第90期: First Job

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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 burst, 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 travelers 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.

Todd: Ok, Thank you.

Roe: No, no, no, it's ok, ok, all right.

Todd: Ok, That's your first job, door salesman, ok, let's move to next topic.