“City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style. In the air there’s a feeling of Christmas”

That’s right. ’Tis the season. Thanksgiving has come and gone and everything seems to have transformed overnight. Suddenly, there’s Christmas tree sales along every road, Home Alone on every channel, Santa photo ops in ever mall, and a wreath on every door.

But most importantly, the Christmas shopping experience has begun. And though, in hindsight, gift shopping should be an enjoyable experience, we know that’s far from the case. Lines that seem to wrap around the block twice, bumper-to-bumper traffic, parking lots overflowing with cars, gifts out of stock and someone’s kid screaming like a banshee in Walmart are just some of the perks.

It’s hands down probably one of the most stressful times of the year.

But as you stand there, obnoxiously sighing with the hopes that the cashier will hear you and open up any of the other 10 closed lanes, or stare them down because No, I’m not settling for the scarf with penguins just because you’re out of the one with the snowmen, take a step back and into their shoes. This may be a stressful time for you, but imagine having to deal with about 20,000 versions of you on a daily basis.

Yikes.

It’s easy in this mad dash, for the perfect gift, to forget the retail employees who work tirelessly during this month to deal with the onslaught of Christmas shopping crowds. We tend to complain about dealing with the mobs, while out shopping during the first few weeks of December, but imagine be submersed in it for up to 10 hours at a time.

Below are a list of things you may not have known about the retail world, and some tips that’ll save you time and those wonderful employees from pulling out another handful of hair.

1. When the item you want is out of stock.

One of the greatest struggles during this time for businesses is keeping up with demand. The need for stocked items increases during the holiday season, but there’s always the fear of not selling enough before New Year's, at which that particular item takes up a spot on the clearance shelf and collects dust for the next 5 years. What many businesses do is stock their shelves and their inventory rooms based loosely around their numbers from the previous year. And sometimes, that’s not enough. There will always be that one favorite vest that gets sold out the first week of December, and the weeks following are filled with irate customers, demanding when the next shipment will be in.

The truth is, almost all of the retail workers that you’ll ask this question to, are simply that; workers. They don’t know about incoming shipments, if they’ll even be another before the holidays. So as much as we’d love to give them a mouthful of the annoyance of not having what we want, most of them are probably right on the same page with you. Your best bet is to ask the wonderful people working there where else you can find that gift. More often than not, most are aware of their competitors and their merchandise, and who might have a similar product.

2. When the line for at the cash registers is to the door and you have somewhere to be.

Unfortunately, this comes with the territory. Whether it be Christmas sales or last-minute shoppers, everyone and their sister’s boyfriend are out shopping. So not only were you stuck in stand-still traffic for the last hour, but now you have to wait again for the one mother that seems to be buying the entire store for her kids, with only 2 lanes open. It’s all to tempting to finally reach that conveyor belt and brusquely instruct the cashier to open up another cash register or do something about the line. Truth be told, that very same woman your peeling out, has probably been looking at that same mile-long line for the past 5 hours and would like nothing more than to pass off half the load to someone else.

But the thing is, sometimes rushes such as these can be unpredictable, and the stores themselves can’t afford to be fully staffed all the time just incase an instance like this happens. The cashier you’re yelling at is probably only one of 4 employees in the store at the moment, the second drowning in the rejects of the fitting room, another in the back rushing out stock and a manager somewhere trying to placate the situation. The best thing to do in this situation is to remain positive, be thankful for the ability to be able to afford Christmas gifts for your loved ones this holiday season, and keep calm. The problem in these situations is that it only takes one vocally agitated customer to anger the entire line and make the workers job all the more difficult. Even better, thank the cashier when you reach her/him for continuing to remain patient amongst this chaos. Believe me, it makes their day.

3. When another car careens in and steals the last parking spot and you have no where else to park.

This is annoying on any normal day, but during the shopping season when this is probably your last chance to pick up that one gift, it’s the worst. The thing is, stomping your way into the store and demanding the employee for another place to park is not going to help you at all. What’s important to note is that many store/outlet owners, in an effort to maximize space in their parking lots during the Christmas season, will require their employees to park off site, forcing their workers to walk an incredible distance from nearby stores or commuter parking lots just to work their shift. They no doubt agree with your tirade that yes, the parking lot should be much larger.

