Going out into the work force as a teen or young adult holds a small amount of options. The standard choices are fast food and retail. I chose the latter, not being a fan of grease being anywhere than in my mouth. After working at a large retail giant for a little over a year, I learned quite a bit about the world behind the coupons and markdowns. Here, I will share some knowledge I have gained working retail that I hope is useful to anyone who shops or is pondering whether or not they should pursue a career in retail.

Coupons

Coupons are a saving grace to customers and the bane of a cashier's existence. Some veteran shoppers are armed with their magazine clippings or RetailMeNot coupons on their smart phones, making checkout a breeze. But to many, coupons are difficult to master.

Whether it be laziness or faked ignorance, an incredible amount of people try to use an expired coupon. Dates are clearly printed, and with today's modern advances, it's not rocket science to see that today's date is three months after the expiration date. A day or two past is understandable - some cashiers will give it to you anyways. But when you're trying to use something a month past due, it's a bit ridiculous. You wouldn't try to drink milk that far past the expiration.

Coupons are little gifts by a company to draw in business. They do not have to give them to you - they choose to.

It boils down to this: the retailer does not owe you anything.

How to Get a Good Deal

This can really be summed up in one word - complain.

Every business focuses on good customer service. The customer is always right. The customer is actually wrong a lot, but right and wrong get blurred in retail.

If you're really that upset about your expired coupon, ask to speak with a manager. Almost every time they will give you some type of discount. The more you complain, the better your chances are. Lots of places have those surveys they want you to fill out. Well, the results of those actually do matter. A store looks bad if its ratings are bad. Managers will look bad to their higher ups when their store is getting a 20% customer satisfaction rating, so they will do all they can to keep everyone happy.

You will be hated by employees if you use this tactic, but I can tell you from experience that it works.

We Talk About You

Other than stuffing my face and getting off my feet for a few precious minutes, gossiping about rude customers was my favorite thing to do on break. At times, all of us would sit around a table and laugh at the ridiculous antics of that day's customers.

My favorite experience was when a man threw pillows at me after finding out he could not use his expired discount on them. In a voice I assume was meant to be threatening, he said, "well have fun with your pillows then" and stormed out the door. Everyone in line behind him was stifling laughter.

Sometimes it goes a bit too far though. One of my coworkers burst into tears after being screamed at by a customer for giving him poor service. I cannot vouch for the service he received, but I knew this particular person to be a great worker. Even if she wasn't, no one deserves to be degraded like that.

Long story short, employees are people too. Try and be nice. If you misbehave, you will be gossiped about. Don't make a fool of yourself.

We Don't Care

A cashier does not care if you're a little slow to put away your money or credit card. The person behind you in line may think differently, but there is no need to apologize for purse fumbling. We enjoy every little break we can get. Really.

The same goes for changing your mind on an item. It's not hard for me to press delete. It literally takes a second. No need to apologize.

Politeness is appreciated, but there is no need to say sorry for every little thing. It gets tiring to say "it's okay" a million times each day.

So now you know - it's okay.

It's Nothing Personal

Life would be so much easier if cashiers could do whatever the customer wanted. It just doesn't work that way. Just like any job, there are certain procedures that must be followed. So, don't think you're being personally screwed if your total isn't as low as you would like it to be and your cashier can't help. We just want to keep our jobs. Technically we could give you 50% off if we felt like it, but we'd be handing in our name tag the next day. Please don't get upset if we don't take money off of your total. Sometimes we lack the authority to do so. People get fired all of the time for fudging transactions. It's not that we don't want to save you money, it's that we want to keep earning it.

Store Scavenger Hunt

It's strange where some people will hide things. Coffee cups in underwear, toys on top of shirt racks. Whether it be garbage or merchandise, people like to hide things when they are too lazy to put them away.

If you don't want to find a garbage can or put that pair of pants back where you found it, give it to an employee. Be a little bit less lazy. It's easier on us to take care of it now than find it at night when everyone wants to go home. Or if you're feeling really daring, put it back yourself.

Working for any retailer is full of ups and downs. Customers can make your day with compliments and small talk or ruin it by being messy and rude. People who work retail are often the kindest shoppers because they know how the employees feel. Now you know too, so there's no excuse to make our jobs harder. There's a reason mostly teenagers are stuck working these kind of jobs. Customers could help change that.