This past summer, I worked at my favorite clothing store (that shall remain nameless) as a sales associate. Despite all the retail horror stories I’ve heard, I had fun and learned a lot while on the job! Here are some nuggets of knowledge that I picked up over the course of four months.
1. Folding is scientific.
When the folding board comes out, it means serious business. I never truly understood the art of folding clothes before I had this job, but presentation is arguably the most important part about running a store. If shelves and racks look messy, then no one will want to buy those things! It’s all about the subliminal messaging.
2. Mean people are the worst.
I have countless stories about times that people were mean to me this summer for absolutely no reason. One especially rude customer can ruin the mood and momentum of a whole shift.
3. Empathy is hard.
One things I learned from the many rude people this summer is that empathy is hard but necessary. Instead of becoming upset that someone had made a rude comment or yelled at me, I tried to take a step back and imagine the rest of that person’s day, week, month, or year. Maybe a loved one was ill, maybe a pet died recently, maybe they were fired, maybe they were just not in the best mood that day for no particular reason. Whatever the explanation for their hostility, it was not because I couldn’t find the exact shirt they wanted or because the store didn’t have a pair of pants in their size.
4. Nice people are the best.
For every mean person, there were two or three exceptionally nice people. These people were like angels descending from the heavens to grace us with their kind presence and make the day brighter. Whether a simple thank you from a customer at the cash register or an especially grateful shopper who needed help picking out an outfit, feeling appreciated means a lot. Thanks to these people, I felt as though my job actually made an impact on someone else.
5. People are messy.
Seriously though. We would clean the store every morning before opening, and the amount of dirt and ick that was on the floor, on shelves, and in changing rooms was disturbing. Every time I turned around throughout the day, it seemed as though a pile of clothes that had just been refolded and straightened was completely ruined. Also, the number of times people spilled beverages in the store? Shocking.
6. Making change is stressful.
Imagine the anxiety you feel while trying to put away your wallet, credit card, change, and phone in your bag after your transaction, knowing that the cashier and all the people in line behind you are staring at you, waiting. Then, multiply that anxiety by (approximately) 52. That’s how much anxiety cashiers have when making change for someone who paid cash. It’s stressful.
7. The fashion industry is sexist.
This isn’t exactly news. But working in a clothing store showed me ways that this problem influences and affects people every single day. As an example, when we received a shipment of a new item, there was a set distribution of sizes. For a men’s item, we got one extra-small, two smalls, five mediums, five larges, and one (sometimes two) extra-larges. For a women’s item, we got five extra-smalls, five smalls, two mediums, and one (sometimes two) larges. To add to this, the mannequins in the store were completely different sizes, lady mannequins as extra-smalls and male ones as mediums. The difference between the presentation of women’s and men’s sizes astounded me, because I had never realized how sexism operated in the retail world and the influence it has on how people perceive fashion on a daily basis.
Keep these things in mind next time you’re shopping. Try your hardest to not leave a huge mess after you leave an area of the store, and be nice to the people working there! I know that many of the things I learned, especially #3, were important lessons that I will use the rest of my life.