Do not cause a fight, keep things merry and bright
By: DALILA KAHVEDZIC
Editor-In-Chief
Before anyone steps into a single store this holiday season, there are a few things that should be kept in mind.
Each retail employee gets up in the morning ready to tackle the day, not a customer’s attitude, so leave it at home.
The employee is a human being; they breathe, live, eat and sleep just as shoppers do. This employee represents many people, and can be found in many familiar faces — including my own.
That may be surprising, but it is the truth.
This should be common knowledge, but retail employees do not intentionally make customers’ shopping experiences awful. If someone approaches me, I will ask how they are not because it is a necessary, part of my job but because I genuinely care.
I will also ask if everything was okay — once again, not because it is necessary but because it is the job of employees to provide assistance with any problems that a shopper may have.
If the item a customer tries to purchase does not ring up correctly — and is more or less expensive than they thought it would be — most cashiers can easily do a price check. Price checks are easy and should only take a few brief moments. If waiting a few minutes makes shoppers indignant, they have to get over it. That is really unreasonable.
Something customers must understand is that there are abominable people in the world who lie to get what they want. This makes trusting every shopper in the store impossible because cashiers must constantly be aware of possible scams. I would love to exercise good faith, but it simply is not possible. doing so could easily jeopardize the store product and my job.
Do not hand the cashier a coupon that expired a month ago — it cannot be used. Also, do not act surprised when it is denied. Cashiers do not deny the coupon because they wish to kill your holly, jolly spirit but because they abide by the rules given to them by their company. Accepting expired coupons would be like the store giving out free handouts.
I am sorry if that upsets shoppers, but employees would much rather stay employed than bend the rules. Honestly, I would rather watch a shopper cry me a river than lose my job. There is a reason I have one in the first place. The money and work experience is useful to me.
Keep in mind, if a customer throws a huge fit just to get their way that will not work either.
It is immature. Let us all act like adults.
If a customer wants to speak with a manager, that is fine. They will tell you the same thing I did, though. Managers tend to side with their employees over whiny and self-righteous shoppers.
If the security bars beep as you exit, do not get frustrated. I bag hundreds of clothing items per day and sometimes I might just miss a hard tag.
Please do not damn me to hell. Instead, forgive me. Mistakes are bound to happen in any job and can be made by anyone.
Do not call the manager over to complain about the line or how messy the store is.
He or she has more important things to do than listen to a long, whiney complaint from a judgmental shopper. Employees do everything in their power to get each customer in and out of the store as quickly as possible. They do not like long lines either.
When you are asked to take a store’s survey, do not tell the cashier that you will take it to complain about the “god awful” service because they honestly do not care. Somebody out there sure does care, but that somebody is not them.
An employee’s day does not become any more merry and bright because of that snarky comment.
It does not maintain holiday cheer.
The holidays are not supposed to be a time of dread, but a time to look forward to, and everyone should work together to keep it that way. A good attitude when shopping for gifts goes a long way, and your cashier will certainly appreciate it.
