November 1. The day after Halloween, and the day that all the madness begins. Whether or not you believe in Christmas music before Thanksgiving or not, after October 31 you are most likely getting ready for some holiday. But while the world is busy readying itself for the onslaught of carb-heavy meals and inhumane amounts of string lights, there are unsung heroes taking their posts behind cash registers and walkie-talkies.
They know they are looking down the barrel of an insult filled, sleep deprived, sanity-testing, expired coupon gun. But they do so with a smile on their face. For the next two months they will unwillingly memorize every chord progression to every Christmas song the world has ever known. Many will come face-to-face with tables that once held a pristine display, but now requires hours of refolding, sizing, color coding and arranging. These holiday heroes' Facebook feeds will begin to overflow with retail memes and parody videos that, while meant to amuse others, soothe their feelings that nobody understands what they are going through. But no matter what products they'll be restocking, rearranging and scanning, you can always be sure 99.99 percent are openly thankful for their jobs. So why aren't we openly thankful for them?
For the last two months, retail employees have been smiling and wishing you a happy holiday while they frantically remember discount codes, clearance items and jampacked schedules. Their hours have gone from a few here and there, to daily shifts that test their ability to stay jovial and approachable. Every morning (or night) they attach their nametag to a work-appropriate shirt with a sense of pride—even if that pride is accompanied by a few thoughts of disappearing to a tropical island until the holiday season blows over. They enter their store of choice a few minutes before their shift. The store that once greeted them with a few customers scattered here and there, but now welcomes them with a promising crowd that blocks their view of messy displays they will no doubt be tidying up before they go home in a few long hours.
We, as consumers, will often enter a store with one goal—find the perfect gift or accessory or centerpiece. The goals are endless. While we enter with a plan to leave with only one item, the story often ends with handfuls of quickly loaded bags and a receipt long enough to go around the globe. There is no shame in impulsively buying a beautiful sweater or a perfectly decorated wreath. The shame comes when we overlook those who help us find the right size of that sweater. Or when we ignore those who helped us reach the wreath that was just out of reach.
Often when the holidays arrive, we find ourselves being thankful and joyful for all those in our lives. Our brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles and the list goes on. We tell our friends that our lives would never be the same without them. Suddenly we have a new appreciation for how hard our teachers and bosses work. But we rarely recognize the ones who ring up the gift for those people, or the ones who help you find the last package of chocolate chips that you needed to make cookies for those people. Instead, we simply run in, find the one proudly wearing a name tag (and not on a tropical island), make our request and then dash for the register and car. And while we do remember to say some quick thanks, we do sometimes forget to recognize their part in our holiday’s success.
Imagine a Thanksgiving without the cashier who rang up your perfect outfit. Or a Christmas without the salesfloor associate at the craft store who helped you find the supplies for all the D.I.Y.s. New Year’s Eve without the manager at a beauty store who helped you use that coupon you completely forgot about.
It’s just not the same, is it? No.
Since the holidays have smoothly passed most of us, and we’ve successfully rung in 2017, I would like to extend a thank you to the people who most deserve it. To every grocery store, craft store, beauty shop, clothing store and any other store employee: thank you for making each and every holiday season so beautiful and enjoyable. It just wouldn’t be the same without your smile—no matter how forced. We appreciate your hard work, comradery with us at the register, the laughter you share with coworkers that reminds us of the importance of happiness, but most importantly we appreciate your kindness in reminding us of the deals we almost walked away without taking advantage of.
