1. Some people are just rude and you can't help it
No matter how nice you are to some people, they will still treat you like the worst person on the planet. You can be as nice as possible about a certain situation and some people will still "want to speak to your manager."
2. A lot of people think we make money off of our sales but the truth is, we don't.
I just sold you that $599 computer and that $700 office furniture set, but I get 0% of that money, and that's okay.
3. You're going to take turns with your co-workers about who gets to deal with THAT customer next.
There is always going to be THAT customer. They come into your store every week with an expired coupon, the new ad in hand and always have something to complain about, and sometimes you just can't make them happy no matter what you do.
4. Your coworkers are honestly some of the best people in the world.
You may not have a relationship with some of them outside of work, but having someone there on a daily basis that you can actually talk to about life and work together on certain projects is always good. My job actually led me to being friends with someone who is now one of my best friends. Having friendships at work makes everything a little bit easier.
5. Some days you just don't want to go.
Honestly, no matter how much money someone could offer you to stay, you just want to go home. There are going to be days that you just have way more important things to do than to go to work and deal with other peoples issues.
6. You're going to have your regular, every week customers.
These customers tend to be really great people. You form relationships with them even though you may only see them for an hour once a week. One of my regular customers got me a graduation present a few months ago and I had only ever really spoken to him a handful of times.
7. People will steal anything with no shame.
They'll do it with a camera staring right at them, when employees are following them and then come back into your store a few days later and buy something else. It's still shocking to me the little things that people will steal.
8. You learn really fast how to multitask, and how to multitask well.
Some days there is only going to be 3 people working, and 8 customers needing attention. Those days, your skills will come in handy.
9. People will cause a scene.
You're going to have people that don't realize other people exist, and need your undivided attention. Sometimes those people are going to scream and holler and not even realize that they are embarrassing themselves.
10. Retail isn't easy, but the skills you learn are absolutely incredible.
Retail was my first job, so I really don't know any different, but I can honestly say that I don't think any other job is capable of teaching you so much at once. You will learn so many people skills and life lessons that it's incredible!