(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I live an hour and a half away from Miami. Because I didn’t have a car it was difficult for me to go to Miami and distribute posters with other practitioners.
I worked in customer service for 15 years, so I accumulated a lot of experience, and I also served customers over the phone. I used my experience to help promote Shen Yun through phone calls, and it was very effective. I called luxury high-end apartments, five-star hotels, senior living facilities, and dance and music schools in the Miami area. I introduced Shen Yun to them on the phone and sent Eblasts. Most people I talked to expressed an interest in seeing Shen Yun or said they would forward the Eblast about the performances to the people they knew.
One time, I called a five-star hotel. After introducing Shen Yun to the front desk staff, I told him I wanted to contact his manager directly. He gave me the manager’s email. I sent an email to the manager with a brief introduction of Shen Yun and told her I hoped she would recommend Shen Yun to their guests. A few days later, the manager happily emailed me back and said she was willing to work with us. With the help of the coordinator, the hotel agreed to display information about Shen Yun. Practitioners delivered fliers to the hotel, and they were placed in a prominent location in the hotel lobby. Some hotel staff also recommended Shen Yun to hotel guests as a “must see” in Miami.
When I first called luxury apartments, there was some resistance. Some people hung up when I started introducing Shen Yun. I was a little surprised. In 2023, when I helped promote Shen Yun in other areas, most luxury apartments told us to send them the Eblast, and they were happy to share it with their tenants. I told the coordinator.
She said, “The luxury apartments you called last year were not as high-end as these. Most of the numbers I gave you this year are very high-end luxury apartment buildings. The rent for some of them is tens of thousands of dollars. The building management might not allow regular promotional methods, which is probably why they hung up on you. If you can get through to half of them that’s very good.”
She later commented, “You did well. I gave you luxury high-end apartments and five-star hotels, and you got through to many of them, and some of them sent Eblasts for us. How did you do it?” At that time, I didn’t think much about it and said, “Maybe it’s because I’ve been in the U.S. for more than 30 years, and my English is better than that of other Chinese practitioners.” When I later thought about it I felt it was because I gained extensive customer service skills in the past 15 years. Those skills played a big role in helping promote Shen Yun.
I Pick Up Customer Service Skills
In the summer of 2009, I started working in the bridal salon owned by my parents. My mother is a coordinator for a Chinatown practice site. She follows Master’s teachings and she is very strict with herself. She is kind to everyone. My parents often treat the newlyweds who come to our salon as if they were their children. My parents tried their best to help each couple plan their weddings, including make-up, wedding dress, restaurant reservations, photography, wedding videos, etc. They made sure the entire wedding process went smoothly. Many brides and grooms were very moved when they saw that my parents provided customer service with their whole hearts. This was not commonly seen in Chinatown 20-25 years ago.
I started working in my sister’s wedding salon over the next two years. Most of my sister’s clients are Westerners, and she treats each one very attentively and provides them with the best service. Many clients are grateful for our help, and some have become friends. Through working in the family business, I learned how to treat clients well and serve them like family members.
Master repeatedly taught us to “ ... cultivate while conforming to the way of everyday people ... ” (Teachings at the Conference in Canada)
Some practitioners chose easier jobs in order to have more time to do Dafa work and save more people. However, what I want to share with you is that having a full-time job, and the skills gained from work will also help us in doing a better job in saving sentient beings.
Cultivation Opportunities at Work
I took a civil service exam in New York City in 2011. I waited for three and a half years. In October 2014, I got an interview with the Department of Social Services.
This is a clerical job. We answer hotline calls and provide customer services to New Yorkers who receive Medicaid. Sometimes, customers don’t know how to renew their insurance; I explained how to apply. Sometimes there’s a newborn in the family and they need to add the child’s name to the family’s Medicaid account. I explain how to do it. Sometimes they want to inform us of the change in their income. Sometimes a family member passes away and they need to cancel their coverage. We provide customer services to people in their different situations according to government regulations.
This job was very challenging because the customer service standards were high. People who receive welfare are all low-income families, and some of them have very bad attitudes when they call us. I assist them with their benefits, but oftentimes, if they don’t like what they hear, they curse me.
At first, I didn’t feel comfortable. I thought: I assist you to get free medical benefits with a kind heart. Why are you still scolding me? I felt it wasn’t fair. I looked within and found I had an attachment to comfort. I hoped a government job would be easier, so I could have more time to do Dafa work. I didn’t expect it to be so difficult. I had to answer phone calls non-stop all day. The worst part is that the customers can complain to my boss if they aren’t happy with my services. This was more challenging than working in a private company. I felt frustrated but realized I needed to eliminate my attachment to comfort.
