Lovelyish

I used to work in retail (Forever 21 to be exact) and it sucked most of the time. Being friends with your coworkers definitely helped because we would joke around and it’d make the time go by faster. I learned that people can be rude and no matter how many times you apologize, or explain to them that there’s nothing you can do about a situation, they’re still going to blame you. I think working as a server would be a lot harder, though, so kudos to you. 

Retail and serving jobs do not bother me. I have no serious issues with people getting mad at me or being asses to me when they are customers, especially since I can understand why they can get that way when I am the one who is the customer and start getting impatient or annoyed. The only reason I quit my serving job (at Chuck E Cheese, but I was a waitress and party hostess) was because of the managers and poor working conditions. the customers and environment did not bother me at all. And I currently love my part-time retail job, especially since it’s a slower mall. Even when it’s busy I really enjoy it, even if someone gets weird or rude. 

I learned a lot working in retail since most of my jobs were in it (including one in food service) but I hate how because you interact with the customer, everything becomes your fault. I told the cook how you wanted your meat cooked but you bitch at me over it? I’m not the one cooking it. Just because we work a service job doesnt mean we’re slaves that kiss your ass. I got tired of it after I got sick & needed time off but my job acted like I was insignificant & tries to persuade me to quit rather than give me the NONPAID time off & then customers were rude to me regarding my illness. I changed college majors & went back to school for 2 years & I’m happy with the outcome.

The only things that made retail work bearable were my friends I made & of course the discounts. I loved the employees only sales or getting 50% off my meal checks when I ate. My favorite is when I worked in Kohls & I was close with a group of ladies & we all went to the movies a few times a month or so. We called ourselves the Kohl’s movie club. And one of the older ladies was really sweet & would buy the popcorn & sodas for us because we were college students & didnt always have money. LOL 

I work in retail and yeah, it can suck, and yeah, you get rude customers and days where nothing seems to go right, but that’s the same for ANY job where you work with other people. Overall, though, I love my job. I’ve learnt how to deal with angry customers, how to not let people bother me, and I’ve learnt a LOT about the retail industry, customer service, food hygiene and a whole host of other things. I mean, overall, the only thing I’d change would be the pay and the chance to progress up to management. If that was possible, I’d probably stay in retail forever, but unfortunately, it’s quite limited here in England I need more money than what retail offers me to have a decent, stable income.

I learned the importance of tipping and the holy rotation sheet.

I have learned that being a people person changes after years in food service.  There are customers I love seeing everyday, that are like second family to me.  I have their order ready when they pull in to order if I see their car on the lot and I sacrifice drive through times to check in on them if I can.  Others, however, are rude and obnoxious (especially Sunday after church people with their condescending attitudes that because we work on Sunday we MUST be sinners).  These people can change your whole attitude toward society.

And there are cases in which the customer IS NOT always right. Even if that is company policy, things such as extreme rudeness, derogatory remarks, and any action that could cause bodily harm or illness to others is a reason to walk away from the customer and find a manager or supervisor.  Retail/service workers do not have to be treated horribly.  I once had a man tell me to not jump off of a step ladder because we didn’t need an earthquake.  I had never really waited, nor spoken to this man before, but apparently he had made remarks like that regarding me before to other workers/customers.  My manager overheard and asked him to apologize, not just for that statement but the others as well, and to not come back if he was going to be rude to her workers.  He tried to say “the customer is always right.”  She reminded him that I had done nothing to him, that his comments were hurtful, and that in this case the customer was extremely wrong.  He did apologize, but he didn’t come in as nearly as often as before.

I work at Ulta right now, and I used to be a server and also a fast-food worker for years so this feels right up my alley. Food service teaches you

a lot

about people. In a drive-thru, you see hundreds of people a day. You might be stuck in one spot allll day, but in food service you will be forced to interact with a variety of people. In fast food, my biggest complain was guests not really treating you like a person. People don’t look you in the eye, simple manners like please and thank you are uncommon, and when people are upset – Doesn’t matter the reason, they could even just be having a bad day – They’ll take it out on you/your co-workers just because they can. 

