Conversation 113 - Job

Todd: OK, Roe, why don't we talk about your first job.
Roe: OK
Todd: Yeah, tell us about your first job.
Roe: You mean my official full-time first job, talking about!
Todd: Yeah, sure. How about that?
Roe: OK. That was right after graduating university. I became a salesman.
Todd: Oooh, salesman! Nice.
Roe: Yep, salesman.
Todd: What were you selling?
Roe: I was selling nothing.
Todd: Nothing
Roe: Nothing. Well, basically I was selling a membership. So, that's, it's not something people can see or visualize, but it's like just membership, so.
Todd: Was it like a membership to a country club?
Roe: Yeah, actually a private resorts and golf clubs.
Todd: Nice. Was this in Japan or in the US?
Roe: In Japan.
Todd: Wow. What was the best thing about your job?
Roe: Troubles! Cause I have to knock on people's houses.
Todd: Oh, wow, it was door to door
Roe: Exactly without any appointments and membership costs 5 million yen. Starting, starting costs.
Todd: 5 million yen to start and you must have been in very rich neighborhoods.
Roe: No, actually we just go to any areas. We just stop off at a station and we start from there.
Todd: Really. Were you successful?
Roe: It's a long story but to be honest with you, how many memberships do you think I sold in a year?
Todd: Wow, I don't know. I will take a guess. In one year, maybe one, two a week, so my guess is, I don't know, a hundred.
Roe: One!
Todd: One! One!
Roe: Can you believe it!
Todd: So you must, so you remember the lucky person? Probably still remember that person
Roe: And you know what, the person who bought my membership, is who? My father.
Todd: Ooh, that's a tough job.
Roe: It was rough, really. It was really rough.
Todd: That's a lot of rejection, every day. No, no, no
Roe: I know, I mean if you think about it, that's natural though, I mean 5 million yen. and I can't really show the place, cause I can't take the person to the place. all I can do is show the picture and speak and that was right after the bubble economy bursted, so nobody had really, nobody had money, so.
Todd: Wow, man so were you depressed? Were you sad?
Roe: It was very interesting. It was hard to motivate myself. The people would call the police, and call me like a robber Yeah, yeah, cause I had to like open the gate and run to the door and stick my leg so that they won't shut the door.
Todd: Seriously
Roe: Yeah, that's how you do it. Door to door sells.
Todd: Wow, that's, that's a tough job. I don't think I could do a job, what's your job now? What do you do now?
Roe: I am, I work for Yokohama city and I am in a place called Yokohama Convention Bureau. It's a city job.
Todd: OK, so the Yokohama Convention Bureau. OK, so you deal with foreigners, naturally cause it's in English.
Roe: And travellers and visitors and what have you.
Todd: Do you like your job now?
Roe: Interesting! Like I said I meet talk to about over 2,000 people a day, so it's kind of tiring though.
Todd: Wow, 2,000 people a day.
Roe: About 200 people an hour. My office is at the station. Yokohama station. Right out of the gate of the JR, so people are going to stop by.
Todd: You, that's a lot of talking. You must be tired of talking.
Roe: I am tired.