Tis’ the season to be shopping. All throughout the malls, you’ll catch people walking. Stores filled with the sweet noise of cards swiping, people yelling, and the sweet solace of holiday music. Everyone is buzzing.
Conversations between tias and abuelas saying ‘ do you think Fulana will like this?’ to the vibrating sound of the iMessage coming through, everyone is too busy to pick up their
mess.
“How do you do?” The sweet cashier says
“Fine, Thank you!”
Everyone moving, no one is stopping. Must go get that holiday gift stocking.
“We are doing great on sales!” The manager says
The clock ticks down the time and the poor kids just want to sit down and cry.
Caroling costumers all say in unison, “You guys need to work faster. This is a mess. Should have done my shopping on the internet.”
It’s finally time to close, the last budging customer has finally left the store, the managers are now screaming at employees, all the things people were thankful for is out through the front door.
It is now late, their feet ache, and their fake smile fades away.
“Hurry up, we got to clean this mess. Our store cannot be left this way,” Says the manager.
Tis’ the season for all employees to be crying falalala la la la.
Shopping on Black Friday is the best way to find the greatest steals on favorite items. Although most stores and malls are filled with masses of people, no one can say ‘no’ to shopping. Especially when the word “SALES” is in front of it. Black Friday used to be something ON Fridays after Thanksgiving, but things change. Everything evolves in order to adapt and the mass consumption of consumer needs is more important than any silly holiday. In this world, money talks.
Working retail on Black Friday is no joke. Especially when you work in a busy store like Victoria Secrets. Having people from residents to tourist come into the store to snag some free tote bag with the purchase of $75 or more, is not easy.
Just a couple of days ago, in a Victoria Secrets store in Tennessee, a store associated was greeted by a heard of rushing shoppers. In the viral video, you can see the masses of people waiting to be let in, but then all of a sudden things change. People are pushed together in an attempt to grab as much merchandise as they can. You can even see the employees face and concern for their own safety.
Retail workers deserve some type of award, a medal, something to congratulate them from not crumbling down in front of the customers. They are the face of the store. They are always there to help you out, they are the free therapist, your stylist, your best friend.
Berenice Simanca, a Victoria Secrets cashier, spilled the tea on the not so glam side of this festive sale stating, “ The store has free items with a certain amount of money spent and the customers will do anything to get those ‘prizes.’ We run out, they will scream at employees demanding their free bag, blanket, sleeper, etc.”
Simanca states that quite frequently in the store she had to deal with customers coming up to her saying that the store is a mess and should be well kept. The comedic side of this is that, if you ever been to a VS, you know that there is on the clock floor associates making sure that the panties, bras, and everything are kept well for presentation. Hearing this is a big slap to their faces because they aren’t the ones making the mess.
Costumers are a rough crowd to work with. It’s like playing a game of roulette, you never know what will happen. “If there is a line and all 11 registers are in function they would say something about the waiting. If they are only buying a $20 item, they want the free items just because they are making a purchase. They think that because you are the employee they can treat you as if they are superior,” Simanca said.
To top that ice cream off, most of the time these associates are working 8+ hours, and they only get a miserable 30-minute break where they can release the cramps from their fake smiles and rest their tired feet, as long as they can find a seat.
Black Friday is not as its glam’d out to be. If you look behind the desk, past the fake smile, look into their eyes you can see that this holiday is truly stressful for employees. Next time you go shopping, please mind what you’re doing. Treat them like you would like to be treated. Don’t forget to let their managers know about their well-done job, this boosts them up.