Hopefully the answer is no, but after being at college for a couple months, I find myself wondering if I want to go back and work over winter break. It seems like a hassle to me, because even though I've been working there for 2 years, they have to hire me back and go through that process again. Wonder what manager they are on now? Hmm, the store has been open for 2 years and they are on their 4th or 5th, and I don't know if I want to deal with that again. Seems they find the rudest people on the planet who are two-faced. But maybe that's what retail is all about. Not like anyone ever says the $59.95 pair of shoes they are looking at are hideous! Nope, everyone just says they are fine and kinda avoid the subject.
And, who wants to go back to the "friendly" environment where you are under extreme pressure to pretty much force the customers into signing up for a rewards account. Yeah, the benefits are good and you get free coupons, but if the customer says no, why push?
And then there's the great part at the end of the night, since they always give me closing shifts, of cleaning up the store, after all our wonderful customers have left and left behind each unwanted shoe on the ground, or under a bench. Or when the people who have gotten the day shifts don't clean anything all day because they know they aren't closing.
It's a wonderful job. Really. I think the only reason I like it is because I can walk around looking at all the shoes and oh yeah, the 30% off is great.
Oh, did I mention how wonderful our customers are? Yeah, sure, some are nice, but others are just complete snobs. Or what about those ones that don't get that when we turn off our awful music (I'll write about this later) and they see every employee cleaning, or maybe when one employee is standing by the door because it's locked and they need to let customers out, that means the store is closed. And usually when those customers are left, they're just 'browsing'.
Oh, and how about that one lady that comes in during DSW's really good sales when shoes can be as much as 70-80% off, and first of all comes in and returns 30 pairs of shoes that are all different sizes and were bought 6 months ago? Hmm... So she returns them and then buys out an entire style of one shoe, every size! And then when she comes to check out and is buying 30 more pairs, she asks our cashier (me) to get someone else to bag because she is in a hurry.... (to go sell her shoes on eBay...)
Ehh, so you can see the only reason I might go back to DSW this winter break will be for the 30% off. Nothing else.
Oh, and yeah, the music DSW exclusively plays is from some online radio station. It's the same music all the time and the music is really bad: french music, rainforest noises, just horrible music. I wish it was elevator music! It's that bad! But then when customers tell you how bad it is, it makes you feel better to know you aren't alone. It's when the customers say that they love it and want to know where they can get it, that's when you know there's something wrong!
So, is 30% off shoes worth it??
2 comments:
I worked in a steel mill one summer to earn money for my college education. Hard work; hot work. I reported at six and crawled home coated with filth. I was the only college student; the rest taught me the most interesting four-letter words. I learned that I definitely didn't want to work in that environment.
I enjoyed your story.
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I recommend (when time allows) that you add a photo to your profile.
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