not the avon lady (2)

This is why people put notices outside their office to deter salespeople (ref:post)

We moved to new offices in March this year. Since then I've been propositioned to purchase the following items:

• a keyring-size camera (really low-grade spy vs spy gadget)
• a flying toy monkey that emitted demonic screeches when you fling it across the room
• a 36-piece dinner set (lifetime guarantee, and if one of the ugly brown saucers break, they'll replace it for free with another ugly brown saucer, so you'll never be embarassed about having an incomplete ugly brown dinner service)
• full piece cutlery set (we stopped the sales guy before he could demonstrate how balanced the heft in each knife was)
• pepper spray (If i didn't already have a cannister, I would've forked over dosh for this one)
• stainless steel waterless cookware (the monthly installments on these are about as much as my car repayments)
• insurance (times 55)
• photocopy machines (times 40)
• assorted fluffy toys that give off manic noises when you squeeze them (see above pic)

Despite my ire at being disturbed during a mad chase for deadline, I have respect for salespeople. They have one of the most shitest jobs. Perhaps not as bad as those guys who are charged with emptying out the buckets in rudimentary latrines, but having to put on your happy-happy-joy-joy face for 8 hours and set yourself up for utter rejection puts them right at the bottom of the ladder. And you've got to respect someone who has the bravado to walk from office to office, full of rehearsed enthusiasm for a product they wouldn't personally buy, run through an arduous promotional spiel, face indifference by their audience and still have the energy and civility to say "Thank you ma'am, have a nice day".

So to all my sales-peeps, while I may not feel the desire to own the muppet-reject anytime soon, thank you for sharing and you, you have a nice day.