Retail isn’t ALL bad. You have the opportunity to try to not be so awkward, are forced to learn time management skills if you actually want you keep your job, and get a sweet discount. It may not be pretty, but you do learn some valuable lessons.
The Customer Isn’t Always Right
The first rule of retail: good customer service doesn’t always mean ensuring the customer gets his or her way. Just because one item was hanging on the sale rack does not mean it’s on sale. No, if an item has no price tag it is not free (and please, as a customer, save yourself some dignity and never make that joke). What you learn here is how to choose your battles and how to use common sense.
A Little Humility Never Hurt Anyone
For the small percentage of people who are self-important pricks, the first shift of a retail job is enough to make them go “I am too good for this crap.” Here’s the thing though: everyone is too good for it. The first thing you leave at the door when you clock into a retail job is your dignity. You are initially saying “yes, please hire me to provide a service to other people.” For most of us, it’s a humbling experience that teaches us that a little kindness and patience goes a long way.
Gaining Patience
I’m not a patient person. Retail taught me the importance of being patient when a situation spirals out of your control, as they so often do. The world is a big place, and circumstances are dictated by God, fate, random chance, and whatever your inspirational coffee mug tells you. You need to be able to take a deep breath and do your best to accept and work with what the world sends your way.
People Skills
You may think you know something about people, but you don’t unless you’re an anthropologist or have worked in some form of retail. I don’t believe that all people are the same. What I do believe is that people often act in incredibly similar ways in certain situations.
Respect and Appreciation
When you experience both sides of the retail experience, it really makes you reflect on how you treat retail workers when you shop. I definitely find myself being more courteous and trying to keep things organized when I browse around nowadays.
Actually Working For Your Money
Perhaps the most valuable thing you learn from a retail job is what “work” actually is. Getting paid a little more than minimum wage to deal with people, fold clothes, and go through the living hell known as “inventory” actually does a lot to teach you the value of a dollar. And you might even become a little wiser with your money because of it.
Image Sources:
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https://www.tenor.co/view/gif-5544011
https://livingthegreeklife.wordpress.com/2015/09/26/heres-what-rush-work…
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