Tales from the (retail) front – Holiday Edition

It’s Holiday season. For some reason, this is a big deal in the world of retail.

I wrote about how on the first day of retail “they throw you in at the deep end, and at the same time expect you to know your way out.” The interesting part is that more than two months later, if feels the same way.

I described how it’s doable to greet a customer and ask them “can I help you find anything?”. After about fifty days at work I’ve learned many of the products that we sell, but with seasonal changes things always move around. I know what we sell, but I have no idea where to find them

Even on a good day, it seems that there’s always something that goes wrong. The shoes aren’t where they should be, so I asked the computer if we have them. The computer says no, but I find the shoes the customer wanted in the wrong place after they left the store. Boxes seem eager to break, and price tags have habit of not being on the items.

The number of staff providing excellent customer service has at least doubled since I has hired two months ago. My hours will in stay in flux, I know, although I’m mostly getting the hours per week I’m asking for. Even though the number of staff has increased, because it’s The Holidays the number of hours I work is likely to increase (I could have said no, but that doesn’t seem to be the proper response).

For some reason, during The Holidays people want to buy stuff. If that’s you, please remember to be nice to the people providing you excellent customer service.