If you ever have worked in retail, you have probably had many days where you have thought about quitting in a fashion similar to those YouTube and movie clips where someone blows up and destroys all the office equipment and has to be escorted out by security. If you're fortunate enough, however, you may have had some days where you actually enjoyed work and met some really cool customers or felt accomplished by leading the sales board. Well here is a little bit about my experience and what I learned from working in retail.
After working in a paint store for three years and dealing with all kinds of customers, work schedules and crazy sales, I was pretty damn happy when I finally got an internship (a paid one at that) in the field I was going to school for. When it came time to leave though, my last day was actually kind of bittersweet and I had some mixed emotions about leaving. I guess I would attribute that to missing the amazing people I worked with and all the good times we had working through the boring slow times and hectic summer sale days, definitely not the pay rate that's for sure.
As I headed up north to Dickinson, North Dakota, my Dad tried giving me a lot of advice about how to interact with my bosses and the new people I would meet. All of a sudden I realized I was actually a lot more prepared than I thought, and not just because of my education, but also my work experience in a retail store.
I definitely don't want to make a career out of working in retail, but it is actually one of those things I think everyone should have to do, at least for a little while while they are young and in college or high school. It's not for everyone but I think everyone should know what it's like to be sitting on the other side of the counter. It taught me a lot of valuable lessons and changed my perspective on the service industry and any job where you have to deal with lots of customers, not long-term clients. In the end I can say I feel like I'm a better person for having worked there and having to learn how to deal with various types of customers, coworkers and managers.
You've probably hear the statement, "The customer is always right," and anyone who has worked in retail long enough knows that is not true. Sure they know what they want, but they don't always know how to reach their end goal. A lot of the times they don't like to hear that they can't get there by going about things the way they want to, whether it be the steps they think appropriate to get to the end goal, price, or hearing that what they want just can't happen. Sure you get some customers that will listen to you since you speak from experience and they will make things super easy or at least be friendly but then there are other customers that just won't listen and will insist you are the village idiot and have no idea what you are doing, despite their complete lack of knowledge of the field and products you work for. Let me tell you, after working with both kinds of customers, I learned the keys to working in retail are patience, respect, and honesty, and if you can carry that on in life outside of work, then you're golden.
As long as you practice those three virtues, not only will dealing with customers be more pleasant most of the time (you still get some jerks, the world isn't perfect), but your bosses will be happier too. If you don't know a lot about the product they are looking at, most of the time they will be appreciative if you are honest with them and offer to get some one else to help them or take some time to go find the right answer. And that works for many situations, whether it be checking prices, doing a return, or talking about a sale. Now if they are in a hurry or just are plain impatient or rude this is where patience and respect come in. I can't tell you how many times a customer left and I was completely blown away at how the interaction changed because I was patient and respectful. I've had it where customers will come in yelling and cussing up a storm and leave in a calm or happy manner because I was able to take time to listen to them and work through the situation the best way I could, whether it be fixing the price that they were overcharged, explaining how a product is actually supposed to work, or finding an alternative solution to their problem. It's amazing how far these three virtues will get you in retail, and in life. Even if you are having a bad day, at the end of it all you just have to realize people may not always know what they want, or the right way to go about it, but you still have the power to not only keep yourself happy, but even change someone else's day, even if it's just by thanking them for their business and telling them to have a good day.
I hope this helped anyone working in retail who's having a bad day, gave you a new perspective, or if nothing else gave you an insight to what some people have to deal with while working in the service and retail industry. Thank you for reading, and have a good day!
