1May 2020 / 11.59pm
It was a cloudy day on Wednesday, February 15, 1995, I left for Kuala Lumpur to work as an assistant storekeeper at toy trading company while waiting for my STPM result. I was paid RM700 a month. This job wasn't much different from what I've been experiencing at my uncle's sundry shop. Most of the time, I was working alone because my colleagues don't mix with me. And it's very difficult to join in their conversation. They love to gossip and every day their conversation filled with hate speech. I wasn't happy at all.
Every day I travelled by mini bus to work. Many of you might know, the driver and the conductor can be extremely rude to you when you pressed the stop button wrongly. Few times, I got bullied by them when I pressed wrongly. They will shout at me and purposely stop faraway.
On my first few days, I was lost and I can't find my way home. So I tried to approach a lady for a direction. I remembered she was walking with her kid. The moment she saw me approaching her, she quickly grab her kids and run away. I felt so lost in the city.
After 4 months, I quit.
Then, I took a job as a door-to-door salesman. Every day, the company van will drop us at different locations. The first two days were simple as I was just following other sales reps around, learning from them. On the third day, I was on my own and made zero sales. My spirit was crushed. I knew this was going to be one of my biggest challenges ever but making no money for a whole evening and being rejected many times was really painful. But what more painful was being humiliated.
Knocking on doors to sell cooking pot out of the blue was a big challenge for me. Moreover, I have to carry the products to every house.
My chest would get tight and I’d continuously try to talk myself into it. I knew I just had to persevere on.
I forced myself to get out there and enthusiastically knock on more doors. I knew I didn’t have the ability to be as aggressive as some of the other reps but I did have the advantage of having a friendly look and a very tenacious spirit. Yet, I ended up with unpleasant experience.
That day, we went to a village. I knocked on the door, trying to get attention. A lady inside the house shouted at me to leave but I was not willing to give up. I was trying to get the opportunity to demonstrate the products. Unfortunately, she unleash her dogs. The two dogs were very fierce, ready to attack me. I felt down on the stony road under the hot sun. My hand and leg were bleeding and I can't move. Some of the children from the neighbouring houses were laughing and teasing me. An old man from her opposite house came to help me.
I must get at least one sales for the day because I want to earn some pocket money for my education. I do not have a basic pay and I do not want to burden my family. But I was too weak! Too weak to stand up and walk. My hand and leg were bleeding. Will I be able to continue to knock on the doors? I hid myself behind the nearby bush and cried. I was so afraid of the dogs.
Because I do not have sales on that day, my supervisor brought me to a high density flat. He was trying to help me to get sales. I knocked on every door. I lost count, easily more than a hundred doors! Yet, I didn't get any sales. My leg was hurting. That night I cried to sleep, not knowing what tomorrow will brings…
On my second weeks, I earned RM200. I was very encouraged. I continued to work harder. The following week, I earned RM700. It was good.
As the months passed, I continued to have a few zero-sale days but I also had plenty of days when I was on fire. I did much better than I thought I would. When I started, I was simply hoping I could make more money to prepare for my study.
Occasionally I felt the tight chest before knocking on the door again. After all, it isn’t something I enjoy. I’m not an extrovert person. At the same time, I thank God for getting me into a completely foreign and challenging situation. Not only did I break through the barrier of knocking on random doors but I actually learn to build my character.
Every day, I practically ran from one door to the next trying to find the one person who was willing to buy the cooking pot from me.
On my last trip before I quit this job, we went to Perak. As usual, I continued to knock on every door, a lady invited me into her house. Her neighbour was shocked because she never allowed any salesman into her house.
Until today, I still remembered the sadness in her eyes after she told me her story, I have no answer to her family's struggle… I can only pray for her silently in my heart. I left her house knowing that her son was battling with critical illness.
And she bought some of my products. And she told me she can trust me with her story.
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