The Amusing Side of Retail

Okay, I know I have been talking about some heavy topics on my blog recently, so I am going to lighten the mood. I am going to talk about the funny things that have happened to me while working as a Sales Associate. 

I will be talking about certain customers, but I don’t mean to embarrass them. I just want to show a side of retail that you might not know about. I will be talking about events that I found to be amusing, which also makes me question people’s actions.

Disclaimer: Some of the stories might be gross. I have warned you.

Baby Changing Station

I was few weeks into the job and I did not know how to handle unpredictable circumstances. It was a busy work day and there were plenty of customers with children on the second floor. There was a customer with at least three small children and a baby. She was trying to shop for some swimsuits and wrestling with her kids. This customer decided to use my fitting room and she was checked out by an employee at my station. When I had some free time, I went to check the fitting rooms. Right in the middle of the fitting room, there was a diaper on the floor. I did not know what to do, but I did not panic. I went back to my register to grab a hand full of tissues and started to poke at the diaper. After confirming that there was no smell or weird feeling, I snatched the diaper up and ran to my register. The whole time I was going, ‘Ew! Ew! Ew!’ I tossed the diaper in my register’s trash can and went to the bathroom to wash my hands.

The Tooth

I get moved around sometime if there are not enough workers on a shift. One night, not too long after the diaper incident, I was at another station. I was doing normal retail stuff when I had some customers looking for some items in my station. I was working to help them and was ready to check them out. I went over to the register, but the customers stood by a table full of jeans. They looked alarmed and started to laugh out loud. I walked over to them and let out a little laugh, full of shock and embarrassment. In clear zip-lock bag, there was a tooth sitting on top of a pile of jeans. I laugh out loud again and I told the customers that I will take care of it. I left the bag on the jeans and started to check them out. One the customers asked if I have seen anything weirder than a tooth in a bag and this was my response: ‘Yeah, I have, but I have seen worse.’ Both customers gave each other a look and I continued to check them out. After they left, I went back to the jean table and picked up the bag. I tossed the bag in the trash and grabbed some hand sanitizer on the desk. I was still traumatized by the diaper.

 DJ Turned It Up

The company I work for has special events on certain days every year and I was working the night that a special event called Ladies Night Out was scheduled. During the few hours of the event, the female customers are served appetizers, offered wine or champagne and a hired DJ would play dance music. As the event was going on, all the associates available were trying to continue as it was a normal workday. The DJ hired had to set up his station right off the top of the escalator, which is where I work. The music was so loud that the Sales Associates working at my station had to scream at the customers and it was hard to get anything done. I found the whole situation amusing. 

Difficult Requests

There are some many incidents that I can recollect, but the one thing I am never prepared for is difficult clothing request. Each customer comes into a department store to for different reasons, but I seem to find people who are looking for one clothing item that I have no clue where it will be. Just the other day, I had an older woman come up to me after I greeted her and asks if we have a suit pant that is not polyester, but cotton. And the pant had to be petite and it had to be dark green. I completely blanked out and started to sweat. This request is not new to me, but she looked at me, waiting for an answer. I tried to direct her to places that might have the sort of pant she was looking for. 

I am not saying I do not want to help people find a certain item, but it is hard to look for something when you are not sure how to find it. Recently, I helped an older woman who needs a shirt that would go under a pullover that she brought in as the reference. She had a long list of things she needs in said shirt. I took her to two different stations on the second floor before telling her that I will keep on looking, but I am not sure I will be able to find anything. As I started to the go-backs (clothing) up, I looked around. I was putting up clearance items when I found the perfect shirt that would go great with the customer’s pullover. I waited to see if that woman was still at the store. After ten minutes, I finally spotted her again and I showed her the shirt. She loved it and thanked me profusely while I checked her out. I was proud myself after she left because I was able to help her find the perfect shirt.

I am sure I can tell you more about when I have seen or heard, but it might take a longer time. If you have any stories about working in customer service, leave a comment down below. I would love to hear your stories.

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