In some form or another, I have worked in the retail side of the holidays for almost a decade. I have seen the horrible, the kind, and the nasty. I have witnessed one unsupervised child destroy hundreds of dollars of merchandise one moment, and in the next, restore another child's faith in Santa.
I have written about how hard retail people work this time of year and sacrifice time with their families.But, if you feel compelled, here are a few ways that you can show retail workers how much you appreciate them:
5. Let us cut in line for food
Are you ordering 5 venti mocha extra whip chocolate BS latte thing? Odds are, I am on a 15 minute break, and all I want is a large regular coffee. Can you spare 60 seconds so I can rest my feet and sit with my coffee instead of pacing Starbucks the entire break? That would be super nice, and we would appreciate it.
4. Act grateful
Did someone just spend 45 minutes with you showing you 30 options for your daughter in law, only for you to spend $14.99 on her gift? That's totally fine with me! I don't work on commission, but making sure that you had a good experience and helping you pick out a great gift that she will love makes me happy. BUT — can you at least ACT like you appreciate the time I spent with you?
3. Be kind to us
Getting angry that there isn't a sale, or that it's not wrapped in the right wrapping paper isn't going to change things. I can't make my goods sell for less. I can't make items that are sold out reappear. But odds are, I am going to everything in my power to help you find something similar, or get you the best deal I can. There is no need for you to get nasty with me, or yell at me.
2. Leave when the store closes
Look, I want nothing than for you to have a great customer experience. But, it's going to take me 60-90 minutes to shut down my store, and with extended holiday hours, that means that I may not get out until 12-1 am. The longer you stay after the store closes, the longer it delays me shutting things down. 5 or 6 minutes isn't a big deal, but when I have spent 30 extra minutes and you don't leave with anything, it's frustrating. Not just because now we are all behind closing the store, but I may have to open the shop the next morning at 7 AM. Just please, the mall is open for 14-15 hours a day, when it's time to close, please wrap it up.
1. Let us help you
We all know our stores and product. I'm happy that you know exactly what you are looking for, but when you wander around aimlessly, I'm not doing my job. The whole reason I'm getting paid is to help you. Will I try to sell you something you didn't come in for? Probably. Will I be hurt if you don't? Nope! But lets make everyone's life better and let me help you.
Hey — I want you to have a festive, happy joyous, and beautiful holiday. The reason this time of year is supposed to be wonderful is because of the good we put out for our fellow humans. Retails workers ARE your fellow humans. Please be kind to us. We are working our tails off to make your holidays magic.
