In progress...

If you do not know by now, I am new to the retail world. I do not know how to sell anything, even my own abilities. It is a miracle that I even survived job interviews after graduation. I usually let my writing speak for me and I am comfortable with that.

Retail is a whole new world of laws and codes. There are so many tiny details that need to be remembered when it comes to ringing up a customer to recovering your section. The sales associate needs to know every possible question a customer will ask, but there will always be a question that will catch you off guard. Well, that has been my experience in the short time that I started working in retail.

After a particularly hard work day, like this one, I come home and start to play everything that has happened that day. I remember all the little things that I could have done if just paid attention or took a minute to listen to a customer. My work days go by so fast that little moments that are unexpected startle me.  It also reminds me of one thing that I have been telling myself recently: I am still learning the retail business.

Gary Steven Borthick was quoted as saying, “knowledge is half the battle. The application of knowledge is the other half.” This, to me, is a hard pill to swallow. I can be told something at work, but I must apply it to my job.

Today, I had a hard time doing anything right. I did not apply what I was told or learned to making each sale or return to be a smooth transaction. I started second guessing myself if I thought there could be a complication in the transaction. I am starting to get frustrated with myself. Retail is new to me, so it upsets me when I unintentionally upset a customer because I messed up.

It was almost closing time yesterday when I was told something I will never forget. My coworker told me while we were recovering a section that starting in retail after college is the best move to make. Retail has this magical ability to give you a reality check while you are learning how life works. You get to learn how the public acts and you learn how to communicate with the said public.

I thought about this repeatedly last night and this morning when I sluggishly rolled into work. I have been looking at retail in a negative light, but I have never thought about as something I can learn from. I never thought of it as something I could grow from.

Learning something new is a scary process. It has made me feel insecure and I want to repel anything that does involve a change of view. It is like learning to ride a bike again, as cheesy as that sounds. I have known one thing and I now must start all over again with something new.

I guess I am still in progress and that is okay.

                                                                                                          Thank you for reading. 

                                                                                                    Your Local Sales Associate