Most of us come home from college to that minimum wage summer job, our expectations at a high for the summer that we will be getting together with friends from high school doing all these crazy and fun things, like going to the beach any chance we get and going out every weekend. These expectations usually fall short once the summer job kicks into gear. You start off getting tons of hours and you can hear the money rolling into your bank account until you realize after you receive that biweekly check that you really aren't making as much as you would like for working your butt off, or you are getting less hours than you would like and all your friends are working all the time and you are barely making any money. You look back half way through the summer and where did it go?
1. T-shirt tables are the worst.
Most stores sell some sort of t-shirt and usually they are displayed on a table which is usually the worst table in the entire store. Needless to say by the end of the night they end up being in a messy heap on top of the table. That is when us employees start to think oh no whose going to be the lucky one to fix that table tonight.
2. No, I wasn't fixing that pile.
If you work in retail you will understand how frustrating this is. You will be working on a table fixing a pile of shirts and all of a sudden a customer is compelled to start digging through the shirts next to you that you just finished nicely folding. The hands start to grab as you start screaming on the inside, Noooooo!
3. How much is this?
This is one of the worst questions. I understand sometimes the items don't have a tag or they were placed in the wrong spot, that is understandable. However, when this question is asked and the customer is standing in front of a big sign that says the price in big bold font where they picked up the item: it is extremely frustrating. Yes we are sure that it is the price, it is displayed right there on the sign.
4. Oh, of course you can leave your garbage there. Not like there's a trash can right outside the store or anything.
The worst is finding someone's half eaten food or drinks tucked in nicely next to the merchandise. First of all if that spills it is ruining an entire stack of clothing that we now have to put in the damage pile, and second of all it's just gross.
5. Control your kids!
When we have to start watching your kids because you are not paying attention that is not okay. There are buckets of sensors around with sharp little pins that could hurt a child's hand if they decided to put their tiny little hands in it and start playing with them. Or when your child keeps wandering behind the registers and we have to stop ringing in order to direct the child in the other direction. That is just not okay. Even better when they are running around the store hiding in clothes racks knocking things down or pushing piles of clothing. We really don't want to yell at them, that is your job. Please watch your kids sincerely from everybody in retail.
6. Can you check the back for this?
This isn't a bad thing to ask, I have asked in stores before when I cannot find my size out on the sales floor. However, I never pushed the employee to check after they told me that they knew there were none left in the back and that they were all out on the sales floor. Of course there is always that customer though that insists that you check the back anyway even after you explain as nicely as you can that you know for a fact that there is not any left back there.
7. I do not understand your language.
When a customer starts to speak to you in a different language and you just stand there with a blank expression of confusion glued to your face. Some customers get pissed when this happens but it is not our fault. We've all learned bits of languages in high school that we most likely do not remember much of now. We do not understand what you are trying to say. We're sorry, but we cannot help you so please do not get angry at us.
8. Please be considerate and respectful.
We're not always in the best moods when we come into our retail jobs.The least you can do is be nice and respectful so we can smile and help you out. As if I was not already in a bad mood it got worse when a lady saw me standing there fixing a display and decided to try and squeeze past me fast with a stroller. Let's just say this did not end well for me. She ran over my foot and couldn't get the stroller around the table easily. Without saying, "Sorry," she kept pushing by leaving me to boil with anger.
9. Can you ring faster?
No, I cannot ring any faster than the old machine allows me too. Do I wish I could so I would not have to deal with you rudely asking me to hurry up, oh yea I do. Trust me when you roll your eyes at us and sigh heavily making comments under your breath about how long it is taking, we want the machines to work faster just as bad as you do.
10. How much is the total?
Well let's see you have been starring at me for two seconds and all I did was pick up one shirt from the pile of clothing you threw on the counter, How am I supposed to know yet? I have not rang a single item. I will gladly tell you the total once each item is rung, better yet I will tell you the price of each item as I ring it if you give me the chance.
11. I just need to get one item real quick then I will leave.
Did you just get to the mall now? You had all day to come in and shop but you decide to come in five minutes before we close to shop around and mess up the store. We are cleaning up and shutting down the registers but you insist on taking your time to shop for that one shirt that will still be there the next morning when you can come back at 9am.
By the end of the night most of us are looking like this, ready to pull out our hair. Don't get me wrong there are some great customers out there, sometimes they may feel like rare gems but when you get them gosh do they make your day better. Please just be considerate that is all that we ask. We are all people just trying to get by and through the day without being in a horrible mood.
Sincerely not your always cranky employee.
