Have you ever held a sales position at a company of any kind? Whether it be retail, concessions, software, other kinds of products and services, what if a customer comes up to you the employee and wants to purchase something that you know without a doubt is not what they need and honestly, would be detrimental to their well-being? What do you do? You have a job to do with the company of selling whatever they offer. On the other hand, you have a might have a moral obligation and conviction even to care for those with whom you come into contact. So do you sell them the thing that they are asking for despite the negative effects it will have or do you stand up for their ultimate health? That’s pretty tricky, and in every situation it is different. Let me share with you my few experiences with these ethical dilemmas as I worked at an amusement park over several summers.
I worked in the Fudge Kitchen and Cookie House primarily and as you can imagine there were many people who would come through my line looking for a nice piece of fudge or for a cup of milk and a cookie. And that sounds wonderful, right? Of course, have one of our delicious jumbo chocolate chip cookies and a cup of milk to make your experience at this park delightful! Well, not exactly, if this person was clearly very overweight or diabetic or did not take care of their teeth well. If these things were obvious, it was much harder to sell to them these products. Could I really with a clean conscience give them something that will make their lives ultimately more miserable? It might provide short-term pleasure and a dopamine hit that will leave them feeling good for a bit but in the long run will make life a less than pleasant place.
So, my challenge to you is to ponder how the things you are selling, whether they be a product, service, idea, whatever, are actually helping your consumers. Is what you are selling helping them to be better versions of themselves and adding health and prosperity to their lives in some way? If the answer to that question is not an absolute yes, I suggest taking a step back to reconsider your offering.
BoweryJE22
Certainly there are ethical dilemmas in selling, but ultimately you cannot take charge of what people desire and control their behaviors. When I was working at Best Buy, they always wanted us to up-sell people with the Best Buy credit card, an installation service for their laptops (literally just booting up the computer and connecting it to wifi), and other stuff that I felt like was nonsense. I did come to understand though, that some people really did want/need those services, and who am I to decide what is most beneficial to them?