# How do “The Office” writers justify Dwight being the top salesman? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2008, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410 "2008-02-13T04:49:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/21 "2008-02-13T16:51:21Z")
I’ve always heard that sales is one field where being a sociopath doesn’t hinder your career, but helps it. Dwight is obsessive and hard to turn away. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/22 "2008-02-13T16:55:41Z")
[QUOTE=Mosier] The totally insane crap he does always turns out to be brilliant in a sales pitch. At one point, he was pitching dunder mifflin paper to some executive guy, and the guy mentions that he can get the same products cheaper from a different company. Dwight seems distracted and makes a phone call, right there in the middle of the conversation, while Jim has a “wtf?” look on his face trying to pitch the product. [/QUOTE] If you watch carefully, you’ll see that Dwight and Jim were actually working together on this little gimmick. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/23 "2008-02-13T16:57:25Z")
[QUOTE=Mosier] Dwight set his phone on the table and activated the speaker, revealing an automated “please continue to hold” voice from the cheaper company’s support line. [/QUOTE] To be ultra-nitpicky, it wasn’t Dwight/Jim’s phone. The client’s phone was used to call the big competitor, and put on speaker. The call to Kelly was made on a cell. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/24 "2008-02-13T16:59:42Z")
[QUOTE=ArizonaTeach] So, except for the fact that Dwight didn’t make the call, the call wasn’t to Pam, and Jim wasn’t shocked, **Mosier’s** original statement that Dwight called Pam and shocked Jim still stands. I think we might have just written the next staff meeting scene… [/QUOTE] I’m positive that Dwight made the first call, to the competing company’s help line. Jim might have made the second call, but that was much less awkward at that point in the sales pitch than the random cell phone call for no apparent reason that Dwight did. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/25 "2008-02-13T17:11:07Z")
They were both in on it. Dwight asked the client if he could use his phone to make a call. Dwight called a competing paper company and was put on hold. They continue their sales pitch. Jim mentions that unlike a big box paper company, Dunder Mifflin is readily available to deal with problems. At this point Dwight puts the client’s phone on speaker to show that he’s been on hold all this time. Jim then uses his cell phone to call Kelly, who answers with, “Jim? Oh my god!” and then starts rambling about something before Jim hangs up on her. ---
**Author:** ![Elret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Elret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elret)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/26 "2008-02-13T17:21:26Z")
I’ll pipe in as another who doesn’t find them all that unbelievable. I envy those of you whose office work experience has been such that these characters seem unreal. At least once a day I am left shaking my head in awe at some of the people in my workplace who are thoroughly insane AND bad at their jobs, but nothing is ever done about them. ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/27 "2008-02-13T19:33:00Z")
[QUOTE=Elret] I’ll pipe in as another who doesn’t find them all that unbelievable. I envy those of you whose office work experience has been such that these characters seem unreal. At least once a day I am left shaking my head in awe at some of the people in my workplace who are thoroughly insane AND bad at their jobs, but nothing is ever done about them. [/QUOTE] Where to start? Just one example: If my boss and I took a day off without informing a manager, and we put on overalls and fake moustaches, and we drove to another branch office and trashed their photocopier and were caught by the office manager at that branch, we would be fired. Gone, bye-bye. Michael and Dwight as they are portrayed would not last two weeks at a job. I’ve worked with crazies before, and some were incompetent, but they did not regularly engage in activities that would get them fired immediately. But it’s a sit-com! It’s OK. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/28 "2008-02-13T20:20:24Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] Companies, especially poorly run ones, put bizarre people into important roles all the time. You should come work for my company if you want to see a cast of crazies. The explanation is that they are in Scranton, PA, not Manhattan or even Stamford, CT. They make it clear in several episodes that many of their clients are turned off by slick corporate types. Michael is a horrible manager and strategic thinker, however, he is able to connect to the type of people who live out there in Scranton. Contrast this with Ryan who has the slick MBA vibe, however can’t make a single sale. [/QUOTE] There have been several times when Michael seemed on the verge of being fired for being an idiot, only to make a huge sale and save his ass again. One was when Michael and Jan took Tim Meadows out to dinner; Jan thought Michael was being a total ass but he ended up making the sale. Another time was at a convention, Michael was screwing around and wasn’t where he was supposed to be, Jan was pissed, but it turned out Michael was making some huge deal with Staples or Office Depot. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/29 "2008-02-13T20:44:17Z")
[QUOTE=Don’t Call Me Shirley] Another time was at a convention, Michael was screwing around and wasn’t where he was supposed to be, Jan was pissed, but it turned out Michael was making some huge deal with Staples or Office Depot. [/QUOTE] [pedant]Hammermill[/pedant] ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/30 "2008-02-13T21:02:04Z")
[QUOTE=Jas09] [pedant]Hammermill[/pedant] [/QUOTE] The best was how flippant he mentioned it. He came in to sit down, pissed off that Jim wasn’t hanging out with him, and just casually mentioned that he got the Hammermill deal. Jan said that Hammermill has an exclusive deal with someone else, and Michael goes, “Well, not anymore.” His sales and managerial duties are an afterthought to him. He does them when we don’t see, and does them well, so he has plenty of time to screw around and do whatever else we see him do. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/31 "2008-02-13T21:48:55Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] Jan said that Hammermill has an exclusive deal with someone else, and Michael goes, “Well, not anymore.” [/QUOTE] That’s right. Hamermill had an exclusive deal with Staples. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/32 "2008-02-14T01:47:29Z")
