Welcome to Inkbunny...
Allowed ratings
To view member-only content, create an account. ( Hide )
HimaChita

Ugh

I'm really starting to hate working retail. Dealing with pieces of shit every day, so many people stealing and being rude to you. I actually had someone call me an 'fucking faggot' tonight because I denied him returning shit that I knew he stole and had no proof that he actually bought them in the first place. I got so pissed off that I had to go outside and walk around for an bit to calm down before I headed back inside. Still ruined the rest of the night for me though. Dunno why I am sharing this, just felt like it.
Viewed: 76 times
Added: 7 years, 10 months ago
 
mooglegunner
7 years, 10 months ago
Retail is rough regardless of what you do and where you work within it.  Shitty customers are tough no matter what and it stings when someone decides to be a complete asshole to you when you're doing your job and have done nothing to wrong them.  I'm sure you're going to get a few well-wishers to tell you to get a different job, whether or not that's possible, it doesn't change the fact until that is possible you had dealt and still have to deal with this shit until that can be done.  And that's if you have options that's not other retail or fast food.

Just like walking outside after having to deal with the shitstain, you need to do whatever to take care of yourself at and after work.  Try to stay in the moment rather than focusing on tonight's asshole or dreading the next.  You probably will anyways, but try to get yourself out of that mindset however you can.  And if you feel like you need to rant about it first, do it.  I feel I'm passively-aggressively sharing in your pain for the recent crap I had to go through with my retail job as well as afraid that it's monotonous from having heard it before or it's going to sound dumb for being so obvious.  But enough of myself, I just want to stress that if you do whatever it mentally takes to healthily deal with bullshit the less effect it will have you on the long run.  Shitty customers will still be shitty and may ruin your day, but hopefully it doesn't have to ruin the week.
HimaChita
7 years, 10 months ago
Thanks, I try not to let it get to me, but my mind has an funny way of focusing on things for an long time, so it's hard for me to forget those things.
mooglegunner
7 years, 10 months ago
I have the same problem as well.  I know it's easier said than done when told to watch yourself when you do that and non-judgmentally acknowledge it and move on.  It takes practice and time to get it down.  Even with me saying that, I did relive yesterday's problems earlier today.

Otherwise, if you don't mind me asking, do you work in customer service specifically?  Like AP, that is a rough station in my opinion.  I'm asking since you dealt with a return.  Though at the gas station I work at I have to deal with refunds on occasion, box stores are rougher in my experience.
HimaChita
7 years, 10 months ago
yea, I work at the service desk of my store. Worse part, is that years ago, they instituted what they called the 'desk of yes' and we are never to tell the customers no, only management is suppose to, but they never want to come up and deal with the customers so that can be an headache in and of itself. Worse part, I am forced to take things that I know are used and people are cheating us but there is nothing I can do about it.
mooglegunner
7 years, 10 months ago
Wow, what a horrible policy.  I know customers are made to be happy, but there should be a limit between genuinely helping those who should be helped and those that are purposely trying to abuse the system.  And management is shit if they aren't willing to help you out and do what is right.  You don't need to name the store you work at, but I've worked at two different Wal-Marts.  And that sounds like a horrible policy that corporate would come up with as they are really disconnected with how a store is ran.
HimaChita
7 years, 10 months ago
Very much so, but our corporate is known to bend over to kiss customer ass. Our management denied an return one time of an PS3 and an dirty shirt that an customer said was found in their PS4 box. The customers complained to corporate on facebook and not only were we forced to take back the item, we had to give them even more back as compensation for the hassle we put them through.
mooglegunner
7 years, 10 months ago
That is frustrating.  Despite this shit, you can only handle it the best you can.  If corporate and management are tying your hands, just let them have it and try to be nice to yourself about the shitty thing they made you do.
psychoticporcupine
7 years, 10 months ago
I work asset protection for a major retailers and deal directly with thieves. It's really shitty because I have a very specific set of rules I have to work within to try and do my job and theives can get away with anything if they know how.

Tonight I watched a pair of guys steal a 20$ value video game and there wasn't anything more I could have done.
Singemylover
7 years, 10 months ago
So, tackling them, and breaking their jaw is a no-no?
Chantelle
7 years, 10 months ago
Not only a no-no but ends up with you arrested instead.
psychoticporcupine
7 years, 10 months ago
Huge no-no. I always tackle with my team members by charging at them and fake tackling them when their keys set off the doors at the front.

I was interviewing for the undercover position at my store and was denied because of politics. If I had gotten that promotion I could have let the nerds conceal the items and pulled them into my office and gotten all my merchandise back.
Salacious
7 years, 10 months ago
AP is the -worst-. Every single one we've ever had at the place I work has literally just walked out on the job when their frustration hit levels they couldn't handle.

