Parking, line ups, sales with no merchandise, empty shelves, crowded aisles. How freaking frustrating. And there you are spending your last $50 to pick up that present for Aunt Agnes who you don't even like but still you have to get her something because she bleeding sends you some useless piece of shit every year. And it's such a farce and a rip off and by the time you get to the cashier, who is replacing her* register tape and refusing to look you in the eye while you tap your fingers impatiently....well, of course you're going to say something snippy to her.
But maybe you could stop. And think. It's always been my belief that everyone should work in retail at some point in their life, just so they learn not to be an utter asshole to cashiers and customer service people. I'm going to expand on that and say everyone should work in retail during the Christmas rush.
That parking you battled? She battled it too. Except she battled it with the awareness that if she walks through the doors five minutes late she'll have 15 minutes pay docked.
Those line ups? They're full of people who have all complained and sneered at her, stretching endlessly. And she has to clear it before she can go on her break. And if she waits too long to take her break, she's not going to get it because it's someone else's turn.
She's heard all about the sale items not being there. They require her to ask if you found everything you were looking for and she knows you haven't and yet she's powerless to do anything about it. She'd give you a raincheck if she could. She really would. She'd also do that price adjustment you're asking for because the item scanned for $2 more than it was marked on the shelf, except she's no allowed to do that either. In fact, she did it earlier and they threatened her job.
The crowded aisles? She has to work her way through them on her 15 minute break - from her cash to the back of the store. And she's not allowed to remove the nametag or vest or whatever that marks her as an employee of the store. It's fine on the way to the backroom, though frustrating because she knows her customer service manager expects her back in exactly 16.5 minutes. She doesn't clock out on her break until she reaches he staff room. But she has to cut her 15 minute break down to 7 minutes because she has to clock back in when she's leaving and if she doesn't sign in to her cash within five minutes of clocking back in, she's in shit.
That's why she pointed you to the toy aisle rather than walked you there. Please don't get too exasperated. You're the tenth person that's grabbed her between the break room and her cash. And she can see her CSM fuming at the front.
She's been working ten hours now, having picked up an extra back-to-back shift because like you she has an Aunt Agnes and needs all the money she can make. Also, she's afraid that if she turns down the shift they won't offer her better ones in the future. Or she'll find herself scheduled for Friday night -Saturday morning - Sunday evening from now till Christmas.
She's run out of bags but can't leave her cash to get more and the GD register tape is sticking in the machine again even though she's told them for the last two weeks that there's a problem. She's freezing cold every time the door opens, but sweltering hot the rest of the time. Everyone is rushed and rude and blaming her for their bad shopping experience. And she takes it all and looks at you, with a wary smile, to ask if you've found everything you were looking for....
Please, just smile back.
*note, the cashier is a girl cause I am. Suck it up. We all KNOW men work in retail too. I'm not being gender exclusionary or stereotyping women as working in retail. I'm just telling my story.
photo credit: avlxyz via photopin cc
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