I work in retail while at home. It's Christmastime... we know what that means! Story time!
With much pain and suffering comes many worthy anecdotes.
I feel as though retail at least deserves that. Anecdotes.
As I sit here, relaxing after my fourth day back after a year, I ponder my daily eight-hour-adventures in the layer of hostile individuals (customers). Being thrown on the floor by myself the first day in the mad rush of holiday cheer (is that what they're calling it these days?) means they must either really hate me or really trust me. Maybe both?
So.. maybe you wonder about the types of people I encounter during the holiday season?
Don't be fooled by the mass of people swarming through the mall- they are not all the same. In fact, there's a variety of categories that retail workers are able to place each individual customer in.
Let me enlighten you.
1. The hurried mother with the screaming baby
2. The cute old couple that don't hear very well, but just smile and nod at everything you say
3. The ones that don't speak English and just smile awkwardly and say "no" to everything
4. The obnoxious group of teenaged boys that flirt with any girl they come in contact with
5. The angry middle-aged woman who won't make eye contact with you
6. The friendly family who stands and makes small talk
7. The individual who begins the transaction with "The answer is NO TO EVERYTHING! How much do I owe you?"
8. The customer who swipes their card over and over before you are done scanning the items, and when you tell them that you must total up the transaction, they say "Oh." and proceed to swipe their card.
9. The customer who not only doesn't speak English, but also decides that they want to pay for 13 pairs of shoes in pennies and nickles alone. Yes, this happened to me.
That pretty much covers most of the different types of customers.
I must also mention the array of co-workers..
-Ones who don't know how to interact with customers.
-16-year-old boys who have the guts to flirt with their 20-year-old co-worker.
-That one manager who says things like "Why are you getting a break before me? You make like nothing." (I replied with, "Wow. You got some arrogance there don't ya?" .. that shut her up- a once in a lifetime occurrence. It was fantastic.)
-The teenaged girl who comes in late every day to work, chews their gum obnoxiously to the customers and says "I'm not cleaning that. I am too tired."
-The hilarious, awesome ones who make the day go by faster.
-The elderly, angry ones who yell at customers (also hilarious).
-The coworkers that don't speak English.. and therefore are impossible to get help from.
-And of course, last, but not least, the awesome manager that is actually encouraging and respectful.
I joke, but in reality, I've learned so much about life and interaction with people through this job.
I've learned that most people just need a smile to melt whatever stresses are on their mind.
I've learned that I can't really be angry at someone if they're being a bit rude- I don't know their story.
I've learned that there will always be the power-hungry managers who feel the need to stomp on their employees to make themselves feel important.
I've learned that it's alright to make mistakes. It happens.
I've learned that one can make even the most unnecessary objects sound intriguing and useful.
I've learned that credit cards are horrible inventions.
I've learned that people need Jesus Christ. Big time.
I've learned that I may be the only Bible people may read. A good attitude is detrimental.
I've learned that using words like "detrimental" makes customers happy.
I've learned that retail is a world of its own. One must study out the world to live in it successfully.
The life lessons go on, and I'm thankful for them. I'm thankful for the rushed, hostile environment- it brings out the worst and best in people, and sometimes that's what is needed to understand the world a little bit better.
With much pain and suffering comes many worthy anecdotes.
I feel as though retail at least deserves that. Anecdotes.
As I sit here, relaxing after my fourth day back after a year, I ponder my daily eight-hour-adventures in the layer of hostile individuals (customers). Being thrown on the floor by myself the first day in the mad rush of holiday cheer (is that what they're calling it these days?) means they must either really hate me or really trust me. Maybe both?
So.. maybe you wonder about the types of people I encounter during the holiday season?
Don't be fooled by the mass of people swarming through the mall- they are not all the same. In fact, there's a variety of categories that retail workers are able to place each individual customer in.
Let me enlighten you.
1. The hurried mother with the screaming baby
2. The cute old couple that don't hear very well, but just smile and nod at everything you say
3. The ones that don't speak English and just smile awkwardly and say "no" to everything
4. The obnoxious group of teenaged boys that flirt with any girl they come in contact with
5. The angry middle-aged woman who won't make eye contact with you
6. The friendly family who stands and makes small talk
7. The individual who begins the transaction with "The answer is NO TO EVERYTHING! How much do I owe you?"
8. The customer who swipes their card over and over before you are done scanning the items, and when you tell them that you must total up the transaction, they say "Oh." and proceed to swipe their card.
9. The customer who not only doesn't speak English, but also decides that they want to pay for 13 pairs of shoes in pennies and nickles alone. Yes, this happened to me.
That pretty much covers most of the different types of customers.
I must also mention the array of co-workers..
-Ones who don't know how to interact with customers.
-16-year-old boys who have the guts to flirt with their 20-year-old co-worker.
-That one manager who says things like "Why are you getting a break before me? You make like nothing." (I replied with, "Wow. You got some arrogance there don't ya?" .. that shut her up- a once in a lifetime occurrence. It was fantastic.)
-The teenaged girl who comes in late every day to work, chews their gum obnoxiously to the customers and says "I'm not cleaning that. I am too tired."
-The hilarious, awesome ones who make the day go by faster.
-The elderly, angry ones who yell at customers (also hilarious).
-The coworkers that don't speak English.. and therefore are impossible to get help from.
-And of course, last, but not least, the awesome manager that is actually encouraging and respectful.
I joke, but in reality, I've learned so much about life and interaction with people through this job.
I've learned that most people just need a smile to melt whatever stresses are on their mind.
I've learned that I can't really be angry at someone if they're being a bit rude- I don't know their story.
I've learned that there will always be the power-hungry managers who feel the need to stomp on their employees to make themselves feel important.
I've learned that it's alright to make mistakes. It happens.
I've learned that one can make even the most unnecessary objects sound intriguing and useful.
I've learned that credit cards are horrible inventions.
I've learned that people need Jesus Christ. Big time.
I've learned that I may be the only Bible people may read. A good attitude is detrimental.
I've learned that using words like "detrimental" makes customers happy.
I've learned that retail is a world of its own. One must study out the world to live in it successfully.
The life lessons go on, and I'm thankful for them. I'm thankful for the rushed, hostile environment- it brings out the worst and best in people, and sometimes that's what is needed to understand the world a little bit better.
No comments:
Post a Comment