RP: Possibilities

[rar_zacharias]

Date: 9 September 1999
Characters: Zach Smith, Adrian Pucey
Location: Adrian's warehouses
Status: Private
Summary: Zach presents himself as requested
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[rar_zacharias]

"Oh, no, I'm not solely here because of him. I agreed it was time for me to seek more suitable employment." Liar, his conscience scolded him, but he knew that this was a better option than working in whatever Ministry grunt job his father's friends would find for him.

"Certainly I've given it thought. As I said the other day, one might change the bottles the ingredients come in from time to time to keep them up-to-date. Fashionable, almost. The labels, too. Beyond that, I don't know if you market mostly to the public or to institutions, but whichever it is, it would be beneficial to branch out in the other direction as well. Go directly to the mothers or the Healers who are using your ingredients." He paused. He had spent quite some time making a list of ideas, and had a few more, but thought it best not to give them all away for free, especially to a Slytherin. He didn't know if Adrian was really planning to hire him, or if he just wanted to pump him for ideas. Just one more, then.

"I also thought you might package ingredients together for some of the more commonly-made potions. Potions kits, really, with everything a wizard would need to create, oh, calming draughts or pepper-up, that sort of thing. You could likely sell the box for more than you could sell the separate ingredients." Zach sat back, pleased with himself, hoping that Adrian would be, too.

[rar_adrian]

Adrian nodded and made some notes on a slip of parchment. The young man had obviously given the job some thought. He'd have to ask his solicitor if he knew anything about Mr. Smith's family.

"I confess I'd not given too much thought to the marketing of my products, Mr. Smith. I've been busy in the last eighteen months shifting the focus of the business from the importing of dark artifacts to something a little less likely to get me tossed into Azkaban." He brushed the sleeve of his robes. "I've heard the laundry service there leaves something to be desired." He leaned back in his chair.

"I find your kit idea most intriguing. The component ingredients of the more common potions are of course our best sellers. Perhaps we could try packaging the ingredients for the two potions you mentioned as a trial run. Do you think they would sell better in the shops, or as a direct owl order? It's a bit different product than most people are used to. They either buy the ingredients as needed or purchase a ready made potion from the Apothecary." He was glad he'd set up two other interviews for employees this afternoon. Business sounded like it might be picking up soon.

[rar_zacharias]

Zach tried not to look too surprised when Adrian mentioned shifting the focus of his business from the import of dark artifacts. He just nodded and kept listening, as if it were no big deal.

"Well..." Zach paused for a moment to think. "Perhaps in the shops. You'd have to pay for more advertising if you were to do it by direct order, and the kits--if they were attractively packaged so as to stand out on the shelves--would catch the eye of shoppers." He was really getting into this idea, and thought he might really be good at the job--if he were to be hired, he reminded himself.

[rar_adrian]

Adrian nodded. "I've been thinking about this owl order business, and I just don't think that Asclepius Potion Supply is ready for that yet. I'm hesitant to over-extend myself right off the bat. This is my livelihood, after all." He leaned forward and clasped his hands on the desk.

"I assume you're looking for a full-time position?"

[rar_zacharias]

Zach nodded as well. "Absolutely," he said. "I think owl order would be something to try after a while, perhaps. Get your name out there, make youself known, then branch out like that."

"Yes," he said simply, hoping that that was what Adrian had to offer.

[rar_adrian]

Adrian liked this young man. He liked self-starters, and the owl Zacharias had sent had impressed him. He came to the interview with solid ideas and opinions. He only hoped his interviews this afternoon would be as successful.

He pushed his chair back from his desk. "Would you like a tour of the offices and warehouses? There are three different work stations in the offices. You may have first pick."

[rar_zacharias]

It took Zach a moment to respond. "I...yeah, I'd love that," he said with a grin. He had the job! Thank god--he didn't know what he would have done if his letter to his father had turned out to be a lie. "Thanks so much." He stuck out his hand to Adrian.

[rar_adrian]

Adrian walked around to the front of his desk to shake Zacharias' hand. "Let's go down and see the work area, then we can come back up here and discuss your pay and we can get the paperwork in order." He led the way out of his office.

"There is a small work area up her, mainly for my accounting staff. Luckily Goblins are small and fairly anti-social." He stopped and spoke to Girvin for a moment, then gestured toward a door at the far end of the room. "I will add you to the wards so that you can get in and out of the building at your leisure. I'll point out any places that are off limits on the tour." They went down a flight of stairs and along another hallway with doors along it. "These are some of the smaller storage areas for the more, shall we say, temperamentel ingredients? We post on the doors what's stored inside to prevent nasty surprises."