Retail Blues

Recently I was reading a new (to me) blogger's "About" page, and after reading it I absentmindedly clicked on the link above the page, the one that looked like it would take me to the author's most recent post.  I read the post, and oh, I wish I wouldn't have.  I went from somewhat agreeing with the author to completely disagreeing with the author and yet still trying to "have an open mind" to getting supremely annoyed with the author and thinking that I would probably never read that blog again.  Ever.  All in the span of one post!  Blogging - it's so dramatic!

Anyway, as I was reading I kept thinking "ugh, I need to comment. This chick is SO wrong".  And then I would think "no, don't comment, you'll just be one of those annoying naysayers and all her devoted commenting fans will crucify me and wonder why I don't just 'hit the X at the top of the page if I don't like it'".  And then I thought, "this is all so stupid, these unspoken blog commenting policies.  Whatever happened to freedom of opinion?  I'm totally commenting".  And then I realized that the post I had been internally debating commenting on was over two years old, and (of course) comments were closed.  So that was that.

Which, by the way, if you think I am putting on any airs about being "better than that" as far as commenting goes, let me clear that right up.  If I get a mean commenter, I fully expect everyone to totally gang up on that person and make them feel horrible for even having INTERNET ACCESS, much less the nerve to disagree with the likes of me.  I mean, seriously.  This is like high school, with anonymity!  What could be better? </end sarcasm

Okay, so back to the point.  The post that got me all riled up was about the customer service this particular author received in a retail clothing establishment, and said service was not up to par.  So instead of recognizing this as an unfortunate SPECIFIC incident, the author decided to instead rail on ALL retail employees in general; belittling them and saying things like "I mean, who do they think they are?  They HAVE to work," and "I seriously doubt that most of them can even afford to shop in the places they work" and "in my opinion, 'retail clothing clerk' is just one step up from being a Wal-Mart cashier".   Ugh.  I'm sure you can see why I was annoyed; I'm getting aggravated again just paraphrasing the post. 

I even read through the comments (I was having the heated internal debate: to comment or not to comment) and an ASTONISHING amount of them were all like "OMG yes, that girl wuz SOOOO rude, you are totally right and they should send you one million dollars in gift certificates and also they should probably build a shrine to you, in apology.  And if they need a shrine template, I'll send them mine because clearly I worship you, OMG!!!!  Youz is AWESOME!"

And then I threw up a little more. 

However, after a while I got to a comment from someone named Mary, who didn't link to anything (smart, Mary!) and she was like "I am very well-spoken and will now write eloquently about the fact that perhaps YOUR CLERK was not very nice, but in general retail and service industry employees are very kind, and generally make up the 5% of the human population who are able to deal with mean, inconsiderate, and dishonest people day in and day out and still remain cordial and helpful at almost all times". 

And I was like, GO MARY!

Because that is so, so true.  People who have never worked a service industry job have NO IDEA what those of us who do work in this field go through on a daily basis.  Most people wouldn't be able to handle it; wouldn't be able to keep a smile on their face and remain genuinely devoted to helping the person who just got through cussing them out.  It's not easy, and I think people who are good at customer service have a GIFT.  I really, really do.  So it's really not fair to make generalizations about ALL SERVICE INDUSTRY EMPLOYEES by assuming that none of us WANT to do this job; that we all just have to because we are too stupid/poor/uneducated to get a job doing something "actually good".  That is insulting.  We don't fault professional athletes because they are gifted at a sport and then choose to take that gift and make a profession out of it.  We don't fault teachers, who have the gift of teaching and then choose to use that gift to teach our children.  So why would we fault service employees, who have the gift of serving others, if they choose to make a career out of it? 

One of the most annoying misconceptions about service employees is that we are in this industry as a last ditch-effort; because we can't hack it at anything else.  Or that we HAVE to work, and have just failed miserably at "normal" career jobs and so whaddaya know, we're just stuck behind a cash register.  This assumption is ridiculous and wrong.  The woman who owns the boutique next to mine (and waits on customers there nearly every day) was a district judge for over 40 years, until she retired to do (guess!) RETAIL.  Lots of the ladies who work in boutiques are married, have lovely homes and husbands who make very handsome incomes.  And yet (gasp) they ENJOY working retail, and they do it because they WANT to.  I know, I know, how stupid must THEY be?  I mean, to lower themselves to serve the general public?  Plenty of college students work retail jobs part-time, decide they like the retail world and graduate (with degrees!  OMG!) and STAY IN RETAIL.  I know, it's shocking.   Some of them even become managers, and regional VPs, and make (are you sitting down?) a REAL, ACTUAL INCOME.   Maybe even more than their customers make.  I know, it seems like it just COULDN'T be true.  Other service industry employees have merely decided that it is more important for them to work a job they enjoy and have flexible hours than it is to have a "more impressive" job title or an extra 10K per year.  I know, prioritizing your personal enjoyment and family over career?  Unthinkable!

