How the woman was only needing someone to, listen to her pour her heart out, and this clerk had, offered her, just that, and, made the sales, because he’d treated his client, with the respect, instead of, just, that, dollar sign, and that, is the RIGHT way of, doing, business…translated…
The Store Clerk Carefully, Skipped the Sensitive Words, Didn’t DARE Tell the Female Customer that Her Feet were Too Big, to Not Hurt Her, But, without Any Verbal Explanation, That’d Only Made the Female Customer Start Agitating………..
Back in my thirties, I’d once worked as a part-time employee at a shoe store.
At the time, I couldn’t find a job, and saw the “For Hire” sign posted on the windows of the shoe store close to home, and even though, this work, for someone who’s in her thirties, is ill-fitted, but for the sake of the pay, I’d still, gone into the store, and asked for a, job.
The younger sales clerk, was a bit thrilled, as she’d, handed me the application, and I’d, started, thinking of how I was, going to put in all those, odds-and-ends job I’d done before, nothing glorious, each transfer into a brand new unit, meant how unstable I was, how I was, too stubborn, resistant, how I was, too careless, in choosing to, quit. After I was done, a man who seemed a bit older than I came to apply too, during those years, the enterprises here in Taiwan were, moving to China, the companies had more choices of who they wanted to hire, and they’d, mostly preferred those who are, fresh off the markets, the newly graduates, in the thirties, working at the places, even if it was for full-time positions, that’s, a bit, old.
illustration from UDN.com
A ton of people are forced to find work in China, those who refused to leave, doesn’t mean they’re abandoned, and can only get left behind by the, times, and this male manager of the shop is one of them, thankfully, he was successful in changing tracks, and so, he’d felt empathy toward me, who’s still, sorting through the want-ads on the papers. He’d told me, “although you’re, older than all of our, full-time employees, but that’s okay, if you’re willing to do it, willing to work hard, learning the skills in this field, that’ll do.” Perhaps, it’s how many times I’d, hit the walls in my finding a job, when I was, “picked” for this field of work I’d never been in, it’d felt like I’d, won the, lotto, and I didn’t care, that the payrate was only $80N.T.s an hour.
The contents of my work is getting the shoes that the customers needed from other stores that have their sizes, if we didn’t have the sizes, then the clerks would use the computer to search for all the chains to see which one had the sizes, then I’d, straddled on my scooter, gone to, pick the shoes, up. When there’s no customers, I’d, swept up the floors, and when the customers came in, I’d gone in to the warehouse, to search for what they asked for. There are usually, thousands of pairs in stock, other than the differences of men’s, women’s, and a few others styles that I could tell by the outside of the shoeboxes, the rest, I’d, had to, differentiate using the barcode numbers.
At the start, because I hadn’t gotten acquainted with what each barcode stood for, I’d often, gotten lost, in the labyrinth of the shoeboxes, and had to wait for the formal employee to come and rescue me. Those numbers, randomly connected into a long line was actually the style, the sizes, the years they were out, the manufacturing countries…………that’s, the mores code that only those in the sales department can decode and, decipher.
Back then, there’s no online access yet, let alone, google map, it took me many months, to finally get acquainted with the dozens of chain stores, along with deciphering the codes on those, shoeboxes. Later, as the customers are lined up in the shop, I’d entered, the sales agents line too, having worked in the karaoke, five-star hotel for years on end, I don’t get, shy, the manager also, gave me all the tricks he’d, picked up on how to make the sales, without holding a thing back too, and, after a few turns, I could, actually, do it on my own, and I’d, made a lot of, sales.
Guessing the reason, I’m thinking, that it was because I could, take every client’s feet into my hand, like they’re cherished, treated their feet with, the highest esteem, and, work hard, to find that pair of, fitting shoes for them individually. That was, the skills that came from, the accumulations of, the years, the older part-time employees, so long as someone is, willing to train us, as long as we’re willing to learn, we are still, full of, advantage for work.
But, no matter how hard I’d sold the shoes, I still only made, $80N.T.s by the hour, and had to, pay for my own gas, and all my sales are, given to the full-time employees when I’d, worked. But I really didn’t, CARE! So long as I can make enough to keep myself alive, besides, those who are senior in work, all showed me, the respects, and, as I had to take days off without prior notices, the manager was, more than, understanding of me, getting along with others at work, was WAY more important than how much I was, earning.
