I spot a potential customer. She walks by, not seeing my well-concealed hunger for a hefty sale from her. I draw the blinds on the windows to my soul with as sincere a smile as I can muster. As my hands raise my tea tray to her eye level, my amicable mask annunciates the words, “Come try some tea!” Will she take the bait? The five seconds of suspense bring my heart beating up to my throat.
She finally responds with a hesitant, “Sure…” My heart races as she reaches for the sample cup that lures her in my direction. Her eyes are on the tea, not on my hungry eyes. Thank heaven for the lure that disguises this evildoer’s true intentions.
“Let me get you a fresh sample,” I say as I quickly snatch the tray out of her grasp and set it on the sample cart. This move is like playing with a fish. Make the bait look alive. Bring her in with some conversation. As I pour her a “fresh” sample that has actually been sitting stagnant in the FetCo all day, I tell her about the unfounded health benefits of white tea: antioxidants, good for skin and complexion, promotes hydration and detoxification. She only slightly reacts to these trigger words that society and media have conditioned her to respond to.
No, she is focusing on the sensory appeal of the tea. Fish do not care about the health benefits of the bait. They just want something that smells good and tastes good. She interrupts my sales pitches with the usual remarks, “it smells amazing,” “wow, this tastes wonderful,” to which I hide my annoyance and nod my head with a twitch of the mouth.
During my sales pitch, my conscience sometimes kicks in. Does she know that the sugar in the tea has ten more calories per teaspoon than regular sugar? I am misleading her to think that it is only this tea promotes these benefits, when I know full well that most, if not all, teas can do the same thing. I also know that the “white tea” that we are claiming is low in caffeine and high in antioxidants is not the same white tea that studies have shown to be high in antioxidants. Furthermore, I know that white tea is not necessarily low in caffeine like we are led to believe. My heart begins to ache at the illusion that I am beginning to paint in this customer’s mind. “Not now,” the salesperson in my head tells me. “Save it for the other teas, like corporate tells you to do. It’ll make you sell better.” This puts my conscience to rest, and I am able to focus on the big, fat sale that I will make on the other end of the counter as I lead her to try the next sample.