One lady, a regular customer who came to the drive-thru almost every day, was never nice. She’d pull up to the speaker, and I would say, “Hi, Welcom-” And before I could get two words out she’d be screaming at the speaker. She always screamed out her order the

same exact way

every single time, no hellos, or please or anything. And she never spoke to you, or said thank you, unless it was to demand something. 

Waiting tables is similar. Your job is to basically kiss ass and bend over backwards for your guests. Your income largely depends on whether or not they feel like leaving a sufficient tip. Most people are generally nice and pretty polite. I did wait on a couple once who were both very rude. The woman refused to even look at me, much less speak to me. The man did all the talking. Once, while I was putting another order into the computer, I heard a snapping sound. It was that guy – I could see his hand sticking up.

He was snapping at me to come over there

, much like a pet or something. 

Really, I think the biggest lessons I learned were how to be a polite guest in any dining situation, practicing zen-like patience, multi-tasking, and just general human decency. In retail, people will just suddenly be in front of you blabbering about something and asking why it isn’t there. When you go look in the back, and then tell them you are out of that product at the moment, they simply stand there and stare, waiting for another answer. Every time I have a guest like that, I remind myself never to treat a retail employee so rudely. Why can’t people just be nice?

Oh, and all three of these types of jobs – People are constantly trying to find ways to get something for free, or discounted. -__-

I worked two jobs this summer – one in retail, and one as a groundskeeper at the university that I attend.

Working at a sporting goods store in Wisconsin was challenging. People are often unashamed of what they do or act in a store, and perhaps their constant positive reinforcement for buying merchandise makes them think that this is okay. I’ve seen vulgar t-shirts of all kinds, people coming in the store without shoes, and other silly things. Working in a fitting room is also kind of scary – I like thinking the best of my customers and it is kind of frightening when you see loss prevention running past you at full speed.
As a groundskeeper, I learned a lot about hard work. Really, that is what will make other people respect you – not raw talent. It’s a nice reminder as I am a classical musician and oftentimes my priorities can get mixed up. 
^I also learned a lot about power tools and how fried your brain gets after mowing lawns for five hours!

quite honestly ill take a server job over a phone job ANY DAY

1) you are allowed to defend yourself if the customer is being overtly rude

2) the people in general behave MUCH better

i work an in person job now and am MUCH happier. ive never been rude to a phone person before whether for customer service work or to buy something. why so many people are is really just sad.

hahahaahha oh my god, I was a hostess at a bar forever and that trailer with the hostess is SPOT on

@ask_ashleyyy@xanga - ahhhh, praise the mighty rotation sheet!!

