I work at a popular girls/teens accessories store that starts with “C” and ends with “laire’s”. I’ve worked there for seven months now, which in the long run isn’t that long. However, the other sales girl that worked there for 1.5 years has left (so did the manager of 10 years), leaving our store in the following order: assistant manager (~2ish years), me/sales girl (7 months), assistant manager (6 months), two new sales girls (1 month each), new assistant manager (1 month), new manager (2 weeks).

But, even though I have been there nearly the longest, I find everybody else taking my hours. Even better, for awhile it was just me and the two longest-working assistant managers (2 years and 6 months), one was playing Acting Manager, and I was pulling 20-some hours in one weekend. Now I’m lucky that I have any hours this week. Last night, I was scheduled “on-call” (call in to see if I’m needed) and no surprise, I wasn’t. The only reason I’m working today is because someone suddenly got fired Thursday night. The only reason I’ll more than likely work tomorrow (as in the schedule isn’t even out yet) is because I’m the only sales girl that can pierce ears.

And of course, I can’t do anything about.

I don’t expect to stay around after this holiday season.

[Image Description: Background is several triangles in a circle like a pie alternating from true red, scarlet and black. A robin is sitting on his perch looking to the right.

Top Text: “(Perfectly able) Customers who seem incapable of shopping”

Bottom Text: “without you looking for everything for them.”]

Long story time (sorry I’m still a little angry about this), but before I start let me say this:
I have no problem if a customer is in need of extra assistance due to any sort of issue they have, like if it’s hard to bend over, or their eyesight isn’t the greatest, whatever. That is not a problem to me at all, we all need extra help some times and that’s what we Robins are there for. What I DO have an issue with is when someone treats you like you’re their personal shopper when they are PERFECTLY CAPABLE of finding items themselves; they just want someone to boss around and do their shopping for them.

Yesterday, at the department store I work at, I had this …gentleman…who wanted help finding jeans that he could use a coupon on. Well we’re having this big sale so all of our affordable (read: not $90) jeans were on this special sale which is excluded from the coupon. BUT the jeans are literally $20, so not expensive AT ALL. So I explained all this to this gentleman, telling him about the special sale and the price of the jeans, yada yada. Then I take him over to some of the jeans, because even though he knew exactly where they were (another associate had just told him and he had even gone to look) he wanted me to lead him there. Fine, whatever.

Then he tells me what size he is looking for. So I start looking. And then I realize this guy is just standing there, watching me look for jeans for him. Well, ok. So I find him the size he *thinks* he is and he goes off to the fitting room. Meanwhile, I go to work on something down the aisle, and I just have a feeling I’m going to be this guy’s personal Robin during his time in our store. Lo and behold, he comes out of the fitting room, goes to the jean section, and, when I’m not there, instead of actually looking for jeans himself HE WALKS AROUND THE WHOLE DEPARTMENT LOOKING FOR ME SO I COULD LOOK FOR HIM.

I spent 20 minutes alone on this guy. Luckily the store was not busy but I do NOT work on commission, and the whole time he was telling me how “tricky” I was because of the way the coupon works and then asking me questions that could easily be answered if he just actually looked (such as, “how many pairs of socks are in this package?”…it says 6 pairs right on the front…). Just for the record, he did not have eyesight issues. In smaller letters on the front, the socks read “athletic” and he had no problem reading that.

Like, come on. If you really need the help, fine. But you are a grown man, I don’t understand why you need hand holding. You’ve been doing your own clothes shopping for at least 40 years now just fine.

Plus, when he was finally ready to go, he stood at a different register than I was at and “YOU HOOOO!!“‘d me and waved me over to him. I was so tempted to sarcastically ask him where my tip was for basically doing his shopping for him at the end of it all.

Tl;dr, Robins are people too, don’t treat us like your personal servants.

[Image Description: Background is several triangles in a circle like a pie alternating from true red, scarlet and black. A robin is sitting on his perch looking to the right.

Top Text: “I’M IN”

Bottom Text: “A HURRY”]

Yeah because you are in a hurry, I will grow extra arms. I will gain the ability to teleport. I will be able to suddenly split myself in two and help both of you at once. I will be able to un-crash the scanner by force of will alone. I will be able to materialize keys that I do not currently possess. I will be able to change a corporate policy. I will be able to negate a federal tax. I will suddenly not need to see your ID and credit card for this $800 purchase. Because you’re IN A HURRY. I’m so sorry you have been inconvenienced by having to shop when you are behind schedule because that is somehow also my fault.

[Image Description: Background is several triangles in a circle like a pie alternating from true red, scarlet and black. A robin is sitting on his perch looking to the right.

