I will write
A certain day in June.
I received a call from the Monosasu website editorial department.
"Harazawa-kun, could you please write an article introducing Katori-san?"
"Let me do it!" was the immediate reply.
Since joining the company, I have been educated and raised by Katori for some time, and Katoriism has become a part of my blood and flesh, so I felt that I did not want to leave the task of writing an article introducing Katori to anyone else.
Speaking of Katori, as introduced in a previous post, " Work and Life in Yoyogi ," she worked in a call center, as a checker, and in sales, before taking maternity and childcare leave and then returning to the sales department as a sales support worker.
She currently lives with her husband, who is from Pakistan, and their son.
At Monosus, Katori works in the sales department, providing sales support services.
Although they are called support, recently they have gone beyond support and have even been involved in initial response to inquiries about projects and creating estimates, sometimes leading the sales team.
Part of Katori's job is to print and mail invoices created by sales members, but when the beginning of the lines on an invoice are misaligned and it looks bad, he sometimes receives feedback like, "Do it again!"
She guides and supports her sales team like a mother.
This time, I would like to introduce Katori, the mother of the sales department, from my perspective as someone who works together in the same sales department.
Katori from my perspective
Ten years ago, Katori joined Monosus as a contract employee.
At that time, he was working part-time at several companies in addition to Monosus, doing triple work.
He had worked in a variety of jobs, including at a financial company, a TV shopping company, a call center, and as a waiter at an izakaya. When I asked him why he had so many jobs, he said,
"It's not that I was particularly short of money, but at the time I just wanted to work hard and earn some money that I could spend however I wanted," he said.
Even now, she is struggling to balance her work at Monosus with raising her children, but even back then, it seems that multitasking was a natural for her, and she was able to efficiently complete tasks that those around her might consider difficult and busy.
Also, when he was working as a staff member for a TV shopping program, he was assigned to the systems department, which allowed him to learn the system terminology that he now uses frequently.
After joining Monosus, I worked in call center operations for about five years.
After that, I got involved in a project in the CF support team, which led me to move to the sales team.
Apparently, his boss at the time, Sakuyama, and Tatsuta, who was in charge of cash flow management, saw Katori's bright personality and eloquence and thought he would be suited to sales, so invited him to join the sales team.
Their predictions were correct.
Now working in sales, Katori's clientele continues to grow, and his personal clientele also increases day by day.
Katori (left) working hard in the sales team
Then, in September 2013, I, Harazawa, joined Monosus.
In fact, I was the first person Monosus had hired as a salesperson, and it was also my first time working in sales.
Although we were seniors and juniors meeting for the first time, Katori always faced me squarely and answered my questions politely, even when I asked the same questions over and over again.
Also, when they caused trouble for customers or were scolded by their superiors, Katori would not just offer kind words, but would calmly advise them, saying things like, "This is what you did, and next time you should do it this way." This was also impressive.
What especially made an impression on me was something that happened while I was on the phone with a customer.
I was having trouble listening to the customer, so I was on hold for a long time.
The phone was put on hold many times, and Katori was asked questions until he understood, and the phone kept ringing with an alarm, creating chaos. (If the phone was on hold for several minutes, it would ring.)
Even so, I still remember how Katori calmly helped me deal with each issue one by one.
I think it was really hard for my instructor (it still is now...) Thank you very much.
Katori has taught me a lot, but the one thing I still can't compete with is his research skills.
Not only does he know everyone's birthdays, but for some reason he even knows information about his coworkers' parents and siblings... ( Sakuyama )
A few months after I joined the company, my birthday came around.
On that day, I was scheduled to visit with Katori and return home in the afternoon, but after the meeting I was treated to cake at a cafe.
I was surprised and very happy that he remembered my birthday, so it's a fond memory for me, but I was puzzled as to how he knew my birthday.
（Katori is quick to collect personal information.）
It's likely Katori's consideration for the people around him is also a factor that makes him an excellent salesman.
Found pregnant and went on maternity leave
Katori went on maternity leave and childcare leave in April 2014, and returned to the sales team in October 2015.
After I joined the company, I had a training period of about six months, but once the new year began, I was handed over an unusually large number of clients.
"I'm grateful to be entrusted with such great work. I have to do my best," I thought.
However, this was because Katori herself was going on maternity leave and the handover was being carried out at a rapid pace.
