Working children's retail is no joke. You will have customers that don't like you for no reason and you will have children destroying the beautiful pile of folded clothes that you just folded. Retail is a dog eat dog world, you fend for your sanity while helping those ridiculous customers who cannot be helped and don't know what they want, plus so much more.
Here is what you learn when working retail:
1. Ignorance is Bliss.
If you choose to ignore how rude the customer is and just help them to the best of your ability, then maybe you will get by unscathed. If you ignore that child that is being unwatched by their parent, then you can ignore all of the mess they are making that you will have to clean up over and over again.
2. Confidence is Key.
Even if you have absolutely no idea what the answer to their question is, confidently tell them what you think it is. They won't know the difference. If they ask if you have something in the back or not, the answer you give is almost always no. Unless you want to go "check" the back and come back with the same answer you already gave them.
3. How to Avoid Conflict.
Your manager can be your best friend or your worst nightmare. Always be their bestie, even if you don't want to be. Your paycheck will thank you and you will probably get the better hours. You learn to suck it up and do your best.
4. Appreciation.
Depending on where you are on the totem pole, if you're like me, you probably don't get very many hours. So any hours your manager gives you feels great! Especially once that check comes in!
5. Avoid Eye Contact.
If you don't look at the customer, then they won't engage in conversation, right? Wrong... but at least you can try!
6. Be Patient.
You will have very annoying conversations with customers who will not stop talking; all you have to do is nod and pretend that you care about whatever they're talking about. Also, you keep folding and refolding the same clothes over and over... At this point, you can probably fold clothes in your sleep.
7. Encouragement.
You learn to egg people on when they are eyeing products. "Yes ma'am that poop-y brown color will look fantastic on you".... "of course your kid will love that pair of pants that looks like a rainbow threw up on it!" One of my favorite things is when they ask me what my favorite pieces are in the store... It's usually the more expensive items that I wish I could buy myself.
8. Advance Your Mathematic Skills.
Especially when you are asked prices on things during a sale, you need to be quick witted in your response. Also, to double check that you have been paid as much as you work, math really does come in handy.
9. Dealing With People You Hate
This is a prime life skill. There will always be someone you have conflict with, or that you simply don't like. Having a job in retail forces you to be "somewhat" civil when you are working with that person because you will have to spend hours with them, and most likely you will have hours with them every single week. Just because you don't like someone doesn't mean you can't get the job done.
All in all, working retail is rewarding... mostly because of the paycheck that comes every 2 weeks. If you're like me, then you will constantly be dealing with annoying customers, cranky children and crappy pay; but at least you can look forward to the discount that comes with working at your store.
