The end of the fall semester is right around the corner, and that means one thing: the holiday season is here! However, despite all the excitement surrounding festivities, there’s a nefarious side to December that many of us tend to brush aside. Working in retail is nightmarish during this time of year. Here are four things I wish customers knew while doing their holiday shopping.
- Don’t come in when the store is about to close.
This tip should actually be adhered to year-round. That said, during the month of December, retail stores tend to be open for extended hours. That doesn’t mean customers should take that as a sign to come into the store at 10:59 p.m. when the store is closing in one minute. Whether you’re buying or returning something, it is highly inconvenient for us (especially cashiers). After a long day at work and tirelessly cleaning up the store for the next day, all we want to do is go home. So please, if you can, don’t be the person who comes when we’re about to close to return ten million items.
- If you’re not going to buy something, either give it to a cashier or put it back where you initially found it.
You don’t want to know the number of times I’ve seen a pair of shoes somebody didn’t want to buy in the towels section. If you can, please put back the item you don’t want where you initially found it. Not only does it make our lives easier, but other interested customers can now find what they are looking for with ease in its appropriate section. But what if you’re already in line? With the holidays quickly approaching, the store has a queue line filled with Christmas-themed skincare products, a wide assortment of peppermint-flavoured candies, and a plethora of thick winter socks, to name a few. Unfortunately, it becomes a common dumping ground for items customers decide not to purchase right before they cash out. If you don’t want something, that’s perfectly fine! The best thing you can do if you’re already in line is just to hand it over to the cashier to put into the recovery bin. It’s as simple as that! We all win!
- Hang clothes the way you found them.
With the holiday season coming up, perhaps you want to treat yourself. Perhaps you want to buy an ugly Christmas sweater for your company’s upcoming holiday party. You grab a large and try it on, but it doesn’t fit. But instead of placing it back on the hanger, you lay it on the rack and leave it for the worker to find. Now, put yourself in my shoes. If someone came into your home, went through your closet and crumpled your clothes, all before throwing them onto the floor, how would you feel? You’d be annoyed, right? It’s the same thing in retail. Once you decide that the ugly Christmas sweater won’t fit you, please hang it on the hangers. Working in the fitting room, I often see customers hang items inside out (or not even hang them at all). If you can, please change this habit.
- Be friendly.
Despite the joy surrounding the season, the holidays can quickly become highly stressful. If you don’t want to do any of the suggestions mentioned above, the one thing we all ask is for customers to be decent human beings. Yelling at me when you want a lower price for no good reason won’t help anyone. I am not the one making the price up. Telling me to hurry up with scanning your purchases will only increase the chance of me screwing up your transaction. Demanding that I go to the back to check if you’re item is in stock after I repeatedly say that it isn’t is pointless for both parties. What am I, a genie? Giving me attitude in any way is probably not going to end well—it usually ends with frustration and stress for both parties. Simply exchanging pleasantries at the beginning, and thank you at the end of the transaction is enough. Do this, and you’re golden.
I know this sounds very preachy, but if you do one of the above, retail workers will genuinely appreciate you. At the end of the day, please remember that many of us who work in retail are part-time employees that only get paid minimum wage. Most of us are students just trying to get by that also have to worry about balancing school, commuting, and our social lives on top of our part-time job. To all the retail employees out there: You got this! Happy holidays!