Simply Sales Talk: Drinking alcohol

Wednesday, May 06, 2015 Jes SimplySalesTalk 2 Comments

Different countries have different systems to entertain customers.

All shapes and sizes! (Source: wikipedia)

The most universal form of entertainment is alcohol. Chinese, Japanese and Koreans drink like there is no tomorrow. Europeans like to party all night long and need only 2 hours of sleep before going to work the next day. Most people like to serve alcohol for dinner so that people feel more relaxed, get more personal and spill more easily.
The thing is, being a sales person, I am expected to drink alcohol. But I don't like it.

Drown your sorrows or adding to it? (Source: wikipedia)

All kinds of it - beer, wine, sake, cocktails, whiskey.... I don't like all of it because of the Asian Flush Syndrome. It caused a side effect in most Asians and makes my face red. This means we do not have the enzyme to metabolize alcohol effectively and the body is unable to break down the toxic chemicals. The red faced people like me is 10 times more likely to get some cancers due to this. I may not feel groggy yet but I hate seeing my face red. It is quite embarrassing, like I am high and drunk. As a girl, it looks worse.

Natural blush or asian flush? (Source: answermeup.com)

That's why I don't get why people need to drink.

I understand that alcohol (ethanol) brings you into a state of excitation where you speak louder and more. It is termed as a social lubricant as it lowers inhibitions, IQ and there is lesser thinking involved. It could be a panacea where people think it helps relaxation but is more a state of mind, a culture, a ritual. It is also useful when you speak too honestly or shared some secrets and blame it all on alcohol.

People tell me that alcohol makes them feel better, that conversation is more interesting with it. I really have to disagree. First of all, it does not taste good. It always leaves a bitter after taste. It gives you some side effects like accelerated heart rate, insomnia, headaches, drowsiness, dehydration and even diarrhea, Others say that some wine every day is actually good for your health as it improves blood circulation, reduce risk of heart disease and diabetes.

But the health benefits have not been proven.

Group 1 carcinogen. It is the category where it has been confirmed to cause cancer. Not many people know about this because the alcohol marketing campaigns have been very successful. Even moderate amount is not safe. The many types of cancer and the increased risk with every increased consumption has already been correlated by the National Cancer Institute.

Living is itself, a risky business (Source: wikipedia)

People are ignoring all these. They will cajole you, tease you and push you into drinking. They will think you are less manly or anti-social for not drinking. They will force you by saying that you are not giving face to them. They will make you feel lousy, weak or deliberately keep you out of the fun because you are not part of the drinking cool gang.

I don't get it.

Everyone around me has tried to get me to drink and 'trained' me by asking me to drink more. I always tell them that I am wasting money as I don't enjoy it yet they still insisted. Recently, my distributor also tried to force me to drink but I stood my ground. I do not have to give them face anyway so why should I do something that I don't like.

Maybe I am a goody two shoes...(Source: Wikipedia)

Maybe I am just weird but I find that alcohol is a waste of money, is detrimental to health and I do not enjoy one bit of the taste. I don't believe that me not drinking will decrease your enjoyment at all so please stop forcing me to drink with you. If you enjoy it, good for you, drink more.

Just don't encourage others to increase their risk of cancer along with yours.