selling knives

so there's this manual we follow for our knife demonstrations. it basically tells you what to say, how to present the product, etc, which is all fine, except for one thing.

we're basically supposed to follow the manual word for word. in my manager's words, we can't put our own spin on things--which is basically saying we can't put our own personality into what we're doing. we give life to the words these people have written down for us in these pages, and we get paid $17.70/hr for doing it.

i guess i shouldn't be complaining, that's fantastic pay, but i just think it's sad. think of all the corporations out there, mine obviously included, who are actually telling their representatives to hone down their personalities until they fit this cookie cutter mold.

and yeah i realise these are professionals who have designed the manuals, but...i dunno, maybe it's just me, but i feel like personality and unencumbered enthusiasm sells better than these deliberate paragraphs which we have to memorise word for word. no matter how talented you are as a sales rep, people can tell when you're quoting something right out of some book you read in your training class. you need a certain amount of personal touch to make it genuine, so why can't they give us room for that?

my boss is constantly saying, "don't try to reinvent the system". while it's true that the "system" works, has been working since 1941, reinvention can only lead to better things. there is no progress without attempts, failures, and eventual successes.

stupid billion-dollar corporations.