(I only realized this right before my maternity leave.)
Tatsuta, Katori's boss at the time,
"She seemed a little strange, so I invited her out for a drink. I never imagined she was pregnant. And I never imagined it was an international marriage..." he said, seeming surprised.
To be honest, I was quite confused after Katori went on maternity leave.
Not only has my work become busier, but I no longer have the close seniors I've relied on until now.
On the other hand, because I no longer had anyone to rely on, I was able to motivate myself to try to manage things on my own unless I was in extreme difficulty.
I now believe that it was because of this period that I was able to make such great progress towards becoming independent.
A collection of interesting anecdotes about Katori
Speaking of Katori, he is also a mood maker in the sales department. And he is a big fan of alcohol. He has many heroic tales (?) about drinking alcohol. Here, I would like to introduce some interesting episodes about Katori.
On the train, on the old man's head...
One day, Katori was standing near the door of a train after work.
I was so sleepy that my torso collapsed back into my seat.
Then she kissed the man on the top of his head, making him blush.
Keep your bag and shoes neatly organized
I got drunk and the next thing I knew, I was asleep with my face down on the table in an unfamiliar Chinese restaurant.
When I noticed, my bag and shoes were gone, even though they were right there with me.
Katori hurriedly left the store and, for some reason, ran home without putting on his shoes.
But when I got home, I didn't have the key.
When I went to the police box and inquired, I was told that the bag and shoes had been delivered to the police box next door.
While I was being dropped off in the patrol car, I had a lively conversation with the officer, who asked me, "Hey, have you had too much to drink today?"
Her shoes and bag were neatly lined up on the curb, and she said she thought that was her home.
Before I knew it, I was singing karaoke with an old man
I got drunk and before I knew it, I had hit it off with a stranger and we went to karaoke.
The next morning, while Katori was sleeping, he got a call from the man in his belly button asking, "Remi-chan, are you awake?"
Apparently he got scared and ignored it.
Katori (left) smiles as he holds his favorite drink in his hand.
Taxi with unknown destination
After a drinking party with company colleagues, Ono from the design department was about to get in a taxi to go home when Katori joined him because they were heading in the same direction.
Apparently, he stopped the taxi in completely different places multiple times, leaving Ono confused.
Helping the waiter at the izakaya
At a drinking party, when the waiter at the izakaya took a while to come and take his order, Katori realised he must be busy, so he went to the kitchen and ordered himself.
He even took orders from customers drinking at another table and ordered them to the kitchen.
Katori (right) and Murakami (left) during their tequila contest some time ago.
Looking back, there seem to be a lot of stories about being drunk or sleeping, but these are interesting stories that spill out from Katori's full-power daily life, where he puts all his effort into his work and has fun when it's time to have fun. I look forward to seeing more interesting stories like this in the future.
Katori now
Currently, her duties in the sales department are diverse, including creating sales lists, issuing invoices, sending email newsletters, responding to initial inquiries, and training new sales staff, and she efficiently completes a wide range of tasks within the limited time she has.
Among the many tasks, Katori's main focus recently has been training the new sales staff who joined the company in June of this year.
Sometimes, when I see her talking to new recruits, it feels like they are like mother and child, and I get the feeling that she may have changed a little since she was training me.
It's like I've become more tolerant and calmer...
Even so, when we occasionally go out to eat or to karaoke together, she tells me a lot of interesting stories.
Even though my way of working has changed since becoming a mother, I still feel that she is the same interesting senior.
Currently training new employee Machida (Oku)
To the Sales Department Mother
Katori-san
I owe it all to Katori-san that I am where I am today at Monosus.
Since I joined the company, the company's structure has changed several times, and I think the way salespeople work has changed a little since then.
However, even as his environment changes every day, Katori remains the same, treating us with kindness, humor and love.
Thanks to Katori, I can always work with peace of mind.
Thank you very much.Now a new salesperson has joined our sales department, and as I watch Katori-san giving him guidance just as he did for me back then, I can see from a different perspective how difficult it is to teach a new salesperson.
Little by little, I will continue to work hard to give back to those who have taught me.Please continue to support everyone in the sales department as a good mother.
Also, let's have some interesting conversations over some delicious drinks.Shogo Harazawa
Katori (right) and I (left) striking playful poses at the entrance to the Monosus Yoyogi office.
HARASAWA Shogo