18 Struggles When Working Retail

When you think of an ideal college job, the thought of working with greasy food may not come to mind. Working retail is sometimes viewed as a better alternative; employee discounts, replenishing merchandise, working a cash register and helping confused customers. However, not every customer is easy to please or as respectful as you’d expect. Just like working at a fast food chain, you’re cleaning up messes and dealing with daily complaints. Retail workers hear the same sentences and end up in the same situations everyday, making them question why they applied for the position in the first place. If you currently work retail or have past experiences, you can probably relate.

1.       When the customer doesn’t read the coupon details and exclusions

2.       When you get cut off:  “Would you like to sign-up for-”  “No.”

3.       When you nicely fold a pile and a customer destroys it in five minutes

4.       When they ask if you work there while you’re restocking and wearing an earpiece

5.       When you tell them an answer they don’t like and they demand a manager

6.       When they don’t understand how you don’t know what’s coming in the next shipment

7.       When they complain about the store being a mess

8.       When they try to return something that’s worn, damaged and two years old

9.       When they don’t understand online sales are different than in-store

10.   When they say, “Well the last time…”

11.   When they think the back room is a magical distribution center

12.   When you have every song on the playlist memorized

13.   When getting a day off during holiday season is highly unlikely

14.   When you can’t leave until the store looks perfect

15.   When the item they want to buy doesn’t have a price tag or sku number

16.   When a customer’s card gets declined

17.   When they tell you the prices are too high

18. When you don’t carry their desired size

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