Honestly, sales really wasn’t for me. However, I did learn a lot about my self (my emotions, boundaries, etc) as well as other people. As a barista, I thought I had my fair share of fucked up assholes for people. Sales is a whole new word. People are vicious to sales people in general. Maybe it’s because about 90% of sales people are crooked. But I wasn’t a crooked sales person and was not trained to be crooked. Irregardless, most people wouldn’t give me the time of day. Mostly, I got ignored completely. Being ignored so much on a daily basis really messed with me. I am not used to being ignored. I’m a theatre major! I strive for attention! I feed off attention! Let’s face it, I LIVE FOR ATTENTION!! I don’t understand why people were so afraid of me. I was only selling a 10×13 family portrait for $10. It’s not like I was trying to tie them down to a car or cell phone contract. Honestly, it got to the point where I was happy to be told “No” because that meant someone actually realized I was a living, breathing person and not some transparent asshole of a sales person.
And on the topic of “No”, I’ve come to realize “No” is a VERY popular thing. I read recently in a sales book that by the time the average person is 18 years old, they are told “No” 148,000 times. That’s a lot of negativity. So, no wonder I am told “No” so many times! And I don’t just hear “No” from adults; I hear it from their kids. In fact, I would say about 25% of the time, I would have a 7-10 year old say “No” to me before their parents said anything. And it’s not just “No” I heard. I heard so many different variations of saying “No”. Some examples (following the appropriate way to overcome them) are,”Not Today”, It’s not today, it’s in two weeks! , “Too busy”, It takes 60 seconds! , “I’ll come back” (There’s not really once) “I can’t afford it!” It’s only $10! and, on one extreme event to which I had no objections, “I hate my life!”
How can people be so negative?! I know times are tough. Trust me, I know. I’m a college student in the middle of a recession. Even when the economy is in good shape, it’s still tough to be a college student with financial stability. Even though times are so tough, I stay positive and I do not take it out on other people by ignoring them completely!
On the positive side, this job gave me an even tougher skin. Being in theatre, I do get used to being told “No”. But now, being told “No” hardly phases me anymore. I also learned how to stay motivated and positive when my day sucks. I will be able to use some of the disciplines I’ve learned through sales when I finally finish college and begin my career as an educator. So I guess I didn’t waste my summer working. I just didn’t have as much time off as I wanted.
And now, the summer break is almost over. I start school next week and I get to go back to being a barista. Also, I start my student teaching! Something tells me this semester will be nothing but busy and fun. And it should inspire some entertaining blog posts.

- Beckie