What kind of job was this? Has there ever been anybody in history who seriously made a living by traveling across the USA selling shower curtain rings?
shareI've always had a problem with it. Now, if he were to sell bathroom or even bathtub/shower items in general, then that would have been more believable.
I actually wish they would have had him sell cell phones or cell phone service, since they were just starting to become popular. But oh well. What's done is done.
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cell phones or cell phone service
You do know this was made in 1987? Not many cell phones around back then Im afraid, I reckon youd make more money out of selling shower curtain rings.
I remember when I was really young my Dad had a cellular phone salesman come to the house. He was wearing a suit and had tons of giant cell phones to demo. My Dad got the 'compact' one that was about the size and weight of a brick. I'll never forget that for some reason. Was probably about 1989 or so.
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Heh, I don’t worry about believability Because there are so many other moments and circumstances that would also be problematic. e.g. Steve Martin’s fingertips actually penetrating the dashboard and getting stuck in it when he grabs on during the spinout scene when Candy’s driving with his sleeves caught on the seat hardware.
shareI think it was simply for comedic effect. Obviously Del has to be somewhat good at it considering he's literally living out of hotels
The Saga Continues
Star Wars Episode VII
12-18-15
Remember, they can double as great luxury earrings!
shareThe 80s were a different time. Jobs that are considered menial now were once considered good careers.
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Sales is a very real job. Once upon a time people would sell encyclopedias door to door and made a living at it. Hell, the Fuller Brush man is legendary. One of my first jobs was selling Rainbow vacuum cleaners.
shareMaybe not in real life, but this is a movie so it's all right. Plus it plays into the scene later where they make travel money by scamming the rings off on people as luxury earrings.
shareI don't really think so. I could maybe understand some fictional version of Fuller, Watkins or encyclopedias but shower rings are ridiculous. They really didn't have alot of dollar stores back then but you could still get shower curtain rings at the five and dime or discount marts for almost nothing.
shareIt is absurd, that's what makes it funny for me.
http://www.trespasser.nl/div/pta/pta.pdf -->> Planes, Trains and Automobiles script
He isnt selling shower rings door to door. He is mostly likely selling in bulk to those five and dime stores that you refer to. Who do you think handles the transactions between all those stores and the shower ring manufacturers?
share"Who do you think handles the transactions between all those stores and the shower ring manufacturers?"
Not a traveling salesman. Stores get them from distributors. Also, examples of him selling directly to the customer were mentioned in the movie, such as the motel owner that he sold some to.
To the OP, I can't really believe that this is an issue, do remember that 1987 pre-dates the internet too, we used to need salesmen to hock a lotta stuff 'back in the day'. If it helps, I recently met a guy from Germany that sells mailboxes, mind you that's Germany, who knows what those whacky europeans do over there.
Life is always intense for a repo man.
yeah but rings arnt a thing, they are a component of a thing - the shower curtain.
Nobody has ever had to buy shower curtain rings because they come with the curtain , and you have some leftover from your last curtain.
No, they're sold separately. And people use them for more than shower curtains. And people use shower curtains for more than bathrooms, so sometimes they need a whole new set. And rings can break. So sometimes you need to buy them. I think the real question is profit margin. How can you make a living selling a cheap bulk item to 25-room motels?
share"To the OP, I can't really believe that this is an issue, do remember that 1987 pre-dates the internet too, we used to need salesmen to hock a lotta stuff 'back in the day'."
No, we didn't. I grew up in the 1980s (I was 5 in 1980), and never once encountered a door-to-door salesman. We got what we needed/wanted from stores and mail-order catalogs (such as the Sears catalog). We could get most things locally. My small town (population ~5,000) had a clothing and shoe store, a grocery store, a small discount department store, a fabric store, a hardware store, a few auto parts stores, a few general stores, an arts and crafts store, a jewelry store, a Sears outlet, a drug store, several gas stations, a video and record store, a few restaurants, and a gun shop. Anything that couldn't be found locally could be found in nearby larger towns/cities.
What's more to the point, why did these people he sold the shower curtain rings to owe him a favour? I suppose he gave them a discount.
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