The Customer Is NOT Always Right, No Matter What Your Boss Says
Working retail teaches you how to TRULY kill someone with kindness.
There are a few jobs that I think every person should have to work because then you will have a whole new sense of appreciation. Retail is one of those jobs. In the past, I have been a server and I understand the struggles that come along with that BUT I can honestly say through working retail I have experienced so many more unpleasantries.
When you work retail you become used to hearing only negative things and made to believe most those negative things are your fault. The first few times you are getting screamed at by an angry customer you are probably really taken back. But then it starts to become normal and it doesn't even phase you, that's sad.
I know that in every single retail job your higher-ups will always say just make sure you are taking care of the customer. Through doing that and following your company policies, you become a doormat that every single customer walks over. Me just trying to "take care of the customer" has gotten me called every name in the book that you can imagine. Because here's a shocker, when you just take care of the customer even when they are completely wrong they become entitled and treat you even worse.
There have been so many times where I have explained how I will help them this time but USUALLY, this is our policy and I get lectured about how dumb I am. Let me repeat myself, I did not say you were right I was just trying to be nice. Me trying to be nice and help someone out gets taken completely for granted and usually gets thrown back in my face.
Think about it. How many times have you walked in any sort of store and all the associates look MISERABLE? That is not because they hate their job usually it is because they are constantly getting screamed at by customers over things they cannot control. It becomes hard to go to a job every day when you know there will be at least a few customers who make it their mission to treat you terribly. Sometimes it feels like people go out of their way to do it.
Let me set the record straight for all retail associates. I have zero control over our inventory and what we get in stock, it is not my fault you do not have a coupons and it is not my responsibility to store them somewhere for you, I am not a human computer and do not know every single price of every single item off the top of my head I will have to price check it and it is not my fault something you bought six months ago has now gone on sale and you want that price.
Really there are so many more things I could list but there's a few. But most importantly I wish every shopper would take a second to realize I am not their human punching bag. I am sorry if something is going on in your personal life but just because I may be some random person, doesn't mean I need to take the brunt of all of your frustration. I am a human too.
I have feelings and believe it or not retail is not my life. I do think about all the names you called me when I go home and I dread going to work the next day. And usually, for a few days, I feel anxious wondering if you'll come back and yell at me again. But either way just because I am providing a 'service' for you doesn't mean you get to treat me like dirt. No one is that entitled or held to a higher standard where they get to treat someone like that.
The next time you are out shopping please take a second to remember that the people working at the store are human beings. I'm sorry if you are having a bad day but please don't take it out on me. I will try my best to aid you in your shopping but if something goes wrong please try and be understanding because when you go home and forget what happened, I will not. I will remember you screaming at me and calling me names.
Working retail is an experience that's for sure. It teaches you how to bite your tongue in the hardest of circumstances and how to TRULY kill someone with kindness. But I am a firm believer in karma and some of my past customers are due to a big serving of it.
To anyone who works retail, don't let a customer ruin your day. It's going to happen and unfortunately, people will still treat you terrible from time to time but remember, it's not your fault and the customer is NOT always right!
5 Respectful And Empowering Ways To Handle Rejection
Not everyone will like you, but not everyone has to.
You work hard, you do the right thing, and the inevitable happens. Someone comes along and begins to give you a backhanded compliment, or if you have the misfortune, a backhanded comment. You are left with a bad taste in your mouth and your day starts to turn sour. When people belittle you and your efforts, here are five respectful and empowering ways to sweeten those moments of rejection.
1. Never give someone a reason to not like you.
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People will say what they want and think what they want, no matter the subject or person of choice. It will not matter who you are or what you do, someone or another manages to pay you their two cents. You have to remember, you did not give them reasons to justify their words or actions towards you. These people who exhibit unwarranted thoughts about you are just another drop in the ocean. They do not define your good intentions or self-worth. They are not for you and you need not place any investigation or worry into the mystery of why they do not like you. You do not have to reason with them any further. Simply look forward to the people who care to be curious and open-minded about you.
2. Kill them with kindness.
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The dead push up daisies, but you plant the seed. Some people will smile proudly knowing they have said something cruel or disheartening to get a rise out of you but look at this as an opportunity. Every moment is a chance for you to choose how you react. Ten percent of life is what happens to you, it is out of your control. Ninety percent of life is what you do about it. Use your words to encourage, not discourage, civil discourse. Say what matters and say it with an honest purpose. State your case and let them respond how they will; you cannot control others, but you can control yourself. Be a good example others have yet to show themselves.
3. Turn the "No's" into a "Yes."
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The poet Sylvia Plath had this to say about rejection: "I love my rejection slips. They show me I try." She was talking about the process of writing literary submissions for publication, but her attitude still stands. This is the mindset it takes to find the success you want out of life. Despite all the people that deny you and your work, there are people that see potential and promise in you. It does not matter how many people say "No" to you. What does matter is the number of times you can get back to work and look forward to that one "Yes." You are working for the "Yes's" in your life. Forget the dream-killers and eye-rollers, they lack the hope and drive you have in what you do. They do not do what you do and do not do it like you do. For every "No" there is a "Yes."
4. Let your work speak for you.
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Sometimes no matter how endearing your elevator pitch sounds or how carefully crafted your resume is, people still find fault where there might not even be any. Your accomplishments are your own and that is something to take pride in. Of course, the right amount of pride separates you from the rest and for the better. Pride and confidence must not become virtues or vices that exceed who you are. The work you put out is an extension of who you are and no one can take that away from you. Work speaks for itself and yourself best, so focus on your goals and let your results stand in for your words people did not value. Your best is rarely seen at the moment of inspiration, usually after the final stroke of the brush has wet the canvas. It is your goal to show that stalwart work ethic in good times and in bad.
5. Your process will protect you.
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Keep working. Rule out the distractions and the doubts, the fears, and the flippant fools. Know that your process will save you in trying times. Work against all odds. At some point, things turn even and add up, but you have to be dedicated and diligent. Your sights are seen only through your eyes and your need is to show others what you see. Until then, your skill, your talent, will be honed with consistency. Show up to your work even when you have not been hit with inspiration. The Kodak moment will present itself through your process. Due diligence is the price of success. Eyes on the prize and nose to the grindstone. No one knows your work better than you.
Be the trampoline that bends the will of gravity-like rejection long enough until you can fly.