But for now, I've decided to write something about myself that I just realized...... which is: I don't do well under pressure. I hate stores where people earn commission due to the buying pressure. I hate the end of a meal at a restaurant due to the tipping pressure. I hate talking to someone on the phone who is trying to convince me to do something, buy something, rush me into something. I have a really hard time saying "no" to strangers, but no problem saying it to people that I actually know. It's not bad enough to where I'll buy something just because one of these strangers tells me that I should or need to. I would never take a phone call from a telemarketer and agree to whatever product they are endorsing. But I do tip way too much, and I do walk out of a commission store feeling oddly guilty if I don't buy anything. The realization of it hit because of this: I have been trying to find someone to come and haul off a ton of junk that I've accumulated from living in my apartment for WAY TOO LONG. There is quite a bunch of it- enough to the point where I need to rent a trailer to get it all out. (And since I'm hoping to move in the next few months, I want to get rid of it now so that it's out of the way.) Anyways, I sent out some emails to people that I found to ask about pricing and if they load the trailer or if I'd have to, how big the trailers were, the hours they could do it, etc. I ended up with two people that were good candidates. Jared emailed me back with all the details. Roger emailed me and told me to call him. I didn't call Roger, I emailed him back with the inquiries. After back and forth emailing where he continued to insist that I call him, he called me. And I didn't answer. And he called again. And I didn't answer. And he called again. And I didn't answer. And not once did I call him back. That's when it hit me. If I talked to Roger on the phone, I would feel that "pressure". Emailing is a safe and distant way to communicate with someone and they can't talk me into something, and I won't feel rushed. If I can get all the information that I need over email, I won't have to say "no" to someone. I don't even have to reply. But you can't exactly just hang up on someone in the middle of the conversation if they start the pressuring. Well, you CAN, but it just doesn't fit in with society's "rules of decency" or whatever. Needless to say, Jared is picking up my stuff for me.
So why do I have this almost fear of pressure? Why can I easily stand up for myself to someone I know well and actually CARE about, but not to some random stranger that I will never see again? It intrigues me.
And moving on to something else- I went to meet the Jared guy at my house (just got back to work). I am generally a friendly person who talks to and jokes around with people. Like the lady in the JC Penny bra department (no, I DON'T spend twice as much on the same bra with the only difference being the brand name "Victoria's Secret" sewn into it), or the lady on the Verizon Wireless customer service line, or the salesguy at Best Buy, or..... a guy named Jared who is helping me rid myself of junk. Basically, I am of the opinion that though we all are just doing our jobs in whatever profession we are in, we still want to be treated with respect, and a smile and friendly banter go a LONG way. And the response to being treated as an actual human being is amazing. Without even suggesting anything, I have gotten discounts from the lady in the JC Penny bra department, a discounted phone bill from the Verizon Wireless customer service lady, the salesguy at Best Buy, and now Jared. Yep, the junk-hauler-away-guy gave me a discount. Wahoo! And the only thing that I can boil it all down to is that I treat people as actual people with lives and hopes and jokes and disappointments and failures and dreams and.... well, you get the drift. I have blogged about this before on a different website, but it hasn't changed. And in a way, it makes me sad that people are so shocked when someone is actually talking to them and being friendly that they want to "hook them up" and give them discounts. I mean, it is such an infrequent thing? Do people really just act as if the people servicing them are just some nameless faceless thing? Is it really such an amazing thing when someone meets their eye? I guess it just makes me sad for humanity. Trust me, I'm not so super special that people are just dying to give me discounts without even knowing me. People don't see a glowing aura around me that makes them instantly need to appeal to my glorious nature. I'm just a small woman with a smile on her face and a joke on my lips. And apparently, that's enough.
Anyways, so the junk in my truck in gone! Or more precisely, the junk in my storage room is gone. Which makes me feel motivated to go into a cleaning frenzy. So me and my friend here are going to be spending a lot of time together this week. Along with Mister Dirt Devil and Mister Comet. I hate cleaning but my God, it feels good when it's done, doesn't it? Then maybe I can actually allow people to enter my apartment and grace me with their presence. I haven't really let anyone in my place for a long long time. Though I'm sure a big part of that has to do with the fact that my landlady is Satan's spawn. And her son just may be Satan himself. Anybody know where to find some Holy Water? Do you need to be Catholic to get some? But seriously people- how funny would that be if I just ran up to my landlady and her kid and threw water on them? Haha! The image makes me entirely too happy.......... Yep, I need to move.
And a final thought for the day: In order to make lemonade out of lemons, you must provide the sugar. (I have NO idea what that means, I just made it up. But it sounds deep and ponderous.....)
Much Love!
Posts
4 comments:
I also hate the pressure of confrontation. Do you know what I do? If someone calls me to try to sell me something, I can't say "no". Instead, I say, "Hang on just a second." Then I put the call on MUTE, set my phone down in another room and then go get it again about an hour later. For some reason, it's easier to inconvenience someone than it is for me to just tell them "no".
That's hard to do "in person", though. Unless you say, "Hang on!" then leave the store and never go back.
Little Jess, I must disagree with you on one point. You write you don't buy the "same bra with the only difference being the brand name "Victoria's Secret" sewn into it)," - I hate to break it to you, but there is a HUGE difference in bras. A JC Penny bra lasts me about, oh 2 months, before it no longer supports, where as a VS bra lasts closer to 2 years. They do cost more, but if you need the support, they are 100% worth it.
As for the pressure thing, i also really suck at saying no. To anyone. It's lame.
Oh, and another thing - I always treat the people "servicing" me as nameless faceless things, but that seems like an inappropriate conversation to have on a public blogspot.
Hee Hee Hee :)
I wonder if 2nd grade (or perhaps 6th grade in this case) humor will ever not be funny to me.
Alas, Amy is correct in her analysis of the JC Penny bra VS the VS bra. However, as I am not generously endowed in the curvature department, I need not worry about the lasting power of support. Also I must admit that her comment of "servicing" made me giggle like a schoolgirl. So, Amy, I will always share your elementary school humor!
Post a Comment