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

[RaggedyAnn]

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 completely agree. Staying on the phone while someone is trying to help you is basically telling the other person they are not important. I remember asking for some help on a registry item from an associate in a store. My cell phone started to ring and she actually asked if I was going to get that. I looked at her and said no and that I asked for her help and that person can wait. I could have knocked her over with a feather.

Originally Posted by DSTRen13

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.

When I started my first management job, the DM told me to always check the dressing rooms after each client, because she once had someone do their business in a tube sock in the fitting room.

When I was working in a 4 room lingerie store, we had a customer with a leaking colostomy bag. Yeah, we didn't notice right away and there were dribbles all over the carpet. We had a cleaning company come that night.

Originally Posted by Alumiyum

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.

I once had a kid run in from the mall and clear off a table full of ties. There were probably at least 300. Dad came in and laughed. I did not.

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I worked in Macy's - started off in Men's with a seasonal job which I was told would become full-time if I did well. I was the top salesperson every week, but when I asked for my new i.d. the manager hemmed and hawed. December 24th he gave me the news that the full-time job had been eliminated. He hadn't told me earlier because they didn't want to lose me.

Ah, yes. Andy and I refer to that as the carrot.

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

This is the funniest part of working in fast food. Rude people tend to assume that because you work at _____, you're a moron and you have nothing else going for you in life.

The funny thing is that in the first store I managed, every one of my employees had a college degree or were in the military and getting a college degree. They all just needed that little extra cash to get by with, or with my management team, the pay was just better at the time.