You never forget your first job. Most people babysit, host or become waiters and waitresses. Since kids stress me out, and I'm tragically clumsy, I turned to the only other alternative I could think of: retail.
It seemed right up my alley. I love clothes, and I love helping people pick out outfits. However, I talked to my coworkers and friends who also work in retail, and we compared reoccurring events and pet peeves that we all have experienced.
If you work in retail, you probably are familiar with most of these.
Customers arguing with you about the return policy
I'm convinced that people believe that I, the part-time teenage employee, single-handedly came up with the store's return policy that everyone seems to have a problem with.
Listen, I don't make the rules. Take the store credit or get back into your minivan and drive off, Debbie.
Your paycheck becomes a "playcheck"
I soon realized that being a shopping addict and working at a boutique wasn't my best idea.
My hold pile was neverending, and I realized that my paycheck became a cycle of me giving money back to the store.
Dressing room nightmares
When people walk out of a dressing room, I think they forget that hangers exist. The amount of times I have walked into a dressing room to find a pile of clothes on the floor is just sad.
That being said, to the people who hang their clothes back up or even put them away themselves: God has reserved a special place in heaven for you.
You have your own customer service voice
Take my already high pitched voice, crank it up three octaves and slap on a fake smile, and you have my customer service voice. In addition, everyone has their own personal greeting, whether it's "Hi, how are you?" or "How's it going?" or "What're we out shopping for today?"
Also, everyone in retail knows that pure shame and embarrassment when you greet a customer and they blatantly ignore you. That is rejection in its purest form.The impossible-to-please customer
I personally love it when a customer comes in and asks me for help finding an outfit. It's so much more fun than just standing around.
BUT, there is a customer who will reject every single thing you show or recommend to them. After a while, you learn to give up and accept that you could show them Ryan Reynolds holding a golden retriever puppy with a 14-karat gold necklace on sale for five dollars, and they still wouldn't want it.
The boyfriends and husbands
This is another one of my favorites. Nothing is cuter than a husband or boyfriend nervously looking around a store, trying to figure out what to get for his special girl.
It's also funny watching them try to pick out something on their own before they finally surrender and admit that they need help.
One word: holidays
The holiday season is the Super Bowl for retail stores. Your hours are multiplied by two, your feet want to fall off and you've repeated the sales so many times that you might as well tattoo them onto your body.
This is also the time when the most violent and scary customers come out.
Refolding clothes just for someone to mess them up
Few things in this world are more unfair than perfectly folding a pile of shirts, just for someone to come in, unfold every single one and throw it back down.
If you ever need to cure baby fever, just wait until a group of kids comes into the store and knocks every single thing over.
People coming in RIGHT before close
Nothing is more heartbreaking than hearing the door ding minutes before you're about to close. I have never learned to hide so much rage behind a nice smile and customer service voice.
The worst is when they go, "I'm sorry, I know you're about to close." Then why did you come in?
Working in retail can be frustrating, but I honestly do love it. I've met some of my favorite people working for or with them.
And as frustrating as customers can be, it's awesome to get to help them and to see them feel confident in an outfit you helped them pick out!