Of course there are the inevitable bad apples; the ones who spoil the bunch.  This is true for ANY industry.  Ever been to the doctor and had a really bad experience, maybe the doc prescribed you the wrong thing or just didn't care and sent you out without really helping?  Yeah.  Me too.  So has everyone.  That doesn't mean every doctor is incompetent and uncaring.  Ever dealt with a shady lawyer?  Do you think all lawyers are scuzzy?  How about a bad banking transaction - do you now want to store all your money under your mattress?  I mean, let's get serious, there are always going to be bad waiters and waitresses, and of course you will, at some point, encounter some rude sales clerk in a shop.  However, in general, service employees are there TO SERVE YOU.  They are going out of their way, running their tails off, to MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE BETTER.  What could be nicer?  You don't even have to pay them, most of the time - they will wait hand and foot on you and then you can just walk out and say never mind, I don't want anything today.  Or you can stiff them on the tip, if you feel like it.  Doesn't matter, we're still all going to see you the next time and try even harder to make things great for you.  It just blows my mind that when faced with what essentially boils down to a personal assistant, lots and lots of people choose to belittle and insult rather than accept and thank.

And we still come back to work the next day, smiles on our faces, ready to HELP YOU.  So when I read something written about how a service industry employee is somehow less important, less of a PERSON than the rest of the human race, it really gets under my skin.

Okay.  I feel better now.  Next post: Retail Blues II - We Are Not, Actually, Your Babysitters      

Comments

[Operation Pink Herring]

Who is this bitch? I'll cut her.

The sad thing is that people DO devalue teachers, professional athletes, artists, etc. What I don't get about devaluing service workers (uh... is that the PC term for prostitutes?) is that life as we know it could not go on without them.

[Hoover]

Actually, all lawyers are scuzzy. To a degree. Except for estate planners. But those guys are barely lawyers anyway. I mean, really.

[Chiada]

You go, girl! Thanks for pointing out all the good stuff about retail people.

I've only had a couple of bad experiences (a snotty teen at Victoria's Secret, no surprise there (wait, was that being generalizing? oops, lol); and an uppity sales lady at a clothing boutique), but most people are very nice and helpful, like you said.

And working in retail is one of the least appreciated jobs. I did 6 months at a clothing store and I tell ya, there is no end to the gobacks and cleaning up sloppy dressing rooms. It can make you get really disgustged with the general public and their antics. But there, that's the shoe on the other foot, I guess. : )

[Trudie]

Years ago when I was working in the hotel & restaurant business, I was trained by a fantastic woman from Wales. Her first rule was
1. The customer is always right.
2. See rule # 1
3. See rule # 2 and 1

She also taught us to try and answer the phone (when working at the front desk) on the third ring. She'd start 'one ding-a-ling...two ding-a-lings...three...' raising her voice a little for every count. After a few days of that you made sure to answer on the third ring even if it meant you'd risk breaking a leg trying.
Everyone trained by her did good - some eventually became Managers of prestigious hotels around the world. More importantly were, that we all developed pride in doing our jobs to the best of our ability.
Of course there are people in service trades that should not be there - just like there are customers who should be barred from anything but catalogue sales and others that should never be let in to a hotel or a restaurant.
Your post is excellent and I hope a lot of people will link to it!

[tiff]

yay! you rule! I'll add this to my shrine cause youz rockssss!

I think it should be a human requirement that everyone work at least 1 year in a retail or service based industry. Everyone would benefit.

Also, good for Mary, because I wager to think that your comment on this anonymous bloggers page would be a bit long :)

[Dingo]

Delurking because this post hit so close to home. Not only did I work retail for a few months after college but I also spent 3 1/2 years as a flight attendant. Good times. Not. Then I became a lawyer. I often tell people that my worst day as a lawyer (sorry, Hoover I wasn't one of those "scuzzy" ones) was ten times better than any day as a flight attendant.

This is a great post. I wish more people felt this way.

[Anna]

I know what you mean. I've been personally attacked (well, maybe not with FISTS or anything, but certainly with WORDS. And words can hurt too, you know. Just like sticks and stones.) by so many people when I was working in retail clothing, and then in a bank. And I feel like I was looked down upon because I was there, behind that register at the Leed's footwear, or behind that teller line or desk at the bank. Never mind the fact that I actually chose those jobs, and actually loved them very much.

But I can't agree with Trudie more, that there are some people who should be banned from customer service, and some customers who should be banned from public in general. It's those random a-holes that ruin things for the rest of us.

[Laurel]

Ugh, that would drive me nuts, too!! I do think that the companies set the tone for retail employees. If it's the policy to be friendly and accommodating (AND if management is fairly compensating and respecting the employees), you see mostly good customer service.

