Her foot taps, colder than the ice droplets formed on the store’s roof, made a clear reminder of her impatience. I rolled my tongue against my cheek. My mind buffered as I came up with an answer to her question. “I’m actually not sure… but I can get my supervisor to help.” My defeat, now fully admitted, as her eyes rolled and lungs huffed.
When I told a friend I took a job working at a grocery store, their nose turned up as a beating “Why?” left their lips. Their offense to my blissfulness of the accomplishment puzzled me. What was the issue? Then it hit me. It was not the fact that I was jovial to have a job, but it was the job itself. A retail job. A job not associated with my undergrad degree. A job where you wait on others. A job that is almost seen as demeaning.
Most of my jobs have been customer service based. In fact, my first real job was right at Asbury as a student I.T. worker. I loved the sense of accomplishment I felt when I could resolve an issue a customer was facing, or the go-go-go excitement of running around to help with campus events; however, as I quickly discovered customer-based jobs are not for the faint of heart. Yet, I firmly believe that it is still a rite of passage for all those seeking to become better workers and even better people.
It was not just this person who had that reaction. In fact, the most common response to my new job was: why don’t you go for jobs that are geared towards your future career? And that’s a fair question to ask, since I want to be a writer. But that’s just it. This is a job geared toward my future career, and it is for yours, too.
Retail work is a humbling beast, and it’s safe to say I’ve already racked up a good amount of new and interesting stories from just the few months I’ve worked at this job. Most, if not all, of my time at work is dedicated to serving others. This means that being patient is vital. It also means that you have to learn how to adapt to new situations on a daily basis. But the biggest lesson you will quickly pick up is effective communication skills. With any career or job venture, these qualities are not only routinely sought out, but mandatory traits.
In an article titled “Retail Industry Continues to be Largest Private-Sector Employer,” which was written by the National Retail Federation (NRF), it states: “The retail industry supported 55 million full-time and part-time jobs in 2022, accounting for 26% of total U.S. employment, according to a new report released today by the National Retail Federation. The figures are up from 52 million jobs and 25% of total U.S. employment in 2018.” Although there are many of those who look down upon retail workers, Retailit is still one of the largest industries in the United States, even though there are many who continue to look down upon retail workers..
So there I was, confessing to the customer about my lack of knowledge on a product. But what was I supposed to do? Lie and potentially sell something that would not actually benefit them? I scurried off and brought my supervisor to give more assistance. As I stood and listened to my boss expertly explain the product, the woman’s personality took a shift, and a much kinder person found their way back.
When you work retail, it forces you to see the human in people – whether that be the good, bad or downright awful. You begin to realize that maybe this product might not mean much to you, but this could mean something rather significant to them. And many people have lost sight of this crucial part of our being: genuinely caring. Now, this is not an excuse for customers to be cruel to service workers; in fact, this is quite the opposite. It is up to both the customer and the worker to ensure peaceful interactions with each other. We’re on the same team – just different sides of the same coin.
During my years of working customer-service-based jobs, I have been yelled at, had a few bathroom mental breakdown sessions, dealt with some crazy situations, called a hero by some clients and yet berated by others (and yes, sometimes all in the span of one shift). But even with all that, I don’t regret a thing. Likewise, I’ve gotten to meet some amazing people both within the clientele and the co-workers I get the privilege of working with! It has taught me life lessons I will carry not only within my future career ventures but also through life in general. So, to be quite frank, working a retail job and letting it teach you lessons no other job could do, might just be the best thing for you, especially if your initial reaction to retail work is that it is something “beneath you.”
Photo courtesy of Unsplash.
