Anojan
There is nothing called a fine morning in a door to door salesperson life. Especially when it comes to saleswomen. She never enjoyed this job. If someone gives her the option to quit this job and start her career all over again, she would do it without a second thought. But that option is always a unicorn dream to her.
I often wondered why people do jobs they never liked. Don’t they have to feel passionate about their job to do it efficiently? Whenever I see her, I asked this question to myself. Everyone has their own reasons to hate their job. Her job is all about walk, talk and sell. Most of the time, the selling part won’t happen. So she will simply walk until she sells. Who doesn’t hate a tiresome job?
She is my fellow commuter in my early morning train. white shirt and black trousers, This is her office attire every day. Day in, Day out. We smile at each other every day. But we rarely talk. This crowded train doesn’t permit it regularly.
One day I asked her in curiosity, “What do you sell?”
“Perfume, body spray, deodorant,” she replied.
“So cool, I will buy from you hereafter, show me some samples,” I continued.
“All of these brands are for men,” she said.
I had one more doubt, so I asked, “Perfumes became commonly used products nowadays. Everybody goes to malls and shops to buy it. So why are we wasting so much energy in the door to door marketing?”
Even though she was irritated by my question, she answered with a smile, “Selling products on a huge scale, the easy work, is for privileged men. Selling premium brands to aged CEOs, the dirty job, is always allocated for women. That’s how this marketing works.”
I saw through her eyes, those deep brown eyes spoke to me. This smile is fake, a mask. Under this mask, sorrow and anger dwell. Eyes are not mouths to lie.
Realizing the situation, I tried to change the topic. But she continued, “We have been taught that with the right words, anyone can sell anything. Is that true in reality? What does a woman know about men’s perfume, how come her words can sell better than a man’s word? Then why do a saleswoman to sell a men’s product?”
A moment of silence: I didn’t have the answers. Neither she.
“Did you ever talk to a shirtless stranger just wrapped in a towel whose eyes are only focusing on your breasts? Don’t try to imagine. It will haunt you. Walking away is never a simple decision. When you have so much weight on your shoulders, every step is hard. Especially walking away,” she continued.
“The moment you realize that the person standing in front of you, is raping you inside his mind, is literally equal to rape. Yet you have to stand still to sell. When you share the uncomfortable sales stories to your team, your male senior, the sales manager will educate you that if anyone tries to touch you, just scream. I don’t want to scream for help. I just wanted to scream that I don’t want to be a door to door saleswoman. Yet I kept quiet, so I can have a job.”
The train stopped at another station. Next stop was hers. So she smiled at me and walked towards the train door. She smiled again. This time to the door. Maybe she felt safe when standing next to that door. Can I call her a door to door saleswoman until she feels safe when knocking at a door?
