The Living Nightmare: Working in Sales and Retail

Halloween is over, but for some people, the horror of dealing with the unexplainable and unknown happens every day. Most people look forward to catching up on the spooky and thrilling movies on Netflix, but people dabbling in sales or retail would instead take a shot of tequila or vodka to forget the day’s horrors.

There are lots of unforgettable stories when you work with people. Some stories bring chills and raise the hairs on the back of the neck while others just have the shock factor. They make you forget to form the right words because of the extreme emotions it produces. A haunted office space for rent in Quezon City sure has more appeal than dealing with inconsiderate or rude customers daily.

Of all the industries in the world, there’s nothing crazier and more chaotic than Sales and Retail.

Customers

Some people are just insensitive and mean.

On a clothing retail store, some customers tend to try on a lot of stuff and ask about everything. Later on, they come up to say they want nothing from the pile. These customers don’t understand how difficult it was to pull out a pair of jeans under the mass of clothes. You had to twist and extend your body to reach the box of size 9 shoes only to find out they dropped the order.

On top of that, some people leave their trash in dressing rooms. All the gross stuff that shouldn’t be there all over the floor. Soiled diapers, napkins and fast food wrappers are examples of things that shouldn’t be in changing cubicles. 

Meanwhile, this happens in any store. Snoopers probe a lot of questions about the product condescendingly and tell you they are just “looking.” Then, there are “frequent shoppers.” They boss around and act like they own the place because of their loyalty to the brand or store. If they love it so much, why don’t they work there? Also, if they are loyal shoppers, they should know the company’s policy of asking for i.d. A lot of people still complain about this.

Of course, who would forget the live-fast-die-young people? These people will shop like there’s no tomorrow only to return the items by Monday. Unfortunately, some of these shoppers replace or exchange the stuff in a less-than-stellar state, which makes the job ten times harder. 

Don’t forget the teenagers. The young crowd is excellent for attracting crowds. Their high energy and unrefined tastes are great for marketing the basics - food and clothing. Sometimes, their energy gets out of hand that they are starting to bother other shoppers. Moreover, they TOUCH everything and wreak havoc in the store.

Children are cute, but once they start to open their mouth, annoying cries and loud screams come out. Toddlers who are beginning to walk or like to run around the shop are also prone to breaking stuff and cover everything with saliva.

The Crouton Lady

If you think you’re done dealing with children, there are those who act like children. Children are not into responsibilities so those the kind of shoppers who enter the store before closing time. These people don’t think that store employees and shopkeepers are human too. What’s worse, they specifically ask you for help after you’ve clocked out. The same goes when people give the exact money after you’ve entered the amount they gave you on the register.

One thing that would add to a great day is when clients and customers ask for the manager, and they won’t talk to you because you are too YOUNG to be a general manager.

Management

There are days you doubt there’s someone out there who plays tricks on you especially when you have to work on your day off. It’s only been a year since you’ve been in this job and you like you’ve gained years because of stress and exhaustion.

If you’re the middleman, you’ll eventually get tired of customers complaining about management and the quality of service they got. If they want to change something about the company or service, they should go ahead and complain to the manager. They should go ahead and do it because no one can hold their pee that long.