My first boss as a trader was Lars. He was quite the character and very personable, which led salespeople to introduce their clients to him whenever they were in the office. He was also just a touch insane, which sometimes led to awkward situations.
One day a sales guy, Tim, from Chicago was in our office. Salespeople from the branches usually drop in to the trading floor a few times a year to schmooze with the traders and on occasion they bring customers with them. Tim stopped by to joke around with Lars and me for a while, and also to mention that he had just been assigned Banc One, which at the time was one of the largest banks in the Midwest. He told Lars to be on his best behavior, because his new client was going to be in the office later that day. Lars laughed and said I’m a professional I know how to talk to clients. The sales guy and I both cracked up and he walked away.
Later that afternoon Tim returned to our desk with his new client. Larry was on top of his game and quickly had the client talking about his kids, hobbies, and wife. All was going well until the client mentioned he loves hunting. No big deal a lot of people hunt, but for some reason this became the focal point of the conversation. Lars asked him what he liked to hunt. Deer and pheasant. Lars asked him if he ever brought his kids hunting. No, they are too young still. Did he ever hunt rabbits? No, the client replied they are not very tasty and my kids have a pet rabbit. Without blinking Larry stood up, pulled his pockets out of his pants and asked the client if he wanted to pet his rabbit.
Tim and I were flabbergasted. Luckily the client started cracking up and said he had never heard that one before. For the next 20 minutes Lars and the client were cracking each other up with dirty jokes. I guess it just goes to show that the slightly insane can spot their own kind.
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