To avoid that situation all together, start shopping during off hours. These include the store's first several opening hours and their last hour of the night, preferably from Monday through Thursday. You’d be surprised how few people shop during this time. If the weekends are the only time that work for you, be there when the store first opens or have someone drop you off and pick you up when you’re done.

4. When you’ve snagged the perfect red holiday cup of something special at Starbuck’s, and the store employee asks that you drink it outside the store.

This tends to happen less in larger, department stores, and more in smaller, retail shops. I know. The first thing out of your mouth is Are you kidding me!/ Probably followed by when did that become a rule, and then something about you being a valued customer. Don’t you worry. The worker you’re barking at has no doubt heard some variation of your argument at least a hundred times. There will be some of you that try to plead your way out of it, assuring that you won’t spill it.

But the thing is, on a Saturday at noon, with the store packed shoulder to shoulder, the chances of that happening have skyrocketed. And what you probably don’t know is that when someone does spill a drink or drop a plop of ketchup on the merchandise, more often than not, the workers will be in the back, trying to desperately to wash it out themselves. The process of returning damaged merchandise back to the retailer is a long process, and if the stain is caught just in time, sometimes Tide-To-Go is enough to save the day. The best rule of thumb, try to eat or drink before you enter a store. If not, most stores that don’t allow food will have some type of warning sticker on their front doors you can look out for.

5. When you get home, after hours of shopping, barely escaping with your life, and find out the cute sweater you bought for your best friend has a fray in the sleeve.

Finding another chance to return the sweater is no doubt a major struggle, but lecturing the employees at the store for the lack of quality in their clothing, waving your Stop and Shop bag with the sweater inside like a billy club won’t solve the issue. This may sound immature and slightly insane to some of you, but you’d be surprised by just how many people have berated employees with this argument. Against common theory, there isn’t a sweat shop in the employee break room. The employees simply work for a larger company, and are in no more control of the merchandise they sell than you do. So throwing an adult tantrum is pointless.

What you can simply do is calmly return the sweater for another, and because of the rules and protocols they’ve been taught, or because their just wonderful people, the employee will no doubt apologize profusely for your troubles. Thank them, but assure them that it is all right. A good rule of thumb during the Christmas season is to check any merchandise you plan on buying, no matter how mundane the object. Crowds can get rowdy and uncontrollable at times, overpowering the workers staffed, and its easy for objects to break or tear in the chaos.

6. You’ve been to at least 10 stores already and you’ve just walked into you’re 11th and there’s already a worker on your heel, asking what you’re looking for and if you need any help finding it.

I know, it can be a bit much. Especially when you’ve literally just passed through the door and all in one breath, they’re spewing out every deal, markdown and clearance in one sentence, without breaking a sweat. And then as you browse around, they make it they’re job to find you again, and again, and again, and its killing you to not just tell them off. This is a tactic used by many retailers in an effort to solve multiple problems at once. Employees greet you at the door as a welcoming. From there, they’ll inform you of the sales so that there won’t be an issue of customers coming back and complaining they weren’t aware of any existing. From then on, the same employee is supposed to check in with you periodically, and this strategy is used for the customers that may not be able to find an employee for help, or may be too uncomfortable to ask.

Trust me when I say that most employees think its a bit much too. So instead of ducking your head and ignoring them, when you first walk in, greet them back and if they ask if you need any help, tell them that you are all set and if you do have any questions, you won’t hesitate to ask. They won’t bug you after that. And if multiple employees ask if you need any help, don’t get your panties in a twist. They’re not all telepathically connected to know who talked to which customer. This is just them staying on top of the crowd and doing their jobs.

Just remember that as your shopping, there are workers that are continually cleaning up after the crowds have passed through and listening to shoppers argue, rant, yell and complain. Throw them a smile or a ‘Merry Christmas.’ It’s the little things that make their days.