The holiday season is fast approaching and with it comes the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping. Sales have already started littering store windows in an attempt to draw in all of the people searching high and low for the perfect Christmas gifts for their loved ones (or themselves, we don’t judge here).
As I sit here and write this on Thanksgiving morning, my mind wanders to tomorrow, notoriously known as Black Friday. While some people, like my mother who has a questionable shopping addiction, have been counting down the days for tomorrow’s opportunity to swipe their credit cards, I have been mentally preparing myself to be on the other side of the cash wrap.
I started working at Charlotte Russe back in May of 2017, which means this holiday shopping season isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve dealt with the crowds, the frustrated customers, the chaotic fitting rooms and the overall stress of making sure everyone has a safe, enjoyable shopping experience in our store. It can be a lot of work being a retail employee during this time of year and I don’t think people really understand what goes into making their day run so smoothly.
Last year on Black Friday, I had to get up at 3 a.m. so I had enough time to get ready and be at the mall for my shift by 5. I made sure I ate a reasonable breakfast, as I had an 8 hour shift and didn’t know when my managers scheduled me for my lunch break.
When I got to the store, my coworkers and I swept the fitting rooms and sales floor and made sure we double and triple checked the sales promotions so we knew them by heart by the time customers started rolling in. There was a small group of us opening that day and collectively as a unit, we prepared for the expected rush of people we were informed of at our holiday meeting the week before. For us, Black Friday brings in the same amount of people in one day that our store would see in an entire week. You can only imagine the amount of work we have to do to keep up with everyone.
I understand that the excitement of the holidays drives people to do some drastic things, especially while shopping, but I would like to share a word of advice for those of you venturing out not just for Black Friday but this entire shopping season. Please be kind to the retail employees you encounter.
You never know how many rude customers have yelled at them already for a store policy they cannot control or how many piles of clothes they’ve had to collect from a neglected fitting room. You don’t see the clean-up process at the end of the day that can take an hour or more if the store is in bad enough shape. Our jobs are already hard enough without the added obstacles that customers throw in our way.
If you have a question for an employee, approach them with a smile and ask, not demand. If you’re confused about a policy or have an issue, understand that yelling at someone isn’t going to get you to the solution any faster. If you need a size that’s at the bottom of a pile, try your best to keep the pile in one piece and don’t just throw the clothes aside and leave them there. If you need a shoe size, be patient and wait your turn while the employee helps someone else, don’t just shove your shoe in their face and expect them to remember what you and three other people want.
At the end of the day, retail employees are all human and we’re doing our absolute best to make sure you find everything you need for Christmas. Be mindful of how you treat us this year.