Working in retail!
Most of us will work in retail for a short portion of our life- some for a lot longer! Whilst I love working in retail there are a few annoyances and lessons that I have learnt over time- and I'm sure my fellow retail employees will agree! Have a read of the list and see if any of your wind ups match mine!
The sale rail mess.
Just because things are reduced doesn't mean you can treat them like total rubbish, chucking them over the rail, dropping them on the floor, stealing hangers but not the clothes (????), and just generally making the rail a pig sty.
The general shop mess.
Is it really so hard to put items back in the same place that you found them, on the same hanger, in the same department? The sparkly dress quite clearly doesn't belong on a jacket hanger in the knitwear section. It's not difficult and doesn't require much effort. Pull something out to look at it, if you like it, great, take it. If you don't, JUST PUT IT BACK! And when you do put it back, do not do it inside out or back to front! JUST LEAVE THINGS AS YOU FIND THEM!
Know your size.
It is so uncomfortable when a woman asks you to pull her jeans away from her bum so you can look inside and see the size tag on the jeans because she somehow does not know what size she is wearing. How can you not know?!? If you're going shopping, make sure you know your size! It is not a sales assistant's job to strip you!
The customer is never right.
You're trained to accept that the customer is always right and to make sure they leave happy, ready to return to the store again in future. Yet somehow, the customer is never right! How can you seriously think we will refund jeans you bought four months ago because they've worn out at the crotch where clearly your thighs have rubbed together? A) It's general wear and tear. B) They're not new jeans. C) You don't have the receipt or the tags you just want free jeans. D) You're wrong.
Not everything online is in store.
"I saw it online so you must have it". Must we? Really? We must have every product made by the company listed on the website???? No. If you want that kind of service go to a flagship store. Or just, you know, ORDER IT ONLINE.
We aren't in control of the sizes we stock.
If we don't have a size in stock, it's because we haven't been sent it in a delivery. It is not our fault and it is not a reason to get lairy at a sales assistant. It is beyond our control and customers need to understand this.
If we say something is out of stock, we aren't lying.
We know what we have and don't have in stock- we're usually updated on items at the start of each shift!! So don't try and fight us over this one.
We did not come up with the carrier bag charge.
Rants that last for five minutes, hold up a queue and are a waste of time are always about this new carrier bag charge. The government made it, it's a legal requirement, we must abide. I don't care what you've read on the internet about it, if you want a bag you have to buy it. End of.
Prices are set.
I don't care if this item is cheaper in another shop. Go and shop there then!
What have you learnt whilst working in retail? Do you love it or hate it?
Love from,
Florence Grace
The sale rail mess.
Just because things are reduced doesn't mean you can treat them like total rubbish, chucking them over the rail, dropping them on the floor, stealing hangers but not the clothes (????), and just generally making the rail a pig sty.
The general shop mess.
Is it really so hard to put items back in the same place that you found them, on the same hanger, in the same department? The sparkly dress quite clearly doesn't belong on a jacket hanger in the knitwear section. It's not difficult and doesn't require much effort. Pull something out to look at it, if you like it, great, take it. If you don't, JUST PUT IT BACK! And when you do put it back, do not do it inside out or back to front! JUST LEAVE THINGS AS YOU FIND THEM!
Know your size.
It is so uncomfortable when a woman asks you to pull her jeans away from her bum so you can look inside and see the size tag on the jeans because she somehow does not know what size she is wearing. How can you not know?!? If you're going shopping, make sure you know your size! It is not a sales assistant's job to strip you!
The customer is never right.
You're trained to accept that the customer is always right and to make sure they leave happy, ready to return to the store again in future. Yet somehow, the customer is never right! How can you seriously think we will refund jeans you bought four months ago because they've worn out at the crotch where clearly your thighs have rubbed together? A) It's general wear and tear. B) They're not new jeans. C) You don't have the receipt or the tags you just want free jeans. D) You're wrong.
Not everything online is in store.
"I saw it online so you must have it". Must we? Really? We must have every product made by the company listed on the website???? No. If you want that kind of service go to a flagship store. Or just, you know, ORDER IT ONLINE.
We aren't in control of the sizes we stock.
If we don't have a size in stock, it's because we haven't been sent it in a delivery. It is not our fault and it is not a reason to get lairy at a sales assistant. It is beyond our control and customers need to understand this.
If we say something is out of stock, we aren't lying.
We know what we have and don't have in stock- we're usually updated on items at the start of each shift!! So don't try and fight us over this one.
Rants that last for five minutes, hold up a queue and are a waste of time are always about this new carrier bag charge. The government made it, it's a legal requirement, we must abide. I don't care what you've read on the internet about it, if you want a bag you have to buy it. End of.
Prices are set.
I don't care if this item is cheaper in another shop. Go and shop there then!
What have you learnt whilst working in retail? Do you love it or hate it?
Love from,
Florence Grace
I've worked in retail before. I worked in retail during my gap year and I worked in retail for a short while in the summer of 2013.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely hated working in retail - the customers, the staff, the mess in sale, everything! I'd never want to work there again, and it's definitely not a job for me. Plus, the fact that the managers in the previous jobs messed me about doesn't help, so I doubt I'll be working there any time soon.
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