I Work(ed) in Retail, and Now I Understand...

[knight_shadow]

Just because

[ThetaPrincess24]

I never leave clothes I try on and dont like in the dressing rooms. It annoyed me to no end when I worked at Express and would have to put back armloads of clothes.

[Alumiyum]

Originally Posted by ThetaPrincess24

I never leave clothes I try on and dont like in the dressing rooms. It annoyed me to no end when I worked at Express and would have to put back armloads of clothes.

Same here. And when I take a shirt or jeans out of a stack I refold them and put them back again. Even before I worked in a clothing store my mom told me stories about working in a shoe department and how many people would leave things out, move things, etc. She always made a point when I was little to put the clothes she tried on back or on the rack by the dressing rooms and would make me help, so it's been drilled into me.

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

It's rude.

At BBV specifically, we had to scan the card and go over anything that's happening on the account. If I'm trying to tell you "you have a movie that's due on Thurday" and you're hushing me, that's a problem.

Also, if you're engaged in your conversation, there's a higher chance that 1) you're going to be slower and 2) there's going to be a mistake made/the perception of a mistake [ex. "OMG I GAVE YOU A $20! WHERE'S THE REST OF MY CHANGE?!" when the person handed over a $10].

It doesn't bother me if the person can put the call on hold for a second. There are the people that will say, "Hold on a sec" to the person on the phone when they get to the counter, finish the sale, then talk again. No problem. But I totally understand about people having full on conversations when you're trying to check them out.

I worked in a clothing store that sold girls' clothing. Their training video was 90% about shoplifting, mostly in really odd ways. We were required to wear clothing without any visible label or logo as we couldn't fit into little girls' clothing...but we had to look nice, too. This was when a lot of my clothes were left over from high school and I didn't have any polos or button downs without a label of some kind. It was such a pain. They would also put you on call constantly. I had to get up at 6, get dressed, then call in at 8 and get there in 30 minutes which was hard to do. And then they'd call me. I told them the day I was hired that I had told my second job I would work nights and I always needed to be out of the store by 4 so I could get the in time. I also made it clear I couldn't be scheduled from 4 on since I would be working somewhere else. They called me almost every day wanting me to come in, and would seem all put on when I repeated, every single time, that I had told the manager on day 1 that I could not work after 4pm. It wasn't the manager's fault...she had told me it was no problem, and told the assistant manager who was making out the schedules, but THAT girl obviously never ever listened.

The worst customers were the ones that think their children are so adorable that everyone will be delighted when they pull clothing off of racks, run around in circles screaming, or in a couple of cases, start loading the little gimmicks by the cash register into their pockets. Also the harpies with 3 inch talons and gigantic hair that would come in on tax free days. The STATE had a tax free shopping day before school started that year, but of course there were still city and county taxes. They would argue me down and some would scream at me, which would always result in my bringing the manager in to further attempt to convince these jello for brains that we weren't trying to cheat them. And these were always the women dripping in Yurman wearing actual designer brands, screeching their Hummers out of the parking lot.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Alumiyum

It doesn't bother me if the person can put the call on hold for a second. There are the people that will say, "Hold on a sec" to the person on the phone when they get to the counter, finish the sale, then talk again. No problem. But I totally understand about people having full on conversations when you're trying to check them out.

That didn't bother me as much, either. As long as I could say what I needed to say, I was good. I worked at a location in an upper-middle class suburb, though, so the customers rarely did this.

I haven't had any conversation that was SO important that it HAD to continue while I was checking out of a store. If I get a call while in the store, I will stay out of the line while I'm talking. If I get a call at the register, it'll wait until I get outside. If there are life and death situations going that require me to be glued to my phone, then Blockbuster is probably low on my list of priorities.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

That didn't bother me as much, either. As long as I could say what I needed to say, I was good. I worked at a location in an upper-middle class suburb, though, so the customers rarely did this.

I haven't had any conversation that was SO important that it HAD to continue while I was checking out of a store. If I get a call while in the store, I will stay out of the line while I'm talking. If I get a call at the register, it'll wait until I get outside. If there are life and death situations going that require me to be glued to my phone, then Blockbuster is probably low on my list of priorities.

As someone who talks on the phone a lot, it is not that the phone conversation is SO important, it's that the transaction is not. There's not really a reason why I couldn't stop talking, and usually I do, but I don't always.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

As someone who talks on the phone a lot, it is not that the phone conversation is SO important, it's that the transaction is not. There's not really a reason why I couldn't stop talking, and usually I do, but I don't always.

I also use my phone quite a bit, but again, it comes off as rude IMO if you can't spare a minute or two to acknowledge the person who is assisting you.

And, like I said before, a lot of the people who were "OMG I MUST FINISH THIS CONVO" were slower and thought there were problems with the transactions. Those things could have been eliminated with a simple "Hey, I'm checking out. Let me call you right back."

