Saturday, March 03, 2007

Retail hell

Please spare a thought for the girl (or guy) who serves you at the supermarket or a store next time. I've been in retail for 2 1/2 weeks now and I already want to die just from the job. You may be a nice, polite customer who doesn't take forever to pay, who doesn't bore us with stories of how your phone number has changed (really, do you think we care?) but there might have been any number of crazies that I had to serve before you who wanted to tell me about their old phone number being nearly the same as their new one and isn't that funny, dear? In one 5 hour shift I had to find 175 metres of the right type of cord, cut 1.5 metres for an older, arrogant man who told me he was getting old so he had to dress up (bit my tongue over that) and of course the phone number lady. I might have had to do several laborious returns for people who decided they wanted another colour of $3 thread. Keep the thread for next time and spare us all, PLEASE. The day before I had to measure and cut 1 metre of ribbon...in 20 different colours for one customer. Oh yeah, and my feet hurt so please don't expect me to walk all over the damn store for your lazy ass.

I work on the craft counter and I get people, often rather snooty women coming up and asking me things I don't know but that I am apparently expected to. I don't know about every craft ever invented ok? I get a little above minimum wage and I really don't think that requires me to care more than a little above minimum.

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