Retail 101
In many ways, shapes and forms, I have worked in retail for 24 years. My current foray into retail is in the form of a vendor; you know, people who stock the shelves and order like store personnel, but work for outside companies. I love my job; it affords me quite a bit of freedom, in that I can pretty much make my own hours, I travel between 5-7 stores per day, so I am never stuck in one place for very long,I work side by side and interact with some pretty interesting people, and the money is good. While I have tried a few jobs that were the total opposite of retail, i.e. office work, I keep coming back to retail; it's a good fit for me, and I'm good at it. Sounds to be , maybe, kind of easy, you're thinking, that it's just retail, or just supermarket or store work, so how hard can it really be?Let me dispel those misconceptions from your mind right now. I have heard those 'it's just retail' mantras for what seems to be forever, and to be honest, they really annoy the heck out of me. Retail is not easy; while it's not brain surgery or, to be cliched, rocket science, it is no cake walk. Working in retail, especially in the supermarket environment, is demanding physically. Want a decent workout? Haul grocery trucks filled with laundry detergent or charcoal or cases upon cases of canned goods for 8 hours a day, and believe me, you feel how hard you've worked by days end! The repetition of the up and down of putting product from case to shelf, moving product from pallet to truck, working in a hot backroom or a 10 degree freezer can make you feel muscles you forgot that you had, so believe me, retail is a tough task master physically. And on the non physical side? Let me sum it up in two ways: the customer is always right, and never let your bad mood or frustration show.
All that being said, here are some 'rules of the road' for shoppers of any stripe, and being that I straddle both sides of the consumer/worker aisle, I work hard to remember these, as well.
~ Please, don't leave your carriage smack dab in the middle of the aisle, especially if the aisle is narrow. It creates aggravations that can be easily avoided by simply pushing the carriage to one side of the aisle or the other.
~ Women, DO NOT leave your purse unattended in your carriage, even if you are only going a few feet from it! Someone can come up and swipe your bag in a heartbeat! I see this happen far too often, sometimes with the purse left WIDE OPEN, as inviting someone to come along and snag your wallet! Shop smart, and save yourself alot of time and aggravation!
~ I know that this next one may be difficult to do, but if it's close to little Susie or Johnnie's nap or feeding time, please, try to refrain from doing a week's worth of shopping until they have been satiated one way or the other? There is nothing worse than hearing a wee one screech and cry throughout the entire store, and I know that workers and shoppers alike share in this frustration.
~ If you are being waited on at the checkout or service desk, don't be so rude as to whip out the cell phone, and take or make a call while the employee is trying to wait on you! To me, this is just the apex of rudeness! I mean, how would you feel if the gal behind the register at say, your fave clothing store suddenly decided to make a call while in the middle of ringing in your purchase, or answering your question? I bet that you would either report her to management, or let her have it verbally. Most cell phones these days are equipped with the vibrate feature, or voicemail; use them. Oh, and I am sure that the guy down the aisle from you really doesn't care to be privy to how your son did at soccer camp, or the latest family crisis; please, stop yelling when using your phone.(this applies to any public place, by the by)
~ You decide that you no longer want to purchase that $20.- roast beef, so instead of bringing it back to the meat department, you toss it in with the ice cream. Did you know that lazy moves like that help to create higher prices, and that that roast beef now must be tossed, as you can't sell it frozen, so now you have helped to create unneeded waste? And believe it or not, store employees 9 times out of 10 have more important things to do than follow people around and pick up after them. A little courtesy here would be greatly appreciated, and trust me, the guy behind the meat case will not get angry if you bring that roast back.
Everyone is rushed these days, myself included, and alot of times, shopping can be the last thing that we want to do. But if these simple rules were followed a little more often, then it would make for a more pleasant shopping experience for employee and consumer alike.
All that being said, here are some 'rules of the road' for shoppers of any stripe, and being that I straddle both sides of the consumer/worker aisle, I work hard to remember these, as well.
~ Please, don't leave your carriage smack dab in the middle of the aisle, especially if the aisle is narrow. It creates aggravations that can be easily avoided by simply pushing the carriage to one side of the aisle or the other.
~ Women, DO NOT leave your purse unattended in your carriage, even if you are only going a few feet from it! Someone can come up and swipe your bag in a heartbeat! I see this happen far too often, sometimes with the purse left WIDE OPEN, as inviting someone to come along and snag your wallet! Shop smart, and save yourself alot of time and aggravation!
~ I know that this next one may be difficult to do, but if it's close to little Susie or Johnnie's nap or feeding time, please, try to refrain from doing a week's worth of shopping until they have been satiated one way or the other? There is nothing worse than hearing a wee one screech and cry throughout the entire store, and I know that workers and shoppers alike share in this frustration.
~ If you are being waited on at the checkout or service desk, don't be so rude as to whip out the cell phone, and take or make a call while the employee is trying to wait on you! To me, this is just the apex of rudeness! I mean, how would you feel if the gal behind the register at say, your fave clothing store suddenly decided to make a call while in the middle of ringing in your purchase, or answering your question? I bet that you would either report her to management, or let her have it verbally. Most cell phones these days are equipped with the vibrate feature, or voicemail; use them. Oh, and I am sure that the guy down the aisle from you really doesn't care to be privy to how your son did at soccer camp, or the latest family crisis; please, stop yelling when using your phone.(this applies to any public place, by the by)
~ You decide that you no longer want to purchase that $20.- roast beef, so instead of bringing it back to the meat department, you toss it in with the ice cream. Did you know that lazy moves like that help to create higher prices, and that that roast beef now must be tossed, as you can't sell it frozen, so now you have helped to create unneeded waste? And believe it or not, store employees 9 times out of 10 have more important things to do than follow people around and pick up after them. A little courtesy here would be greatly appreciated, and trust me, the guy behind the meat case will not get angry if you bring that roast back.
Everyone is rushed these days, myself included, and alot of times, shopping can be the last thing that we want to do. But if these simple rules were followed a little more often, then it would make for a more pleasant shopping experience for employee and consumer alike.
posted by Christine at 1:13 PM
2 Comments:
I have been in the retail business for 35 yrs and I can relate. It should be a law for all people to work in the industry to see how rude some people are. You have a lot of good customers but some days the rude ignorant ones stand out. If people would just be more empathatic to others this world could be a better place.
Amen!!
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