Rejected ... Part 1

Nobody likes being rejected.

I was having lunch today in a coffee shop and 2 young guys walked up to me and introduced themselves, saying there are from a particular bank. I could see they were trying to promote their credit card. I politely declined and thanked them for their time.

Immediately one of them said, “There’s free gift, if you sign up”. I thanked them again politely with a smile. The other one then said politely, looking at me so intently - “Just sign up, please”. From the way they approached me, I knew they were ‘green’ and new in what they are doing. Maybe it’s their first week in their first job. Again, I looked at them and declined with patience. I could see their faces tying to force a smile, trying to hide their disappointment, let me rephrase that - their discouragement but not very successfully. But I knew very well how they felt inside. Rejected.

Over lunch I observed these 2 young men, probably in their early twenties approached customers after customers from table to table. Some of them were not as polite as I was. Some of them merely shook their head without even looking at them. At times, they would just look at the people and show them the credit card without even daring to speak to them already expecting another rejection. I couldn’t help but to feel sorry for them. After all, they were trying to work and earn a living. They probably needed the money to support themselves or their families. That made the rejections after rejections harder to take ... to be continued ...