If not (ubiquitous NYC drug store, I'm looking at you!), crappy service abounds.

I worked at a department store for many years, so I try to always give the clerk the benefit of the doubt.

[Kate]

Seriously...this was a GREAT post. Not only did I do my stint in retail, working for 3 years at a Gap store, I'm now a teacher. Although not retail, it is a service industry and really parents? We're here to teach your children to be fully functioning, giving members of society, then you have to go and undo everything we've done by teaching your children to treat others with as little respect as possible...One of my biggest beefs with teaching is watching students treat others, including myself, like everyone was put on this earth to make them happy. Now, I see some parents doing fantastic jobs with their kids...and these kids are respectful, kind, and all out likable. It's funny to me how you go from one profession to another, and no matter where you go, there will always be a population of people who have NO concern for anyone's well being except their own.

[kris]

I'm beginning to think that all the not nice people should be forced to go to an undesirable location and not be nice to each other, say somewhere like Manhattan or Key West. Then the rest of us would be able to roam in respect and tranquility. And have quite a nice party.

[Julie]

AMEN SISTER!

I have worked in retail part time for 4 years.
PART TIME. Because I have another job. I really just cannot live without the discount.

Ha.

[rita]

Hey, not all attorneys are "scuzzy." I work hard, listen to crazy people day in and day out; then I try to make defragment their craziness and attempt to translate their thoughts into sense. I am not afraid to call them on their crazy either.

Like the service workers, we get to pick-up a lot of messes too.

[elise]

Okay, I feel for the sake of validity that I must reveal that commenter Hoover is, in fact, a lawyer.

He is just being difficult and antagonistic, as lawyers are wont to do. Kidding! But not about him being a lawyer, because he is one of those. Direct all your complaints at him :)

[Chelsea Talks Smack]

hahahaha I really enjoyed this whole rant.

[Jen]

I've been on both sides of the cash register - having worked in retail all throughout undergrad, and being a somewhat recovering shopaholic. Elise, I think you couldn't be more right about customer service being a gift. The ladies I worked with at the store were so devoted to what they did. They just wanted to see the customer walk out happy, and did what they could to make that happen. This went for all kinds of customers - both well-adjusted ones and the flat out obnoxious (yes! there are no shortage of those)! That doesn't mean that there aren't the bad apples in the service industry, but it doesn't give anyone the right to make such negative generalizations about the service sector as a whole.

[Cassie]

The only thing I can say to this post is -- Amen. Amen to you, Elise, and amen to clever Mary. I worked as a waitress for 7 years, and my husband has been working in retail for 8 years. He's one of those people who worked his way up from a nobody to a somebody at his job, and he makes a real income now and everything! I don't know how he deals with the kind of people he deals with. I don't know how YOU do it. I don't know how I did it for so long! So I have an enormous amount of respect for people who work in retail. (Mostly, though, I envy their discounts.)

[Jessie]

I worked for a few months was a waitress at a really busy place downtown and it was HARD. Not only because of dealing with the odd nut-job customer (of course while keeping a smile on one's face) but also because the people I worked for were really, really hard to work with. I agree with Tiff - everyone should be made to work in retail at one point in their life to fully appreciate how difficult it is.

[Michelle & the City]

man i would have been pissed beyond belief if i would have read that post. i don't work retail anymore, but i did for several years to pay for college, living expenses, etc.

[Lara]

Oy. I am very glad this post wasn't about me. Also, I usually feel a camaraderie with retail workers, having worked retail for a while myself. What I hate is the snobby ones, the ones that act like they are too good to help me because I'm not hip enough to patronize their store. Something tells me you aren't like that, though.

[Mauigirl]

Great post - amazing how snobby people can be. I was actually just fantasizing how much I would love to have a job in some kind of retail situation where I wait on people instead of working in an office. Because unless you own the business, the beauty of waiting on the public is, you just do it all day, go home, and can forget about it. At least I can! I used to work on a farm in the summers picking vegetables and tending the roadside stand. It was great, the best job I ever had! While it could get hectic when there were a lot of people at the stand, at the end of the day you felt good, as if you'd worked, and there was nothing waiting on your desk to be done when you came in the next day.

[Dingo]

Hey Kris! Don't send them to Manhattan! Lord no, at least not during the tourist season. We have enough to deal with then. :)

[Erin]

OH OH OH This is me sitting here grunting and turning red faced (no, not pooping) and trying to send you cosmically everything I've got! I've been wanting to write about this for a while but people and animals keep dying and I get a little sidetracked. HOWEVER, I am a University graduate who has traveled the world AND I work retail. I don't always like it, but probably mostly because of the pigeon holing. I do get a lot out of my job though and meet tonnes of interesting people! I am so happy (and relieved) to meet someone like you - just so damned smart. These other people need to learn a little humility!