Not that our Back-of-House workers make it much longer... or our cashiers, now that we have a new assistant manager who drives them away.
psychoticporcupine
7 years, 10 months ago
It has a huge turnover rate, mostly because its high stress and the wrong move can get you fired. I'm actually sitting on a final warning from back in October. Currently in the process to see if I even still have a job for kicking out a guest who I caught committing return fraud. (Stealing from the floor and returning it at guest service for cash)

its really kinda infuriating because it makes me not want to do my job while I'm there and unsure if I will even be employed next week.  
Palmedo
7 years, 10 months ago
It's frustrating watching AP get their hands tied behind their back because a fucking thief could sue the company for damages caused to them if they were tackled.  You broke the fucking law.  You should be stopped and held accountable.  Period.
psychoticporcupine
7 years, 10 months ago
We are specifically trained to do a set of moves that our company feels is safe. If the situation escalates and we can't use those moves to restrain a person we have to disengage. Luckily my boss has said he always wants Law Enforcement involved in apprehensions. So hopefully we never have to use those moves and let the cops do their job and stop the crooks.
HimaChita
7 years, 10 months ago
Ug, I dunno how you can do that kinda job. Course, the AP at my store seems to be quite worthless.
psychoticporcupine
7 years, 10 months ago
AP can feel quite worthless unless you have the ability to actually stop people or call the police on them. I was without a boss for three months and this new guy that I have doesn't even know how to properly apply merchandise protection to the items. He was trained to do his job, but he doesn't fully understand how my role functions and as such I've been pulled to do a lot more than my peers. Not that I mind, I want to get promoted fairly soon but I shouldn't be forced to do this because of negligent training on corporate's side.
HimaChita
7 years, 10 months ago
Our LP can call the police at my store but they are the only ones who can. One time, an manager caught an thief on his own and called the police, corporate nearly fired him right then and there.
Palmedo
7 years, 10 months ago
Retail is a very frustrating industry.  It always will be because people aren't forced to work this job for a while.  To be belittled by customers daily and put upon by management.  I've always felt that people have to do a couple years of this, mandatorily, to get a feel for what it's like.  Then perhaps they'd have a different tune about how they treat folks.  

Or start my own grocery chain where employees are allowed to be as rude back to a dip-shit customer without fear of being chastized.
psychoticporcupine
7 years, 10 months ago
Haha I know of a restaurant that does that kind of thing, I wonder how that would work in a retail setting where you typically can't set it up my kind of explaining the situation first. It would be a riot in my opinion, and if the prices and produce were good I know I would go just to troll with the customers.
Salacious
7 years, 10 months ago
My first manager would always say that, that was a stand-up lady. She'd say "Everyone should have to work a half-year of food service and a half-year of retail before they can have any other jobs" And I bet if they did, only the most selfish and asinine people would still treat the folks on the other side of the counter the way they do.
HimaChita
7 years, 10 months ago
I'd like to think that people would act differently, but I still get an lot of people who act all stuck up and such even though they have worked in the industry. In fact, I had an woman one time get all over my shit when I was dealing with an different customer and treating her like I would any other customer, but she demanded that I treat they like corporate wanted to treat them and then both ganged up on me.
sillylilfoxcub
7 years, 10 months ago
Hahahaha, one time some people approached me outside of a Fred Myer trying to get me to go inside and return some shit (a camera? My memory is fuzzy) for them - I was like "You got a receipt, right? Do it yourself."
KevinSnowpaw
7 years, 10 months ago
i work retail as well and feel your pain acutely almost 15 years in this business on and off has tought me one, precious thing


Customers are shit heads!

they walk into a store and the portion of there brain that makes them a decent human being shuts OFF and they turn into entitled pricks.
mobkiller
7 years, 10 months ago
I can confirm that. I´m so glad i work as a warehouseman now. x_x
Cuttingleaf7
7 years, 10 months ago
I feel your pain. Im in retail management now and I subscribe to the idea that whomever said "the customer is always right, never met the customer."

I could tell stories for days like yours. Best thing I found is to laugh at it. At the end of the day, theyre the people who are so miserable that they need to yell at people just doing their job. And the happier or upbeat you are, the more it will upset them.
Soulfire
7 years, 9 months ago
l
Taloc
7 years, 7 months ago
I am still surprised on how much a customer can get away with. Especially when I've had one eat a good portion of a packaged produce product and just hand it to me saying that it was "Like that when he found it".
New Comment:
Move reply box to top
Log in or create an account to comment.