The last few days have been hectic at Goodwill. I can imagine that it has been even worse for other stores. People making messes, throwing things, then leaving them for us: the employees of said stores have to pick up after them. Holidays make everyone crazy; I know that.

Holidays make the inhuman, animalistic parts of us come out and play. But we must remember that there are people still around us, so please treat us as such. Don't hurry us to bag your items when we are just in the process of taking your money. Be patient with us when you see that there are more of you than there are of us.

At Goodwill, we usually have maybe three cashiers open at least, maybe four if it is a good day. So if it is busy and all three of us have lines, you will have to wait. It will cause more distress if you raise your voice and call out "Can you open up another register?" or "I don't know what is taking so long." We are trying our best to get you in and out of the store, but please be kind about it also.

We are only human; we make mistakes. This happens everywhere. We may type the wrong price, or you might forget to take an item out that you decided not to get but it was still in your cart so it got rung up, or some communication got mixed up. It happens. In retail, we just have to have patient and have a smile.

Just remember as Christmas is around the corner. People who work in retail are human too, and we deserve to be treated like it. We deserve respect.