Nothing puts you off of the holiday season, like working in retail. As the department stores and other retailers, start putting up christmas decorations along side the ghost and goblins. a sense of dread begans to creep up in cashiers, sales associates, managers, and loss prevention staff. People can get ugly, rude, and downright ignorant during the holiday season.
Now, as a christian, this time is a trying of my faith, cause I ain’t always been saved. It takes all of my Jesus, to keep me from going there with some of the customers I encounter on my part-time job (at the retailer that shall not be named).
#1 EXPECT LONG LINES DURING THE XMAS HOLIDAY!!!! No, they didn’t hire enough people. They will never hire enough people. Expect! Long! Lines!
#2 I know you want to get that, “I’ve been shopping. Look at me. I bought things from XYZ department store.” feeling. You and a thousand other people. So yes, we ran out of those lovely, paper, store handle bags. Some of your neighbors, co-workers, friends, family, and enemies (not you of course) insist on having the lovely handkerchief they just purchased, place in those lovely (large) bags, so………………..*shrug*
#3 Don’t invade other peoples personal space while I am ringing them up, because you must know where you can find the shoe department. Customers will walk right up to the counter, shoulder the paying customer out the way, say “Can I just ask you a question?”, while you are in the middle of asking a customer if that is cash or credit. That is rude!
#4 Don’t bring a rice steamer from the home goods department to the children’s department, expectating the people in children’s to know how much the rice steamer costs. THEY DON’T WORK IN HOME GOODS! “Oh well, the line was too long over there, so I brought it over here”. Ok. Refer to #1 and go back to home goods for a price.
#5 This is for your own protection. DON’T LEAVE YOUR PURSE IN THE FITTING ROOM, WHILE YOU LOOK FOR A SIZE 10! I find it in the fitting room, put it behind the counter, after yelling out “Did anyone lose a purse!” Ten minutes later, you return to the fitting room with the size 10 and some other stuff, to find your purse missing and go into a panic. Sweetie, take your purse with you. Today, I found it. Tomorrow, you may not be so fortunate. This seems like common sense, but it is not.
#6 This is for your children’s safety. DON’T LEAVE YOUR INFANT/TODDLER, UNATTENDED IN THE AISLEWAY, WHILE YOU GO TO THE FURTHEST CORNER OF THE DEPARTMENT TO LOOK THROUGH THE CLEARANCE RACKS! Again, seems like common sense.
#7 Children again. Don’t bring your young children out to the mall at 8 am and expect them to enjoy a day of shopping until 8 pm, strapped in a stroller. That is just cruel. Then, I and others, have to listen to his/her blood curdling screams, while you look for one last thing for your mother-in-law. Please, just………………I don’t even know what to say. *smh*
#8 Children again (I have so many more regarding children, but I will stop with this one). You know Egbert is a rascal, why would you give him a Godiva chocolate bar, to smear all of over his face and hands, the Michael Kors white sweater, Eileen Fisher pants, and Ralph Lauren coat? All this, while he is pulling tags off of clothes.
#9 Don’t expect there to be twelve of a clearance item in the stock room. IT IS ON CLEARANCE! We are not hoarding it. It is 70% off hun, this is it. Yes, I can try to locate it. Yes, I can call another store and ask them to try to find it for you. However, don’t expect the busy clerks at another store to bust their humps, to find this $6.80 shirt on a rack of 50, 000 clearance items. IT IS THE HOLIDAYS WHERE THEY ARE TOO AND THEY HAVE LONG LINES!
#10 I am gonna stop here, but I could go on. Please, refresh your consumer math skills. You ask me to price the blouse that was on the 40% off rack, then you ask if you can use a 20% off coupon, then you ask me how much is 20% off the price, then I tell you, then you want me to do the subtraction. Now, you don’t want it. You put a pair of pants on the counter, we repeat the above actions. I am trembling with frustration, because you have an armful of items. I know we are going to do the same thing for each item. You are holding up the line with these shananigans. You are on a budget. I get it. Use the calculator on your phone, the one you just took a call on while I am trying to give you the price on an item, so you can decide you don’t want it.
I’m done.
I know there are rude clerks and sales staff; I know the coupons can be confusing; I know you are tired; I know everything cost so much more now and the quality is cheaper, but it is what it is. Let US please be mindful of, respectful of, courteous to, and patient with each other, this holiday season. *sideways glance* After all, it is the most wonderful time of the year.
