I find it amazing how much humanity we lose while being served by others. Why can't we become more human as we interact with other humans? Instead people act like two intact male dogs urinating all over each other trying to prove who is Alpha. Of course retail people have been trained to be non-dominant at all times... which means we are the ones that get peed on the most.
I am curious why is it that people feel the need to call someone an "idiot" because they made a mistake. I remember once when I was still a Sales Associate I brought a size medium shirt to a customer who needed a size large. Someone had placed the shirt on a hanger with the incorrect size donut, and I was too swamped with other things to check the tag. Stupid hanger let me down.
I was then called a incompetent bitch by a 45 year old women 1/2 naked in a fitting room frantically swinging that hanger around. It was a horrific sight. After retrieving her large t-shirt I went about my business, which included being called to the register by a manager to help ring up customers. Tragically I was now face-to-face with hanger lady.
"Oh my god", she barked. "Do you even know HOW to use a register? I already know you can't read... I don't think they should trust you with money."
I gritted my teeth as I rang her up and processed her cash transaction. She made a fuss about counting the change back on my register one bill at a time and comparing it to her receipt. At 19 years old I was unbelievably embarrassed, and that day I took my first step into cold hearted management.
My friends, I was turning to stone, and I didn't know it.
Retail employers pretty much want people that they and customers can walk all over. It's the culture of the biz. But it sucks.
ReplyDeleteI worked with this woman once and a customer snapped his fingers to get our attention and her reply was "Look dude, I'm a human first and an employee second. SO once you can address me with your words like a person instead of like a dog, I'd be happy to help you."
She eventually got fired for her "bad attitude," even though she was a very friendly person that I admired; she just wasn't letting customers walk all over her. She refused to be dehumanized. And she lost her job because of it.