(Minghui.org) I am 76 years old, and I sell deli meat in a market. Because I'm a Falun Gong practitioner, I make it a point to ensure the quality of my meat, and I hold my customers' satisfaction in the highest regard.
When my business first started to improve, a neighboring vendor hired an elderly woman to be the salesperson. She interfered with me from the very beginning. One day a customer came to my booth and took a long time selecting a piece of meat. When he was ready to pay, my neighbor’s saleslady held a piece of meat in front of him instead. “Don’t buy hers,” she said. “Buy mine. It's way better.”
The customer left without buying meat from either of us. I said, “You really caused trouble. The customer was ready to pay, and you made him leave without buying anything.”
That saleslady even gossiped to other vendors about me: “Doesn’t she know how to do business? How can she make any money with the weightbeam set so high (i.e., giving an extra amount to the customer)? I lower my weightbeam (i.e., giving a lesser amount to the customer) a lot and make quite a bit of money.”
Some customers didn’t know they got less than what they paid for. In fact, one woman paid four yuan for a piece of meat that was worth only two. A lot people came back to reason with her, but she insisted she was right and even started fights with the customers. Many of these customers didn’t return.
Although I didn’t fight with her, I was very upset when I saw so much leftover deli meat. I was agitated every night when I went to bed.
One morning when I woke up, I realized that I should look inward and put down my human attachments, that I should think of her and want the best for her. If I was unhappy and resentful when I saw all the customers buy her deli meat, I was still an ordinary person. It was not worth it to shed tears and fight for such little money.
When I thought this way, I felt good in my heart, and a smile appeared on my face.
I arrived at the market the next morning as usual. When a young man came to buy meat after I had just set up, my nemisis came over right away with her meat. “Young man, you should buy mine, because it’s leaner and better than hers,” she said.
I smiled when I recalled what I had realized that morning. “Yes, her meat is leaner than mine,” I said. “I don’t mind if you buy hers. Everyone wants lean meat.” But the young man pointed to the piece of meat on my table and said, “I just want to buy this piece from you.” The other seller was very embarrassed and left.
After that, my business began to boom. I can now sell 50 kg (110 lbs) of meat in the morning and another 50 kg in the afternoon. However, my neighbor’s business has grown worse, while customers line up to buy meat from me. One day, even a relative of hers bought meat from me instead of her because that seller would lower the weightbeam even when selling to her relative.
One customer said to me, “Auntie, you always smile. I won’t have an appetite if I don’t buy from you. And I never buy from others if you are not here.”
Master said:
“We say that when you take a step back in a conflict, you will find the seas and the skies boundless, and it will certainly be another situation.” (Zhuan Falun)
What Master said is the truth.
One day I sold over 100 kg (220 lbs) and did not have much left for the afternoon. But the saleslady next to me could not sell one bit of her 10 kg of meat. She was very picky and clamored with the distributor to get 10 kg of good porkhead meat, but she didn’t sell any of it. When she saw that I was almost sold out of the 100 kg I had, she was very angry and almost in tears.
She went outside to calm down and came back after a long time. I felt sorry for her, because we are all selling deli meat. I told her, “Let me help you sell your meat.” She gladly put all her meat on my table, and I quickly sold out her meat and handed her the money. “Count it and let me know if it is correct,” I said.
She grabbed the money and threw it into her cash box. “I don’t need to count it. I trust you. Nice people like you aren’t to be found anymore.”
The next morning she told me, “I didn’t sleep at all last night. I thought it over, and I realized it’s all my fault for our past issues. I will learn from you and never cheat customers again.”
I said, “Now you are right. If you give a little more to the customer, you will make more return profit in the end. If you cheat a customer, who would buy anything from you?” After that, her business improved by the day. Sometimes she can now sell over 35 kg.
One day an elderly man went to her to buy some meat. He paid 50 yuan and left without waiting for his change. He discovered he didn’t get the change when he was trying to buy something from another booth. He came back, and my neighbor gave him his change right away.
“I wouldn’t have returned the money in the past,” she told me. “But when I thought of you, I realized I was wrong. He only bought half-a-pound of meat. I wouldn’t have a good conscience if I charged him that much, so I returned his change.”
I am so glad to see how she has changed. I am really grateful that Master gave me a hint and reminded me. I am so happy that I have Master!
Category: Improving Oneself
