I’ve worked at Banana Republic, and the retail life, for over five years, which has been an experience like no other. I would compare working the retail life to riding a fun, yet insane roller coaster. There are many ups and downs, but luckily I had some of the best coworkers ever to help me overcome it all. There were many highs, like fun break room moments where you could laugh with the people you love the most, but there were also a lot of lows, such as dealing with insane holiday hours and talking with not-so-nice customers. Black Friday MADNESS definitely counts as a low!
I will never forget seeing thousands and thousands of people walk, or charge, into the store with the mission to get that cashmere sweater for the best sales price— maybe that’s the reason why the front tables are called doorbusters. For my first ever Black Friday, I was a greeter, and worked line control. I lost count of how many times I got pushed and shoved. Worst of all, I kept re-folding the same stack of graphic tees every five minutes because it would always get messed up over and over again. I’ll never forget how customers wrecked my piles in front me because they were upset that they could not find their size. I also saw three women argue over the last pair of medium-sized joggers and men knocking down mannequins to grab their size. The store got messy from customers breaking hangers, tossing piles of clothes on the floor, ripping blouses to get a damage discount, or even hiding many bags of clothes so they could come back to pay for it, but never do.
I have also worked many closing shifts from four in the afternoon to four in the morning because our store would get demolished. I will never forget the moment when a customer treated the fitting room like a restroom! Some people just turned the store completely upside down— the messiness was indescribable. I ran over dozens of racks of “go-backs” because customers would place many piles of clothes where they did not belong. Plus, the lines in both the cash register and fitting rooms were also insane because it is like walking around an ENDLESS MAZE — no one ever finds the ending of the line.
I wish some customers would understand that if they come to shop on Black Friday, it is impossible for us to prevent the long lines, so please do not be mad at the workers for it (I have seen customers who would throw their clothes at the workers because they were mad about the wait time too). As a former cashier, they sincerely try to scan the items as fast as they can, and do their best to get lines under control. Most customers at the register were kind, but sometimes I got a rude one every now who would pick fights if their total cost was not satisfying. I’ll never forget hugging some of the girls in the stockroom because an angry customers’ words can be hurtful and deceitful.
Sometimes customers do not understand that some things are out of our control, like changing return policies or using every discount, because sometimes the system will not allow us. The craziest thing I saw a customer do was grab a sales associate’s pants and yell at the top of her lungs, “corduroy pants are like yours but with lines.” I have also seen a manager get spit on, and threatened by a customer who wanted to call corporate to get them fired. Sometimes retail workers just need to run to the back to find different sized-clothing, but also have a moment to themselves to breathe and relax because it can get overwhelming at times. Many retail workers would get claustrophobic as well because five to even ten customers would approach us at the same time to ask for a size or price check.
However, the best part of working on Black Friday for retail workers is the much bigger paychecks, an employee discount, and a delicious potluck with awesome coworkers.
All in all, as a courtesy to all retail workers please be polite, respectful, patient, and more understanding. These workers are giving up most of their holidays every year to clock into work and make every customer happy. Especially, with the current pandemic, they are not only risking their lives, but they are working even harder to make sure that you come back to shop there again. Some of the secrets from a former sales associate: the nicer a customer is to the sales associate, the better the deals you will receive; the more rude a customer is to the associate, the harder it becomes for the retail workers to help you. Also, to avoid waiting in long lines, sometimes many stores start their Black Friday sales on Monday— the beginning of the week will offer more sizes for you as well.
I would like to give a special thank you to all my friends at the Banana Republic for helping me throughout the bad times, and making me into a much stronger person. I do not know what I would have done without you guys by my side. From working mostly every day, to every holiday with you guys, you guys have become like family to me. So I will cherish our friendship and memories for a lifetime.