Retail, one of the most frustrating minimum wage jobs in the world next to fast food. Unfortunately the horrors of Black Friday and moms with the "May I speak to the manager haircut" haunt all retail workers. Since I started working at a retail store, I started to open my eyes to the common misperceptions that retail faces. Within three weeks of working in retail, I can debunk seven common misperceptions of working in retail.
You can't have fun in retail.
As an easily amused person who works in recovery, I can easily have fun by timing myself on putting merchandise to see how fast I can do it. As a Cashier when I am not ringing people up I chat with my favorite coworker. It is possible to have fun working in retail if you try to make the best of anything.
Retail is filled with rude customers.
Every profession has rude "customers," the people that your services are called many names like clients, patients, among others. In other jobs, rude customers are not in conversation because it is not retail, but every job has rude customers. Retail is not the lobby of rude customers.
Older people who work in retail never went to college.
I can debunk this one real quick because many of my fabulous coworkers have college degrees, with one person having a criminal justice degree. Not only that but you could make major money in retail without a degree if you stay long enough to be promoted to manager and work your way up the ladder to corporate.
In retail it is every person for themselves.
Unfortunately, it is in some stores; however, the management sets the mood. Good management=good workers and enjoyable environment. Evil management=bad workers and a horrible work environment. I'm grateful to work in a store where my managers are encouraging and understanding of everyone.
You have to fake a smile.
Yes but you also have to fake a smile in other professions, not only that but in the professional world, you have to leave your baggage at the door. So I'm not sure why faking a smile is bad in the world of retail, especially since every job requires you to fake a smile.
Workers are only paid minimum wage.
That is not true; some places get a starting pay of $9 an hour compared to the state law of a minimum wage of $7.25, it depends on what corporate says should be the minimum wage and state laws.
Retail workers don't care about customers.
Unfortunately, many people who work in retail only care about the paycheck, but some do care about their customers. It's the same thing with every job, heck you have doctors who are there for the paycheck and don't care about their patients.
