Alright folks. Here is the deal. I work retail. I love it. I really do. I love (most) of the people I work with; my boss is amazing, and the store is full of wonderful, pretty things that I long to take home.
Then there is the one. That one customer that drives you to drink. So, to that one person, I give the list. The rules, we can call them, of shopping retail.
1. If I am in the process of serving a customer, and you see that I am doing that, do not ask me something. I cannot leave my place at cash to help you find a candle or cushion. Wait until I am done, or ask one of the other 3-5 people on the floor walking around in a blue apron.
2. Do not “woohoo” me from the other side of the store and expect me to come running to your beck and call. Yes, I am paid to be there and help, but standing in the middle of the store waving your hands about and hollering will get you nowhere fast. Especially while I am serving someone else. (See point 1.)
3. Put your damn cell phone down. If you are at cash, and you are in the process of checking out, ask the person on the phone to hang on. If it is that important, maybe you should not be shopping. Do not expect me to hold the receipt still while you try and sign it either.
4. I am one person. If you want to be sure that you get your dishes and glasses home in one piece, be patient while I wrap them and carefully put them in a bag for you. Do not huff and puff, and expect me to magically pop out a few extra arms for me to wrap with.
5. If you need to look at 437 pillows to make a decision, so be it. Have fun. When you are done though, do not leave the 437 pillows all over the floor. How would you like it if I went to your house and pulled everything out of your closet and left it all over the floor.
6. This is not “Let’s Make a Deal”. I do not care how much you have spent with us in the last five years. Just because you buy six glasses does not entitle you to some superb discount.
7. Using the old line “Oh! I guess it’s free!” when something does not scan is not funny. I hear it every day at least 3 times a day. Enough.
8. That sign you stand in front of, that you look at, that says “Please form line on opposite side”, means just that. Do it.
9. If you are making a return first thing in the morning when we open the doors, don’t expect us to have the cash to accommodate your refund. We don’t have it. We have our float. Debit and cash are the same thing.
10. Do not replace lower priced stickers on top of more expensive ones and think you are going to get the price. You can get away with that if you maybe put a cheap glass sticker on another glass. If you take a basket sticker for example, and stick it on a mirror, I am going to know and I cannot give you that price. They are two different things.
Ok. I am done. All that to say, be nice to your fellow retail worker. If we were not here, you would not be able to shop.
Sarahbear
I sooooo feel you on the 437 pillows thing. Women’s apparel is the absolute worst. I use to float between the dressy, plus, petites, casual and lingerie (though I was actually assigned to the lingerie department). Fitting rooms, especially around times like Easter and Christmas were my worst nightmare. Women would take huge stacks of clothes in there and leave it all. Some of them were nice enough to rehang it and hang it on the hook in the rooms. Some though… they had the attitude of ‘that’s what you get paid to do’ and they would leave hangers scattered on the benches and mounds of clothes scattered all over the floor. I loved that job, but I have some crazy stories about it too.
Victoria
Heyyyyy….do you work at a Pier 1?
I have to add a rule of my own: “When you’re a rude / messy shopper, you ruin it for all of the other shoppers in the store too. Wait your turn and clean up after yourself.”
I hate not being able to navigate a store because it’s a wreck and/or because people leave their carts in the way while they wander off. Bad shoppers are often the cause of frustration far more than anything being done (or not done fast enough) by the overwhelmed employees.