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I used to love Christmas - until I worked retail!!
I've had a part-time job at a department store (evenings, weekends) to save up money for grad school. This year was obnoxious! A few highlights:
1) We had a customer slap an associate because she did not like the way the associate was folding her clothes. Customer was amazed when she was escorted out by security
2) I had an older lady (75+) curse me out because she was a "preferred customer" and didn't think she should have to wait in line (on Christmas Eve, no less) for a box.
3) Free gift wrap - we do 4-5 free gift wrap nights during the Christmas season, and people think it's the most amazing thing. People will spend 45 minutes to get a pair of socks wrapped.
4) Being expected to know when a rival store and/or a cross-townmall closes, and then being told how stupid I am for not knowing. Customers also want directions from their house to the mall and expect me to know exactly where they live and what traffic conditions are like. I actually told one of them, "Look, lady, if I had that kind of power over time and space do you really think I'd be working here?!"
Once we build our house and I finish grad school, I plan on writing a book about retail. I'm just not sure if it would be published as fiction - because, unless you've spent time in retailville, you won't believe these things happen!
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