Sold the shoes for three whole years, I’d, come across countless, customers, and there was a woman that I remembered the most.
The shop just opened up, and a woman passed through the display window, and pushed the door in, had her eyes on a pair, and asked the clerk to bring the size she was for her to try on. The clerk took out the measuring tool, placed it onto the floors, asked her to take her shoes off, she’d put her feet on, moved her body forward, to get the length of her feet, measured. As the clerk saw that her feet were twenty-five centimeters long, immediately told her, “We don’t have anything that will fit you.”
Mostly, after the measurements, we’d added one, to two inches to the shoe size, and that woman’s measurement was twenty-five inches, at least, she’d had to be fitted with twenty-five-and-a-half or twenty-six, problem being, the shoes for female that we carry only got up to twenty-five. Or, maybe, there are the female customers who are, willing to, squeeze their feet into shoes that were, a bit, smaller, but, we are, the, number one chain shoe store, and, nobody working here would, risk that, and sold the unfitting shoes to our, clients.
measuring for her shoe size…photo from online
The clerk carefully, selected the words, didn’t dare tell the woman that her feet were, too, huge, to keep her from getting hurt, but, the clerk’s lack of explanation caused upset in the female client, “I didn’t even try the shoes yet, how do you know they won’t, fit?” and the air, froze up, waiting by the side, I’d, gone up to her immediately to ask her, which pair she wanted to try on? And gone to retrieve a pair immediately for her.
The woman covered her face, pointed to a pair, I’d, used my quickest speed, gone into storage, found the pair. And, as she’d, put her feet into the shoes, there was, still, an index finger’s space, and, all the signs showed, that the shoes, fitted. But, how come, something this, illogical had, happened in this chain shoe store where I worked? Reason is, that our shoes are from, three different countries, and they all had a different way of measuring the sizes, some areas, the shoe last are wider, the pair she’d selected, was one of those, which caused the clerk to, misjudge. There are a ton of exceptions to the rules, and, don’t get to set up in your minds about it, don’t become overly confident of your experiences, that way, you won’t have that many, issues.
It’s just, that what made me mind was how overreactive the female client was, it’d felt, that there was, something else going on with her, so I’d, tried getting her to tell me what it was, “are you, okay?”
selecting a pair, she wanted…photo from online
She’d wiped her tears away, settled her self back down, told, that she was a daughter who’s already, married, that her father fell ill of late, her older brother didn’t do a thing to help, it was only her, she’d had to sort through the matters in her husband’s family, her own children, she’d burnt on, multiple ends, that’s why she’d, lost it. So, she’d been, carrying too much, and wanted to buy a pair of shoes, to reward herself for all the hard work she’d been, doing, and, the clerk rained on her, parade.
As she’d, let go of her heavy moods, she stepped out, walking around the new shoes for that “test drive”, like a child, she’d proven, that her feet weren’t, too, oversized. “look, I can, fit into them, they’re, just, right!”, I’d felt, that what she was saying was, “I had it hard, caring for my father all alone on my own, but I want to, keep going”, I’d smiled at her, and, thought of the elders I have at home, needing the care too, that road of, long-term care, it’s, easy for the caretaker and the cared for to easily, get trapped, and lost inside, that desert.
“You’d had it hard!”, I’d told her.
On selling the shoes, I’m no, expert, really, it’s just, that I’m, really good at, listening and am very, observant to my clients’ needs. And in the end, she’d bought two pairs of shoes from me, spent close to $6,000N.T..s, I hope, those two pairs of shoes, can help her, swiftly, get through, the quicksand of her, life.
And so, this just showed, how easily we overlooked the needs of others, this client, she may be looking for shoes, but actually she wanted to pour her heart out, and this clerk had, become, the one whom she’d, poured her heart out to, this showed about the importance of listening, but, we often, get sidetracked by everything else that’s, going on, we’d, forgotten what’s most basic in relating to each other, to connect with them, to listen to their, needs, instead of zooming in on the sales quota, and how to make the dollar, because people are, always, MORE important!
JUST the Unwinding of Thoughts 