[QUOTE=Elret] At least once a day I am left shaking my head in awe at some of the people in my workplace who are thoroughly insane AND bad at their jobs, but nothing is ever done about them. [/QUOTE] Please start a “My Coworkers are Insane” thread - I’d love to hear some stories. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/33 "2008-02-14T03:55:23Z")
There’s also the Pretzel Day episode, where Jan has Pam keep a log of everything he does all day. He spends the entire day mostly concerned about his pretzel and seemingly goofing off on the phone doing his Cosby impersonation. At the end of the day, it turns out that he had been talking to an important client and had made a huge sale. Pam is shocked, but Michael just has a, “What? Oh, that? Yeah” reaction to it. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/34 "2008-02-15T06:55:06Z")
[QUOTE=shy guy] They were both in on it. Dwight asked the client if he could use his phone to make a call. Dwight called a competing paper company and was put on hold. They continue their sales pitch. Jim mentions that unlike a big box paper company, Dunder Mifflin is readily available to deal with problems. At this point Dwight puts the client’s phone on speaker to show that he’s been on hold all this time. Jim then uses his cell phone to call Kelly, who answers with, “Jim? Oh my god!” and then starts rambling about something before Jim hangs up on her. [/QUOTE] The best part was that while Jim was talking during the first phone call, Dwight kept speaking very loudly and distinctly to activate the competitor’s system’s voice prompts. It seemed like he was just being a jackass and interrupting the whole sales spiel until they got to the payoff. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/35 "2020-03-02T05:13:15Z")
Bumped because I don’t see another, more suitable _The Office_ thread. A Federal judge makes a reference to Dwight (although not by name) in a recent decision: [Judge says Ken Cuccinelli unlawfully appointed to lead US immigration agency | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/01/politics/ken-cuccinelli-immigration-agency/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/36 "2020-03-02T05:26:36Z")
Michael…yeah…he would have been gone early on…BUT if he survives that. He builds up a lot of goodwill with his superiors that could help him weather other stuff. Shit they let Michael hire RYAN back. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/37 "2020-03-02T05:57:51Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Bumped because I don’t see another, more suitable _The Office_ thread. > > A Federal judge makes a reference to Dwight (although not by name) in a recent decision: [https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/01/politics/ken-cuccinelli-immigration-agency/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/01/politics/ken-cuccinelli-immigration-agency/index.html) LOL, or better yet, Snowboarder Bo’s 'Let’s go down to the quarry and throw stuff down there!" ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/38 "2020-03-04T03:33:09Z")
> [@Baraqiyal](#): > > All the salesmen I have dealt with have tried to make me their best pal, but Dwight seems to be unable to develop a normal friendship. How then are we to believe that he is Dunder-Mifflin / Scranton’s #1 top salesman? Being a good salesperson takes more than “making someone your best pal” or “being persistent”. People tend to find both off-putting. Being a good salesman requires figuring out what a customer’s problem is, then communicating a solution. Dwight seems to do that IIRC. In contrast, Ryan was portrayed as the “cool guy” and he was completely awful at sales. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/39 "2020-03-04T13:38:54Z")
> [@Lunar\_Saltlick](#): > > There’s no explanation at all for Michael or Dwight and a few others. They’d have lost their jobs during their second week of employment. They’re completely ridiculous. But then there’d be no show. I think, at least partially, this is the reason for making them so good. Dwight being top salesman is his redeeming quality. Without that the writers wouldn’t be able to justify keeping him around as a salesman…or at least keeping him around as a salesman with such a major role in the show. Similarly, DM Scranton is the best (one of the best?) branches that they have. Corporate is fully aware that they spend most of their time goofing around and not getting much work done, but they remain open due to their sales numbers. In fact, this was even acknowledged when David Wallace had Michael come up to corporate to explain how he gets such good numbers considering how that branch is run. I assume if they fleshed out Kevin’s character more, he too would have some redeeming qualities. Here and there, they alluded (or showed up) how good he is at poker. I have to assume if they interacted with his character more, it would be shown that while he’s kind of a doofus, he’s a perfectly competent or better than average accountant. He’d be the Dwight of that group. Annoying and odd, but gets the job done. Though, as the show went on, they made him dumber and dumber (and made him talk slower and slower), so they might end up going for an idiot savant thing. Great with the numbers but barely functioning otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410/40 "2020-03-04T16:21:00Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I assume if they fleshed out Kevin’s character more, he too would have some redeeming qualities. Here and there, they alluded (or showed up) how good he is at poker. I have to assume if they interacted with his character more, it would be shown that while he’s kind of a doofus, he’s a perfectly competent or better than average accountant. He’d be the Dwight of that group. Annoying and odd, but gets the job done. Though, as the show went on, they made him dumber and dumber (and made him talk slower and slower), so they might end up going for an idiot savant thing. Great with the numbers but barely functioning otherwise. Kevin was actually terrible at his job. I believe he just kept it because Michael was 1) loathe to fire anybody and 2) Michael didn’t really care about the accounting staff. When Dwight was made manager at the end of the series, firing Kevin was one of the first things he did. When Kevin asked him about it in the last episode, Dwight replied “Because you were really bad at your job” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-office-writers-justify-dwight-being-the-top-salesman/437410.md?page=3)