Working in retail is not always easy. You have to deal with the customers and rules which is not easy. Not everyone is going to be nice to you and you have to deal with some horrible things. If anyone ever says that working in retail is easy, please just laugh in their face. Retail is a very hard job and you should give yourself a pat on the back for being able to handle it. Retail requires a lot of patience and this can be hard for some people.
1. "Do you have a chip reader or should I swipe?"
People ask this question all the time and they just start shoving the card in without waiting for an answer. When I tell them we do not have the chip reader they reply with: "Oh thank god, that takes so much longer." Ma'am, you do realize that it took more time out of your day shoving the card in without waiting for my answer?
2. When customers make your shift longer.
The worst feeling in the world is when you are so excited that you have a minute left of your shift and a customer ruins that for you. They decide while you are ringing them up to talk about nothing for about 20 minutes, and to ask a thousand questions about things that they end up not buying. At this point you are exhausted and don't want to deal with this. The worst is when it's the closing shift and the doors are supposed to be locked but your stuck at work, just because of one customer. All your thoughts are: I want my bed and I want to cry.
3. Customers who always come in and never buy anything.
Sometimes customers will come in daily and you will never see them buy anything. Why are you wasting your time? Do you have nothing better to do? It's almost like seeing money falling, because they come in, look at all of the products, and just walk out.
4. The Holidays.
Retail can get hectic during the holidays. Lines are out the door. People are screaming because you ran out of the gift that they wanted to get their kid. People are mad at you even though they waited until the night before to get a gift, and they are mad that we don't have it. Sorry, but you could have ordered that gift in two weeks ago if you didn't wait until the last minute. People say that they wanted a gift receipt after the transaction is over, and after you asked them if they wanted a gift receipt and they said no.
5. "I want that thing I saw here last week. It's blue."
Oh, really? That was really descriptive. You want that thing you saw here last week that is blue? How does that help me? There are so many blue things here. Can you point me in the direction of where you saw it? Nope, no idea. Then the customer gets mad because you can't read their mind about what the "blue thing" was.
6. People who try to return things a year later.
"I bought this a year ago. Uhh it's a book, never used." The front cover of the book is missing, there's coffee stains on it and the pages are ripped. How are you telling me that this book was never used? Then the customer yells at me for 10 minutes, because it's in "perfect condition."
7. When people steal.
"Uh, Sir, you need to pay for that!" And they say, "I wasn't stealing," as they are walking out the door with a bunch of things in their hand. Even worse are the people who are shoving things in their bag, and the manger tells them they can't do that so they just bolt out of the store not realizing they are under 24 hour surveillance.
8. The hours.
Working in retail, you never get set hours. You could work the morning shifts which usually start really early so you are tired, or you can work the night shifts which start a decent hour, but end at a crazy hour. Your shifts will also never be consistent.
9. When people mess up the shelves.
I just spent three days straight making this store look neat and one person is going to come in and mess up three days of my hard work in one hour. People always put things in the wrong place. They don't respect employees' feelings and they are selfish.
10. "Your bathrooms are messy."
I know the bathrooms are messy. I can't tell you how many times I have been in there to clean them and a rude customer comes along to mess them up. Trust me I have tried my hardest to clean them.