Top Text: “NOT AT A REGISTER”

Bottom Text: “TRIES TO PAY ANY NEARBY EMPLOYEE”]

I’ve been in retail now for 16 years. In all the retail jobs I’ve had, I’ve seen this at EVERY. SINGLE. JOB. I will have that one customer who thinks I work at an invisible/portable register. They will walk up to me, handing me their item at the same time as their payment (usually it’s cash, however I’ve had two hand me a credit card) and give me a look like “Ring me up NOW!”

I’ve tried cracking a joke about it before but it’s always fallen flat so at this point I just point them to a register and let someone else take care of them if possible.

Seriously, I hear the question “Are there any discounts on this item?” way too many times in one day. And when I tell them the standard discounts, like how they can get a percentage off when signing up for a store credit card, they get pissed off.

No, we don’t just take money off when people ask for it. If it’s not signed, or you didn’t get an email, it’s full price. God forbid you pay the tagged price for an item…

you know who/what i’m talking about

store thieves

Movie Cinema Robin here!

Every weekend I work the 6 to close shift, and “close” is technically 15 minutes past the last movie, but if there’s a lot of cleaning to do, this can get bumped to sometimes 2 hours. Which will lead to me getting home around 1:30-2:30. And of course after all that boring work, I want to relax and watch some TV or go on Tumblr right? I usually go to sleep between 4-6 and wake up between 1-3.

I’ve had my job for 2 years now, worked the same schedule week after week. People should know that I do not sleep a normal schedule.

But every weekend, without fail, I get at least 1 phone call or text from a family member or friend that wakes me up. Hey, it’s great and all that you miss/wanna see me, but don’t call me, I’ll call you! And especially do not call me lazy when you found that you woke me up past noon. I’m still sleeping because I’m nocturnal now ever since this job, not because I’m a “lazy teenager” (which doesn’t apply, I’m 21).

Sometimes customers will come up to me and just shove both their items and their payment in my face at the same time, like holding them both out as though I can process their request instantaneously. Like they can just blink, and suddenly everything is done and they can leave!

Look, person. I can only do one thing at a time. Hold all of these things out to me, and the only thing I’m likely to do is take them, and then immediately set them down—like you could have done—until I am ready to do something with them. I know it SEEMS like I’m going super fast (or too slow, maybe??), but payment is the LAST STEP. LAST. As in, comes after everything else. First, the item. Then, the payment. It seems like some people should know this, after having been at the register way more than once before… Sigh.

I just can’t with people sometimes.

I don’t know if everyone is aware, but there are things things called discount cards in any place that isn’t Wal-Mart or somewhere else similarly ubiquitous. They give customers the cheaper prices on things and consumer-specific coupons, most times.

The past two retail places I have worked at have had one, and let me tell you, they kind of suck. Yeah, they help out customers who want to get the sale prices and get coupons on stuff, that’s true. But it’s a pain in the ass to continually ask, “Hey you have your card with you?” at the beginning of every sale, particularly if people are very paranoid with their information (which is understandable, in this day and age). Mostly it’s just a pain, because after someone says they don’t have their card, I have to ask if they even have one in the first place, and if they say no, I have to ask them whether they want to sign up or not, and attempt to explain the virtues of the card to them. If they have a small order, like a tube of lipstick or something, it’s especially difficult because I have to ask like 10 questions during this order that will take about 5 seconds to complete… It’s awkward and rather extremely uncomfortable.

However, due to my job, I HAVE to ask like a bajillion questions during every order, and I must try to get people to sign up for it even if I find it somewhat despicable… It’s something that I don’t think I will ever really forget or be entirely okay with.

[Image Description: Background is several triangles in a circle like a pie alternating from true red, scarlet and black. A robin is sitting on his perch looking to the right.

Top Text: “NEW HIRE WITH SAME ROLES AS ME”

Bottom Text: “RECEIVES HIGHER PAY THAN ME”]

So I accidentally saw what the new hire at my job will be making. I even had one raise this year, and he will still be starting with a higher pay than me. My boss told me he doesn’t even have any sales experience (which is a important part of the job)! I had sales experience before I started this job.

I’m starting to wonder if he is starting with a higher pay than me because I’m a girl. and he’s a boy. I’ve always heard guys make more than women. Which seems like it’s true.

Even worse is that I’ve been training to become a ‘key holder’, which is basically a managerial position, that includes a lot more responsibility, and I have no clue when I’ll get a raise, or how much the raise will be. If it is not more than a dollar raise, I will be looking for a new job ASAP! But it sucks that the new guy will be starting soon, making more than me, even though I’m required to do much more!!! 

I feel sick to my stomach.