It’s that time of the year again. Where we go straight from Halloween to Christmas even though the first day of Winter isn’t until December 21st. If you’re like me this season the many renditions of “All I Want For Christmas” is filling your hate valve while you seem to be connecting on a personal level with “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”.
As someone who works in one of the largest retail chains targeted towards women, I’ve had my fair share of customers during the Holiday season. Here is a list of some of my personal favorite shoppers during the season.
1.The Black Friday Freakouts
Yes, I understand that this is the biggest time for the biggest sales of the year. Yes, I understand that your daughter wants the limited edition Barbie dream house and your son wants the new Xbox One. I just do not understand the camping out for hours right after your family’s Thanksgiving dinner or the pushing and shoving that comes along with trying to get that HD television.
2. The “I would like to speak to your manager” Shopper
This woman, yes woman, has looked up all the sales and printed out every coupon and will not take “No” for an answer when the coupon she printed out is only an online offer.
3.The “This is all half-off, right?” Shopper
This is the shopper who takes the Holiday deals a little too serious by assuming that everything must have a lower price. I work at a little place which I’ll call for this article, Always22, where the prices for our clothes can range from three dollars to as much as two hundred dollars. I believe that the price for our sale items is reasonable. So to answer your question with service and a smile “No, that three dollar top that is already over seventy-five percent and not half-off.”
4. Stuffing Stockings Shopper
This person came into the store with one mission and one mission only. Just to fill the stocking over the fireplace. Be careful of this shopper as they will grab anything and in the process make an unnecessary mess in the store. I have received pencils, socks, and a dollar store Rubix cube all in the same stocking.
5. T’was The Night Before Christmas Shopper
I know that this is myself and my family during the Holiday season. We always wait until the last minute to shop for items off of the kids’ Christmas list. So that week before Christmas we are greeted with barren shelves and a series of knickknack toys to make it appear that underneath the Christmas tree is overflowing with toys.
6. The Already Prepared Seasonal Shopper
Congratulations you rare specimen.
All in all, the Holiday season can be stressful but for the wrong reasons. Falling into commercial capitalism is a cause of this stress. Let's keep in mind this is a time where we should be sharing Holiday glee rather than making people flee in fear of being trampled. Just a little secret from someone who has worked in retail for some time now, they always raise the prices on these items during the year. Those “deals” are just regular priced items. As cliche as it sounds, handmade gifts are things that will be cherished forever.
On second thought, who are we kidding? This is what makes the holidays. If you are someone who is shopping for the Holidays or is last minute shopping, I suggest doing it online. Even if you missed Cyber-Monday this year, these deals always come back around.
