that they're dying and a free t-shirt would really make they're night. But the blonde woman insisted that she was Pedey's mom and that the young man I talked with was indeed, her nephew.
Not looking to get taken for a handful of t-shirts, I asked for some ID. Without hesitation, she whipped out a California ID with the name Deb Pedroia, and after a quick scan of the group, I was convinced that I really was talking with The Laser Show Family.
That's when things got interesting. Mrs. Pedroia had heard me offer the kid a free shirt, so now she was bartering with me for a handful of freebies for all the kids. My first reaction was, "If you're the real Mrs. Pedroia, why are you hassling me over 10 bucks?" But, if there was a chance to get a family photo of the Pedroia's in Bottom Line Apparel for the Fan Page, I was willing to eat a few dollars to make it happen.
I offered here a BOGO deal and she accepted, buying the new pink Boston ladies tee for her niece and giving the free Dustin shirt to the littlest guy in the group. Then she asked me if I'd be willing to give them one more for $5.00...
Reluctantly, I agreed, but I felt obligated to tell her that I was a one-man operation and that it's my own blood, sweat and tears that go into making these shirts. I figured a "Pedroia" could appreciate that. She did, laughed, and gave me the full $10 for the third shirt, telling me that "I was making her feel bad."
Bottom Line: I sold three shirts to the Pedroia family and they all seemed like very pleasant people. After they left, I was still concerned that I had just been duped by a Debbie Pedroia that hangs around Boston asking waiters for free meals, Fenway vendors for free beers and poor t-shirt hawkers for free shirts.
But a quick Google search in the morning produced a photo that confirmed it was indeed the real Debbie Pedroia.
Just another tale from a t-shirt hawker.
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