Working at a popular department store seems like a fun and easy job. For some people, it might be, while for others, it could be an extremely difficult job to take on. As I applied for a job at JC Penny's, I was really just in desperate need of a job, and thought, "Well, I like clothes and shopping, so this should be fun, right?" Well, as far as training goes, it's not bad. Everything seems to be pretty self-explanatory. I think working with customers is the hardest part.
Working retail means you have to be people-friendly. For some people, that comes naturally. For me, it's a little more difficult. I tend to be quiet around people and talk as little as possible, but with this job, I'm simply not allowed to do that. I have to welcome every single person that comes into the store with a smile on my face. I have to willingly help people if they need it and attend to their needs even if I am in the middle of doing something. With most customers, I'm more than happy to help, but with many kind people, you come face-to-face with equally as many rude people. In these cases, I treat them as I do every other customer that comes into the store.
This job requires patience. And a lot of it. Not only do you have to stay calm when a customer is being a little too rude about not finding what they want, but you also have to help them in any way that you can that is within the boundaries of the store policies, even when you just want to walk away and not even listen to them anymore.
When not working with people, you must constantly be doing something around the store. There's always something that can be done, even when everything is already done. Working these 6-8 hour shifts becomes hard on your feet, back and neck, and not being able to wear tennis shoes doesn't help that. So, be prepared to be standing for hours on end with no time to sit and chill out.
Aside from all the downs, this job is genuinely pretty easy, and working with the people there is definitely a big plus to the job. I enjoy my job and compared to the other jobs I've had, that's not something I can say very often.
