Buzz off

An automobile salesman in the city of Bodo, Norway, some years ago lost a sixteen-car sale.

Here’s how: A young man in a sweater, overalls, and rubber boots entered a car dealership in Bodo and told the salesman: “I plan on buying sixteen cars, if you have something I like.”

The salesman said, “I don’t have time for jokes-buzz off.” The man did buzz off, right across the street to another dealership, where he was taken seriously.

The man in overalls really wanted sixteen cars and paid in cash1,038,961 Norwegian kroner ($160,000). He belonged to a sixteen-man crew of a Norwegian trawler that caught record quantities of herring last season, resulting in large bonuses paid to each fisherman. They decided they wanted to buy new cars with part of their windfall, and decided to buy all sixteen at once in order to get the best possible discount. This salesman let a big sale slip through his fingers.

A couple of years ago, when I was still in the retail industry, one of our efficient merchandisers–these are salesladies we assign to department stores who we fondly called customer assistants told us her story.

A shabbily dressed old man wearing slippers entered this very busy department store in Makati. Dark skinned–obviously tanned from working outdoors, this gentleman spoke with a heavy Visayan accent.

Many of the merchandisers from other brands couldn’t hold their laughter. Though they tried to look away, the old man caught them laughing at his appearance and the way he spoke. When he tried to ask for more information about certain sizes for jeans and shirts the other girls around him broke into laughter but not our girl. Maybe it was a fit of compassion. Maybe he reminded her of her father who worked in a farm in their province. Maybe this girl of ours was simply decent and did not find the whole thing funny after all.

She approached the old man, offered her assistance. Smiled and talked to him in a very gentle way.

The next thing that happened blew all of their minds. This slipper wearing sun-tanned weather beaten old man suddenly pulled out a thick pad of bills held mercifully by a rubber band. Ordered a few dozens of our jeans and shirts and when the entire deal was added up, the old man paid with his cash for the amount of P80,000.00 plus. No wonder this girl of ours met her sales quota many days in advance.

She has allowed kindness to operate and she got the sales. By the way, we gave her a handsome reward for being so nice and we made sure that this act of heroism is spread all throughout the company.

“Never judge a book by its cover” and never judge a person by his outward appearance. So what if the person looks provincial. So what if you don’t find him wearing his latest Bally shoes and his Gucci belt. And even if the person cannot afford it he still deserves service and kindness.

Ralph Waldo Emerson says: “Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.” And Joseph Joubert says: “Kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.”

The world would have been a better place if only people learn to treat each other with kindness. We should treat others with kindness because of one important reason. We want others to treat us that way too. “Love your neighbors as you love yourself” as the Bible says and rightly so.

Remember. Only people who have self-worth know how to treat others with kindness. But losers who treat other people bad does not have self-respect and the next time you begin to form your judgment on how you want to treat someone by basis of how he looks like, remember the salesman and the saleslady in our story.

You see it’s nice to be important–that I know. But all of us should remember that it’s more important to be nice.

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