It's The Holiday Season

In the eyes of retail workers, the holidays are the worst. As soon as Black Friday rolls around, you are stuck listening to dry Christmas tunes on repeat for what feels like an eternity. You pray that that one Mariah Carrey song you love will come on, but it seems to only play when your shift is over.

(Photo from: https://onmogul.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/froala_image/image/22052/3d08856438.jpg)

No, I am not a Grinch. I love the holidays! I am a shopaholic, so giving presents gives me life. But in the world of retail, holidays are associated with long lines and angry shoppers.

All I hear for roughly 5 weeks in a row includes questions like:

“Why don’t you have boxes?”

“Why is that your return policy”

“Why don’t you wrap my items for me?”

“Why is it so crowded in your store?”

“Don’t you just love Christmas music?”

My replies to those questions are:

“Because we are an outlet and corporate does not send us boxes.”

“Because corporate says so.”

“We unfortunately do not do that.”

“Because our space is small and a lot of people shop here.”

“NO. N-O. NOOOO.”

As a manager this may be a very difficult time where issues arise more often that they usually would. Remember to stay calm and use clear and concise statements to get your points across to angry customers. I was always told that the customer is always right, but I have grown to question that. Obviously be kind and empathetic, but do not let the holidays be an excuse to get walked on by shoppers!