After several years of working for Starbucks I decided to find another job. It took a few months of hard work but I found a sales job that looked very promising. I had gone through the process of leaving Starbucks. Over the course of being with the company for seven years I had made a lot friends with fellow coworkers and customers alike. Some good byes were heartbreaking. I had a lot of history in this place. But I felt the desire to change pulling me in a different direction. I wanted to do something completely different.
The sales job was a very welcome change of pace. I relished the opportunity to learn new skills and make more money. I was meeting new people and I felt like I was stretching my wings and taking risks is ways I hadn't been in years.
I struggled a little with learning this new job. Some things felt awkward but I would calm my nerves by reminding myself that I was comfortable at Starbucks and I needed to patient with myself as I harnessed new abilities.
One my second day of training I was paired with a man a few years younger than myself. His sales territory was in New Smyrna Beach, the farthest from the main office. We began visiting the local businesses while he lead with his sales pitch. We visited business after business and he became increasingly rude with the people he was trying to sell to. In a few short hours I began to question his behavior. He made some off-the-cuff remark about how "that was how the business worked". It was the coldness of his tone when he said it that shocked me the most. I endured his lack of empathy has he became openly racist with one woman and almost got us kicked out of another business. I remember walking side by side with him to the next business; my hands were shaking as I stared at the ground. He was never rude to me but his remorseless lack of ethics made him uncomfortable to be around. He told me that he wanted me to make the sales pitch at the next office we were about to visit.
There was a brief pause before I answered him.
"To be perfectly honest I don't want to do the next one. This isn't the job that I thought is was and it is not the job for me. We can finish up the rest of the day here but when we get back to the office I'm going to quit."
He was a definitely surprised by my decisive candor but the only response he had was a dry "Yeah, it's not for everyone."
He made one more pitch before abruptly deciding to take me back to the office about three hours early. The drive was long and silent. His fancy car was reminder of all the money that the employees of that company typically make. After my bold declaration it was clear that I would not come close to making that kind of pay. It didn't matter. I was relieved. I just stared out the car window at the beautiful formations of the clouds. I was free.
We got back to the office and I unceremoniously signed the paperwork. It was only my second day on the job. I rode the elevator alone and walked down the main hallway to get to my car. I thought about the money that I could have made, I thought about how my friends and family would react to my quitting a job I had just gotten. I thought about how it had taken me months to find this job and how I would have to start all over again - this time without the security of having a job at Starbucks. I was completely unemployed and that just begun to sink in.
I got to my car and called my boyfriend. All I could say was that "I quit". He got off work early and we met at a restaurant in Winter Park. I told him what happened and I said that I firmly believed I had done the right thing by leaving that company. He agreed and supported my decision. Then we began to cheer up and laugh. Our waiter came to the table and asked us what we were celebrating. "I just quit my job" I cheerfully explained.
It was scary trying to find a new job and then suddenly leave after getting what looked like a great opportunity. The truth was that it didn't feel right and I knew I could find a better job. I knew it would have been a waste of time to try and make it work. I have better things ahead.