[christiangirl]

When in a book shop, particularly B&N.....

*I always put the book back in the right spot and, if I don't know where that is, I drop it off at the Info desk.
*If they say "We have one left" I understand there really aren't any because that "one" in the system is the one no one can find.
*I know to put back what I don't want BEFORE I get to the counter and to never take back a book with bent/dirty pages.
*I know to never leave my trash or empty cup on a random bookshelf (I can't BELIEVE how many Starbucks cups get left in random places).
*And most importantly, if I ever need a book, I never come with less than the full title and details of the cover art. Because I have had my fair share of "I don't know the title or the author but I know the cover is blue" or "It's a series about horses.....I think."

BTW they were "Something Blue" by Emily Griffin and the "Heartland" series. I was just that awesome.

[LucyKKG]

Originally Posted by christiangirl

*And most importantly, if I ever need a book, I never come with less than the full title and details of the cover art. Because I have had my fair share of "I don't know the title or the author but I know the cover is blue" or "It's a series about horses.....I think."

Lol! This is the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread! I've heard that SO many time! "It's something about a cat, and the cover is orange." Umm....

[ree-Xi]

After once working retail, I understand that...

...paying full price is for suckers
...never work in a place where you are required to wear their clothes
...people are, for the most part, pigs
...that retail is unforgiving on the body, and if you don't get commission, unforgiving on your wallet
...will make you feel jaded and unappreciated
...half your fellow employees are stealing and don't care that you know
...unless you love the customers, the brand, the product or the vibe, the job will break you down.

At my store/company, I was top salesperson in the NATION (100+ stores) for a 6-month period (contest based on sales, units, customer service and hours worked), and I got a crappy neon green plastic watch that broke and a raise from $4.25 to 4.55. They always kept me under the 35 hour line so that they didn't have to pay benefits (insurance, vacation, sick time, etc.) and scheduled shifts less than 8 hours so they didn't have to give us a lunch break.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

...paying full price is for suckers

Yep. I know so many ways to steal from BBV, it's ridiculous. Of course, there's no need to do that, since I still get employee discounts, thanks to my friends.

...people are, for the most part, pigs

YES. I can't believe how nasty adults can be, and how they can tolerate their kids being nasty asses too. There were several occasions that I'd be cleaning up for the night and find random items left around the store.

"good" end: old coke cans, tissues

horrible end: spit cup for someone chewing tobacco, pieces of shit on the floor, in the drop box, and stuck between movies (not even joking)

...half your fellow employees are stealing and don't care that you know

Yep. All the time.

At my store/company, I was top salesperson in the NATION (100+ stores) for a 6-month period (contest based on sales, units, customer service and hours worked), and I got a crappy neon green plastic watch that broke and a raise from $4.25 to 4.55. They always kept me under the 35 hour line so that they didn't have to pay benefits (insurance, vacation, sick time, etc.) and scheduled shifts less than 8 hours so they didn't have to give us a lunch break.

Same thing happened to me. I look back and wonder how I was able to survive on ~$6-7 and hour.

[DSTRen13]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

horrible end: spit cup for someone chewing tobacco, pieces of shit on the floor, in the drop box, and stuck between movies (not even joking)

We had kids take a crap right on the carpet and the moms just laugh. (We went out and bought a special vacuum cleaner just for these type of incidents.) Nasty.

[knight_shadow]

I worked at Blockbuster as an undergrad.

- I always have my items ready whenever I get to the register. I can't tell you how many people would be digging through their purses/pockets/wallets looking for cards/cash/coupons when the line is wrapped around the store. Take care of this while you're waiting in line!

- If a store is sold out of something, I go to another store. I don't bitch and complain because it's not that person's fault.

- I know we're in a cell phone society, but the world will not end if you put your phone down for 2 minutes while you check out.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

- I know we're in a cell phone society, but the world will not end if you put your phone down for 2 minutes while you check out.

I don't see the problem. Is it dehumanizing or something?

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

I don't see the problem. Is it dehumanizing or something?

It's rude.

At BBV specifically, we had to scan the card and go over anything that's happening on the account. If I'm trying to tell you "you have a movie that's due on Thurday" and you're hushing me, that's a problem.

Also, if you're engaged in your conversation, there's a higher chance that 1) you're going to be slower and 2) there's going to be a mistake made/the perception of a mistake [ex. "OMG I GAVE YOU A $20! WHERE'S THE REST OF MY CHANGE?!" when the person handed over a $10].

[epchick]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

I don't see the problem.

Me neither!

After working retail, I understand........to fold the clothes and put them back where I found them.


I used to HAAAAAATE it when I just folded up the clothes and some lady takes a shirt from t he middle of the pile, ruins my stack and then just throws the shirt she grabbed on top of the pile. I used to wish that I could grab those people and make them fix that pile that I just did.