Retail jobs are no joke during the holidays.
Really, all of the BS we put up with is not funny. I've unexpectedly worked entire 11-hour shifts without a break. I'm not here to complain, but I think sometimes people lose sight of the reality of what it's like to have a retail job.
If you have never worked retail before, you might not understand just how difficult retail jobs can be, and you might not realize just how much we do for our customers even though it may seem like we don't do much at all.
Customer service representatives are the ones who have to experience the anger, the patronizing, the dissatisfaction, the impatience, and the confusion of customers and with the high traffic, energy, and stress between everyone it makes for a very tense atmosphere and experience when the customers and the associates are worked up. Customer service associates are the ones who have to clean up the messes caused by confusion, mix-ups, mistakes, dissatisfaction, lack of communication, or other challenges that have happened over the course of the holiday season.
I like to remind myself of the phrase, "The customer usually has a point." They may not necessarily be correct or be in the right when they are arguing something with you or presenting you with a complicated situation where there is confusion or a miscommunication that has occurred. There's probably a very valid reason for the customer to be upset or confused or frustrated, but that would be easy to absolve if we can just work together with the customer. No, you cannot solve every single customer's problems effectively and satisfactorily, however, there's usually a way to close interactions with positivity - but it does take more than just the associate.
Everyone, please be respectful as you are doing your holiday shopping. You may think that you are being severely cheated out of a deal, but the thing is, these sales didn't exist solely for you. Some of these deals are first-come-first-served, some are simply limited immediate availability and the only way of getting the product is ordering the product(s), for either a store pickup or shipping/delivery.
During the holidays, retail workers put up with so much emotion and stress, and making the job you want done more difficult is only making it worse off for you. Cooperate, listen, understand, pay attention, and do not be demanding. The nicer you are, the nicer people will be back. If you want to have good service during the holidays, you have to earn it. Do not be greedy and self-righteous about your shopping, and do not feel entitled to being catered to in the store; associates can't go through with transactions if you're disengaged and you don't know what's going on. Pay attention to the pinpads, actively listen, and ask questions instead of quickly blaming. It's very easy to clarify for people if they simply ask us about whatever it is they're confused about.
Basically, help us help you during the holidays. Hug your loved ones that work retail. Be nice to your cashiers and other associates, and have yourself some Happy Holidays. I hope you can catch all the great holiday deals that you want!
