We live in a society in which shopping is a part of our everyday life. Whether it’s a quick trip to Walmart to pick up a few goods, or a shopping spree at the mall, Americans are always shopping.
Working in retail is not what it seems. With the amount of hours and labor put into a retail job, the reward doesn’t nearly match up. Most people would believe I’m referring to the amount of pay, but I’m talking about the lack of respect given by customers.
I’ve been working in retail for about six years and I have witnessed and experienced all different types of customer interactions. From customers giving me hugs because they appreciate my time and effort to having the cops called on me because I didn’t give them what they wanted—I have experienced it all.
What many don’t realize is that retail contains a variety of different people. The typical stereotype of retail workers is that they’re uneducated and unwilling to go and receive said education. I want to describe the other side of retail that the majority of people don’t see.
I am currently an employee at Best Buy. Quite a few of my coworkers are full-time parents working here in order to support their families. Many of them even work two jobs just to keep up with their expenses. A coworker of mine that’s in my department works an average of 90 hours a week so his family can live comfortably. Even with a bachelor’s degree at a state college, he has no other choice but to work a second job. He comes into work with only three hours of sleep (if he’s lucky).
Another coworker of mine is a full-time college student. While receiving her education, she works full-time hours to help pay for school. After spending her day at school, she clocks in for her 5 p.m. shift. She tells her coworkers she needs to leave on time tonight so she can go home and start her hours of homework. A customer comes up to her and asks if he can return something.
“Of course!” she says. Moments later my coworker realizes the customer is months out of the return period.
“Are you kidding me? So are you telling me I just wasted my time coming in here?” the customer growls.
I can see the fear in my coworker’s eyes. “I’m sorry sir this is our store's policy.”
The customer leans in to get closer to her face. “Get me a manager. It’s clear you’re not smart enough to even deserve minimum wage.”
She walks away and calls the manager, holding back her anger. After being completely degraded by her customer, she isn’t allowed to say anything more to him. She could get fired. Without another word spoken she bottles her emotions and continues on to the next customer.
These customer interactions happen every day in retail. I have seen customers completely harass employees in all different types of stores just because they couldn’t get their way. Many tears have been shed by fear, anger and stupidity all because people don’t appreciate the hard work we put into our jobs.
The amount of pay we receive does not necessarily reflect the amount of effort that’s put into the job. The next time you go shopping in a retail store, be mindful of the employees that cater to your needs. Retail employees deserve just as much respect as any other human being.
