Written by B.T. Hill   

I work in retail. My job has no "set" days. The Monday through Friday, 9-5 thing disappeared long ago. There is no routine except getting up and going to work. A calendar is my best friend. Without it, I'd never remember when I have to work. Holidays are only for banks, federal institutions or those who work for companies that still give any kind of benefits. Christmas and Thanksgiving used to be a given, even in retail, but now that's slowly being taken away by greedy corporations eager to cater to the almighty dollar. To make sure customers are in no way inconvenienced, stores are now open on Christmas. I work when people are asleep; sometimes overnight, in the wee hours of the morning or late in the evening or while the rest of the country is enjoying a weekend with friends and family. When you're getting the kids off to school, I've been at work for hours already. If you're at home eating dinner or watching TV, I might be having my lunch, or just getting to work! When you're getting ready for bed, I'm stocking shelves or unloading trucks to make sure you can get when you need tomorrow..., on Saturday, Sunday or on a holiday. When the weather is bad I still have to show up for work. There are no "snow days" in retail. Sometimes I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. Because of management decisions, I might have to work a week or more straight without a day off. There are times when I'm scheduled to be at the store till closing time and have to be back for opening. Some days I run on very little sleep. I do not have any kind of routine like you do at your 9-5 job. This job is hard on my body. Because there is no routine such as set days and times like in your 9-5 job, this creates stress on my biological clock and hormonal system. I am more prone to depression, heart attacks, cancer and other illnesses. Sometimes I can’t sleep when I must or I have a hard time waking up because there is no routine. It’s like having jet lag! It seems I am always tired.Physically it is very demanding and painful. I stand and walk on concrete every day, 8-10 hours a day, sometimes more. My feet hurt all the time; my knees ache, my back and shoulders are always sore. I lift, sometimes more than I should, bend, stretch, push and pull pallets of freight. If I fall, I hit the concrete floor. After so many years my body is starting to tell me it's too much. I go home at night and wonder how I am going to get up tomorrow and do this all over again. My body begs me not to, but jobs are so hard to find that I can't quit. Because I'm in "customer service," it is my job to be nice to you, the customer -- all the time. It doesn't matter if you're nasty to me, or if you treat me like a servant or an imbecile. I have to take it. The phrase, "The customer is always right" is bullshit because you are not always right. You are not "right" when you try to return something you've stolen from the store or purchased elsewhere, or when you insist you've previously purchased a product that doesn't even exist! You are wrong when you intentionally damage a product to get a discount on it! You are not "right" when you let your kids run wild in the store, damage merchandise or don't insist that they speak with respect to me or my co-workers. When you talk on your cell phone or text while I'm trying to help you, either at a register or on the sales floor, you are not being courteous to me; you are wrong! To snap impatiently at me because you have to wait too long on line or if there are not enough registers open does not make you "right." It's not my fault that you didn't leave yourself enough time to shop! If you read a sign incorrectly and insist that you get a lower price for something that is not on sale, your arrogance does not make you right! Your hissy fits at the customer service desk, laden with threats to "call corporate," even though you are 100% wrong, are not amusing. It's downright pathetic and a sad testament to the "me, me, ME" so prevalent in society today. Your lack of manners is appalling!Sometimes I am treated as if I were stupid. I'm not. Addressing me as "Hey, you!" shows a lack of manners and common courtesy. I may have a degree, or have worked for 30 or 40 years or more in another highly skilled field. The economy is in the tank, there are no other jobs, so I have to work in retail. In "serving" you, I’d appreciate some courtesy. I have to clean up after you. You are lazy and inconsiderate. When you decide you don't want an item, you put it back on any shelf or just drop it on the floor. It doesn't matter if it's a frozen food item and you are in the cereal aisle, or a can of paint and you're in the garden center, or light bulbs or paper towels in the canned food section or shoes or clothing from a rack. You don't care. You know it's my job to clean up after you. My store does not have separate employee restrooms and I have to use the same bathroom that you do. My question is: WHY, if you wouldn't do something like this in your own home, do you do it in mine? Some of you are total slobs with absolutely no consideration for others. Again, YOU don't have to clean it up, so why should it matter? The toilets are clogged up because customers use 50 feet of toilet paper to wipe themselves then attempt to flush it. Instead of using the provided seat protectors, customers use toilet paper and try to flush huge wads! I've seen feces and urine on the floor; even footprints on the toilet seat! If you've dropped a paper towel on the floor you leave it there. Is this how you live at home? I get asked one of the most idiotic questions all the time: "Do you work here?" I am wearing the company uniform, be it a red, blue or bright orange vest or apron, or a solid colored polo shirt with a name tag! DUH!! I don't understand! How can one assume I don't work "here" when it's blatantly obvious that I do? I work in retail. I get to see the bad and the good side of customers. Sometimes it's frustrating, other times it's fun. MOST of the people we come in contact are good customers, but for others, we in retail all agree: it should be mandatory that everyone work in retail just once! Then you, the ever "polite" American consumer, a.k.a. the demanding, lazy, inconsiderate, impatient, spoiled rotten brat, will get to see the other side of the coin. Maybe, just maybe, you'll treat others with consideration and respect -and- be a better customer and make our jobs easier and more enjoyable!