Any retail workers in the forums?

[Nurb]

How long did it take for you to become bitter and to hate just about everyone who walked into the door? Or did you avoid getting a bad attitude? I'm curious on the thoughts of fellow retail employees about how they feel about their job or past jobs. Just vent!

I myself went bitter as I worked up from sales to head PC tech at an LA retailer after having various jobs at other stores and game shops during college, and I eventually started to hate everyone that walked in the doors or had a problem with their computers because they always complained about costs and the time investment it takes to fix their problems. No one thought it should cost over 20 bucks to remove a nasty virus from a computer and have it run perfectly afterwards, or replace a motherboard... this was at Circuit City before they went under, and they cut staff down to a skeleton crew, so customers were always pissed about waiting for help, and the fact that the idiot highschoolers who didn't know anything about what they were selling because they didn't get paid enough to care, and I was the only one to do repairs, answer calls, provide customer assistance, take in new repairs and make sales at the desk. So everyone was in a bad mood and it made the work environment such a pain in the ass, I walked in one day and just quit after the new manager started acting like an asshole.

wow, that was a mouthfull wasn't it?

 

[Blackadder51]

Mines not exactly in retail (I am just a lowly cashier at a fruit shop) but i hate all people i serve with a passion, of course i hide that behind a smile and being polite, as i need the job a lot.


EDIT: I didn't answer your question did i?

It took me 2 months and a fuck load of old people complaining, for me to become bitter

 

[the_dancy_vagrant]

I didn't exactly work CS, but I did work in the exciting world of food preparation for a couple of years.

I think it took me about 6 hours of training to realize that I hated all of our customers. It only took me about 20 minutes to start actively hating my managers.

 

[Inverse Skies]

I've worked in retail part time to pay the rent whilst I study at uni for two years now, and hospitality for another two before that. I still don't mind customers. I mean they're idiots but I don't outright hate them or anything. For the majority they're trying to do the right thing.

 

[wordsmith]

I work retail, but unlike you guys I seem to get the bad AND the good. Yeah, you get idiots who moan because you take an extra couple of minutes to bubblewrap their new crystal vase, but you also get people who take the time to chat and you can have a laugh with. I once had a little old lady tip me £20 for carrying a pair of duvets across the car park for her. She might have looked like a bag lady, but her Chauffeur was driving quite a nice Bentley. The reason for the tip? "You made me laugh. I can't remember the last time a salesman took the time to make me laugh, thank you".
I'd say it's about 5% arseholes, 70% indifferent, 25% golden.

Oh, and my mangers rock

 

[MelziGurl]

I have the tolerance and patience not to get bitter because of a few inconsiderate bastards. I love where I work, I have awesome bosses and work with a store full of girls that I actually get along with. I guess I also have a deeper appreciation for retail after working in fast food for 3 and a half years and I've said it before, when you work half of your Christmas morning catering for ignorant dumbshits who complain about waiting 10 mins or not being able to get what they want because you're not cooking certain stuff that day then complain to me about bitterness.

 

[Russian Redneck]

I work at a convenience store but I can't complain because some of the female employees there are generous and often give me snacks (even microwaveable meals on occasion). I also prefer working around the general public because it helps condition me to the physical social world, [blanket statement]something a lot of Generation Z kids don't know about[/blanket statement].

 

[justnotcricket]

Ah, retail...bastion of teenage emplyoment...

What can I say? Been there, done that, hope never to go back. It had a part time job in a retail store. The people I worked with were awesome. The company I worked for was less so. The customers were...well, they were generally OK, but after a while you do get really, really sick of the whiners and the complainers. Especially when they're trying to get something for free when they're wearing Chanel and you're being paid NZ $9.50 (which, xe.com informs me, is currently US $7.20 or GBP 4.30) an hour to smile at them and pretend they're right.

I never became really bitter about any of it (despite how the above may sound!) - it's more that I just had absolutely no real enthusiasm for the job, which is a terrible thing. Now, I tutor at the university while I study, which is seven different kinds of awesome, and pays a hell of a lot better! =D

 

[Kruxxor]

I worked in McDonalds for 3 years. I hated that place and everyone who entered immediately.

Since then, I now work for a game retailer, at first I loved it, being surrounded by games, talking to people about games, it was the ideal job for me. But then the customers entered the store. Most of them Mothers / Partners buying for other people, which is fine. But the other half of the people that come into my store are Chavs, that ruin the English language, try to do "deals" with you, call you names when you ask them for ID. Ask you to turn the 360 pod on and when you refuse because it's broke they get all pissy at you.

I had one guy threaten to punch me because he thought I was following him around the store. I was. He was a thief and I was doing my job of being vigilant, I couldn't tell him that, though.

To be honest, I don't hate JUST the people that come into my store. I hate everyone (with only a hand full of exceptions) in the world. If I could cause the end of the world right now, I would, without hesitation.

 

[jamesworkshop]

So true I now just hate the general public but at the same time its about the only social interaction I have and some people are pretty cool