This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Hofstra chapter.
The holiday shopping season is in full swing and millions of Americans start their shopping as early as they can: Black Friday. However, the unofficial holiday has gotten so popular that many stores begin their sales on Thanksgiving or even earlier. Ever wonder what it’s like to work in retail on those days? Well, you no longer have to because here is a taste of working on the holidays as told by some classic holiday flicks.
When you call in to get your hours and find out you’re working Thanksgiving and Black Friday
Walking into the store for the first time and actually feeling the Christmas spirit
Clocking in and already knowing it’ll be a rough shift
When the whole staff starts jamming to the only non-Christmas song
Getting shocked with customers after throwing around wooly sweaters
Hearing ANOTHER version of “Last Christmas” or “This Christmas”
When you’d rather hide away than help a customer
Seeing someone have their coming of age Christmas realization while trying to decide what color sweater to buy
When you see that one customer who single-handedly destroys the setup you were working on for an hour within five minutes
Seeing customers slowly go nuts during the shopping season
Wishing the shift will go by faster
Thinking the crowd will die down but it ends up getting more busy
When it starts to get slow and you’re dying for entertainment
When you’re resting for two minutes and the customer who will definitely talk to the manager approaches you
When you’re boss tells you you’ll definitely get out early but you end up staying far later than intended
Realizing you’ll be going through the same cycle next month when you come back to work during winter break
Happy shopping and be sure to treat employees well!