Working retail seems like one of those jobs that can be easy, that is, if you base all of your opinions on what you see on television shows and movies. Retail is literally a nightmare come to life. The retail world in general is a tough place overall. There are many times that I will find myself daydreaming about graduating with my degree and working my dream job because when it comes to working retail, almost anything will make you say, “I hate working retail!”
If you didn’t know, retail is probably one of the hardest jobs there is, and it can be hard to understand if you have never worked retail before. The expectations that are put on you are always high, and it sometimes comes down from the high up corporate officials– they have probably never seen or worked a retail floor in their life. Not only do retail workers have to clean, stock, and maintain a store, they have to find the balance between ringing up at the register, helping customers, and trying to not lose their sanity. While there are some things that do make retail fun, like your coworkers and even regular customers, there is a pretty long list of why working retail is the worst job in history.
- Customers who keep shopping after closing time
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“Oh no, do please continue shopping. I do enjoy spending an extra 45 minutes here because you want to look and touch everything in the store and then buy absolutely nothing.”
- Parents who let their children treat the store like it is their own playground
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These are the parents that you see on the news who are so incredibly shocked that their little angel was a menace at the store.
- People
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You will meet some nice people when working retail. They make up about 10% of the population. The other 90% will make you debate whether humanity has a chance at surviving the next 10 years.
- Customers complaining about the prices
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“This is a chain store Karen, and no I can not hook you up to save you five dollars.”
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Customers who do not believe you when you say that everything is on the floor
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More than likely when we tell you that everything is out on the floor, we are telling the truth. When you insist that we go and look for you, we will spend about 5 minutes out back trash talking about you.
- Working Holidays
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Customer: Merry Christmas.
Me: And a Happy go to Hell. - Customer Holds
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You know you aren’t coming back tomorrow. So, why are you making me hold it for you?
- Store Managers
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Thank you for giving me all of these pointless tasks and orders from your throne on wheels!
Retail is the definition of what hell on earth could be, but at the end of the day it is just a job that you are passing through on. Never let the job get you down because there are going to be better things to come when you nope right out of there one day.