Cultivation Reminders from a Non-practitioner
Since I often encountered this kind of harassment from customers on the phone, I felt very stressed. In addition, the probation period for this job was one year. That means I have to endure such treatment for at least one year. I complained about this to my colleagues and family members. A month later, my agency sent us on a three-day training to improve our customer service skills. The teacher often gave examples when he lectured, which was very helpful. He explained that in customer service, we should put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and think from their perspective. He said that a great customer service person is someone who can go above and beyond.
He gave an example: A postman was very considerate of his customers. If he saw packages sitting in the front yard for a few days, he knew this family might have gone away. If he continued to leave the package there, bad guys might realize that the family was not home and would break into the house. Whenever this happened, he put the package between the two front doors of the house so that others could not tell that no one was home. On rainy days, he put the package under the eaves of the house and covered it with something to prevent the package from getting wet. He knows the residents in the community well. He knew that one of the professors usually went on a business trip at a certain time every year. He temporarily holds his letters at the post office and gives them to him when the professor returns.
I was inspired to hear there were such thoughtful people. Even though he wasn’t a practitioner I felt the postman was already in the Tao. Master also asked us to be considerate of others. I realized that Master used this training to remind me that I should follow Falun Dafa’s principles and maintain my xinxing. I shouldn’t curse back or get upset when someone scolded me. If I encountered troubles, I should take it as a good opportunity to improve my xinxing. The teacher asked how we would deal with certain situations. I answered his question with the xinxing standard of a Dafa cultivator. He was very happy and said, “I know you’ll do well.”
I used the break time to tell him about Shen Yun. I said, “Shen Yun brings traditional culture and values through dance and music. These traditional concepts taught me how to think of others.” He liked Shen Yun very much and said I could introduce the show to the class.
Expanding My Compassion
We often encounter customers who are rude. Our supervisor told us not to get angry with them; we must remain calm and serve them with a professional attitude. After taking the training course, I found I could answer their questions calmly and I could even handle those who yelled and cursed.
When some people realized their medical insurance was cut off, they were very angry. I was able to calmly help them and show them how to restore their Medicaid. One woman shouted at me on the phone, “I just got out of prison and my leg was injured. Why doesn’t my Medicaid card work?” She cursed at me the entire time. I knew that as a cultivator I should have compassion. I answered her questions kindly, and in the end she said, “Thank you.”
I gradually became more patient and compassionate. Several times, after I answered a customer’s questions, they said: “Your customer service skills are very good. Thank you. I want to say something to your boss.” I asked one woman if she had a question. She said, “I think your boss should give you a raise.” I thanked her for her kind encouragement.
Other times I didn’t do well. A Chinese customer called, and her tone of voice was very rude—she repeatedly interrupted me when I spoke. I felt she had Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture. During the lunch break, I complained to another Chinese colleague: “These people who just came from China are terrible and they don’t have any manners.” My colleague immediately pointed out my shortcomings: “You should be careful when you speak, you are also from China.” I realized I was wrong and I shouldn’t stereotype them. Although the Chinese have CCP culture, they don’t know what normal society is like. This is not completely their fault. I should have compassion, make them feel welcome and warm, and help them understand how normal society works.
Later over a period of time I was proud of my skills and developed complacency. Because I did more Dafa work after I got off work I didn’t get enough rest at night. My state of mind during the day wasn’t good. Sometimes, I didn’t study the Fa enough, and I encountered more situations at work every day, and the stress increased again.
One morning, I told my supervisor, “The pressure at work has increased. Last night, I dreamed that I drank wine with my father to release the stress.” She said, “Let’s talk about it. I know you don’t drink, but you drank in your dreams. Does this mean that the pressure of this job is too much for you?” I said, “Yes. Some people are unreasonable. I provide good services. They don’t appreciate me, and they even curse me.”
My supervisor said, “Although some of the people who receive benefits are taking advantage of the benefits, most of them have difficult lives. Don’t judge them, because you don’t know what kind of hardships they have gone through. Think more from their perspective, and you have to put down your ego. Empathize with them and provide them with professional customer service. Of course, it’s wrong for them to swear at you. When they do, you can politely remind them to pay attention to the words they use when they speak.”
I suddenly understood that Master was using my supervisor’s mouth to remind me how to cultivate in this work environment. Because I’ve been in the U.S. for many years, my family environment is good, and I have a sense of superiority. When some people treat me badly, I feel that they don't respect me enough and I feel uncomfortable. In fact, when I feel uncomfortable, isn’t it because my vanity and self-esteem have been touched?
