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

[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.