Sometimes when you lack empathy and patience for other people’s suffering, sometimes it’s jealousy. I think, “Why should I lower myself to serve you?” Master taught us to be compassionate towards others, so shouldn’t I also be compassionate when I’m talking to these customers on the phone? Isn’t this a good opportunity to cultivate the heart of great Forbearance? The way my boss showed me how to deal with customers who curse, is teaching me how to solve problems rationally while sticking to principles.
I found out that this work environment and the troubles I encountered were a good place to temper me. Thinking this way, my heart capacity became larger. After my xinxing improved, I didn’t find work so difficult. After working in that department for a year and a half, another department wanted to transfer us away. Before leaving there, our director said to us earnestly: “This job is difficult, but you did it. If you can do well in such an environment, I believe you can do well in any municipal government department in the future.”
We were transferred to the Food Stamp Department after this job. My job was to help people apply for or renew their food stamp applications over the phone. One time, there was a woman who called to renew food stamp benefits for herself and her children. When I asked if the father of her children gave her child support, she said, “No, he doesn’t. He’s in jail. He provides no support to my children.”
I was shocked. I couldn’t imagine how difficult her life was, as she was raising three children by herself. When I thought about the tribulation I experienced in my marriage, I felt it was minor compared to these ordinary people. Plus, I’m taken care of by Master, I’m a Dafa disciple. I’m so fortunate. Since then, I learned to look at my tribulations with an easier attitude.
When I wrote this sharing, I found that the attachments I thought I eliminated before recently surfaced again. Looking within further, I found my cultivation was not solid enough at that time, and I did not get rid of these attachments fundamentally. My life and work environment became more relaxed, and I’ve loosened the requirements on myself. Therefore, these attachments manifested again. I understand that I should take my cultivation seriously, be responsible for myself, and do even better.
I was later assigned to work in another department. My responsibility was also to answer hotline calls, and I helped business owners pay business taxes by phone or email. When answering the phones, we must come up with ideas to help the customer to resolve the difficulties they encounter in paying taxes.
Some people have financial hardships and don’t want to pay so much tax, so they bargain with us. My job requires me to provide professional services, but I must also stick to government regulations. I have to collect the taxes. Once, a business owner called me, and I sincerely helped him solve a problem. In the end, he said, “Your service attitude is very good. I know your big boss. If your boss gives you a raise or promotes you one day, it will be because I said something good about you to her.”
Another time, the boss sent us to participate in training on how to handle and mediate conflicts (training on conflict resolution). Through this training, I was able to chat with strangers on the phone, and I also learned not to stereotype others.
When I talk to customers on the phone, I learned to respect them. No matter what they say, I try not to be moved. Because it is a hotline, each call cannot be too long, and I have to answer the next call. So, I trained myself to get to the point and be brief.
These skills learned from ordinary people played a good role in promoting Shen Yun through phone calls. Before I make phone calls to promote Shen Yun, I send forth righteous thoughts and ask Master to help me speak to them with a compassionate attitude. I usually simply introduce them to Shen Yun as a world-class show. When my attitude is pure, the effect of the phone calls is better. Practitioners in Florida live in relatively scattered areas, and I would like to take this opportunity to encourage more practitioners to participate and promote Shen Yun by phone.
I share this experience because I used to have a misunderstanding about cultivation. I thought that only when I was doing Dafa projects could I save people. Later, I found that the skills I learned among ordinary people can play a big role in projects to save people, and also play a role in assisting Master in Fa-rectification.
If practitioners do not pay attention to our jobs, how can we integrate into mainstream society? Ordinary people may misunderstand Dafa. If we can all do our jobs attentively, and have kindness, responsibility and other positive images of cultivators in the work environment, isn’t this also validating the Fa? This will allow more ordinary people to understand what Falun Dafa is about.
Master taught us in his new lecture, “Wake Up:”
“To be able to regard anyone and everyone with compassion, to have love for all people, really isn’t something the average person can achieve. Harder still is to have a sense of compassion toward all living things in everything you do. But that is something practitioners of Dafa have to be able to do!” (“Wake Up”)
I found that when we do exactly what Master tells us, the power to save people is great. I also enlightened that if we can treat our fellow practitioners with more compassion and tolerance, if we understand each other better, we can become a stronger whole body.
Fellow practitioners also helped me a lot. They often kindly remind me about what went wrong, so that I can see my own problems and correct my deviations in understanding the Fa. When we discuss and help each other, we can improve quickly. I found that we must understand the Fa comprehensively. In everything we do, we must think from the perspective of saving sentient beings.
This is the first time I’ve talked about my cultivation experiences at a Fa conference since I started practicing Falun Dafa in 1996. I truly cherish this cultivation environment. May we make diligent progress together, truly respect Master and the Fa, save more people, and return to our true home with Master.
Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
Heshi
(Presented at the 2024 Florida Fa Conference)
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