I used to work at a restaurant. the customers were generally nice but my coworkers were rude to me. they were mad at me because I didn’t sit the customers at their station, which is sometimes out of my control if many customers request a quiet area to be seated for example, and it happens to be in the back. if the table isn’t reserved, then I’m suppose to let the customer choose where they would like to be seated. I understand that they want to make money, but if the customer isn’t happy where they are seated and it is louder towards the front area, then it’ll affect their mood, and dining experience, so they probably won’t make much tips, or I’ve seen some customers walk out a few minutes later saying that it is too loud where they are seated or they just don’t like the table, some are picky about table position. some said it was too bright when the lighting is already pretty dim because they have sensitive eyes or whatever. some complained the table was too small. some didn’t want to sit close to the wall. some didn’t like sitting at a table right in the middle of restaurant, etc. then they are yelling at me nearly every time because I didn’t rotate the stations, but when I tell them the exact same thing that that is where the customer wanted to sit, then they say that they know that they might have special requests, yet they still give me an attitude about it when it isn’t in my control. I lead them to the station that is suppose to be seated next, so it isn’t like I ignore the rotation procedure. then when the customers mostly choose the quiet area and their station is full and they can’t handle it, they yell at me and report me to the manager, but all the manager does is tell the other nearby waiter/waitress to help the other one out, so they can share waiting tables sometimes and still get tips. I tried telling some that the tables at the other almost full stations are reserved when it is not, so they’ll be more willing to sit at the other stations, but they give me this annoyed face like…ugh! I hate this seat and they might sit there anyway, but they start off their experience there in a bad mood. I worked at a fine dining restaurant and the customers are nice and understanding most of the time. it is often my coworkers fighting over tips and getting jealous/mad/annoyed when the other person has more customers at their station or the other station has a big party of people and they don’t have any big parties. I can’t work at a money hungry environment with bitchy coworkers, and they made good tips on a slow night due to some generous tippers and still complained, because they were used to the big tips, and kept expecting more. some people have mood swings but they gave me an attitude when they felt it was my fault that either their station didn’t have many people or had too many people. they kept reporting me for stuff that often wasn’t in my control and took out their anger on me. and when it was busy and the customer didn’t see them around when they needed, so they asked me for something, I would transfer the message to the waiter, because I’m not allowed/not suppose to handle food/drinks, but they give me an attitude on their face, because I don’t give them tips, so I can’t order them around, but I’m not ordering them around, I’m just the messenger! drama all day, everyday working there. and I’m just the freakin host I’m suppose to stand there and look pretty, greet the guests and seat them, yet I can’t believe how much drama I encountered. maybe it was just that set of coworkers and my bad luck. good thing I got the hell out of there and have a way more peaceful job that doesn’t have to deal with a hoard of attitude problems.

@ashleynicole - Same reason why I left Dunkin. I had no problems dealing with bad customers, and in fact really enjoyed when the place got busy, but my manager would steal tips and refuse to address the group in English during crew meetings and my coworkers were all pretty racist to me.

So after three months of basically that, I was good. No need for more work experience like that just for pocket change.

I think everyone should be required to work at a restaurant as a server for a week– then every customer would be much more understanding It’s easy to say “that server sucks! I’ve been waiting for my meal for (however long).” When in fact, it’s not your fault. Maybe the kitchen is completely slammed with a large party’s order that got put in before yours!

I’ve learned that some people are never satisfied. I’ve also learned that you can’t let negative people (customers, coworkers, or bosses) bring you down, or your work will reflect it. Just stay positive & smile no matter what. I’ve also learned that doing your best is all you can do, if it’s not enough for someone then it’s not your problem.

My first job was at Walmart, and I suppose it wasn’t too bad in terms of customers since I was a cashier and I live in a smaller town (so people are more keen on saving face and not causing a scene as much). Management was terrible though. I’d run into issues and need management override, and smile and apologize as my management kept the customer and me waiting for way too long. It was a mix of the people themselves and that they wouldn’t schedule enough people to handle all the issues. I agree with whoever said phone customer service is the worst when it comes to dealing with angry customers. Part of my job when I worked at Blockbuster was answering the phone, and thank god if the customer got too irate, I could usually pass them off to my manager or assistant manager. People never got like that when they were at the store in person.

So I learned to listen and smile. Especially smile, since most people like when you great them with a kind hello and tell them to have a nice day.

@Digital_Angel21@xanga - Management at Walmart is awful!

Waiters and waitresses are so badass. Hats off, for realz.

being a server for 3 years has turned me into quite the cynical bitch lol. i’ve learned several things. (prepare for a rant lol).

i’ve learned that people are f’in stupid. they don’t read menus then complain they don’t like their dish. i’ll use a table i saw as an example. a fellow coworker brought this older woman her pasta, after explaining exactly what it was and what was in it since she didn’t know what she wanted. she took one look at the pasta without even tasting it and said “i don’t like this.” are you fucking kidding me? and let me note that it was a simple chicken alfredo with some tomatoes in it. 
i’ve learned that everything is the server’s fault. customers blame wait times/incorrect food temperatures on a server, when how can i be serving other guests and cooking your food at the same time? beyond me. i especially love when other servers’ tables are yelling at me for their food taking forever. sorry dude, but you can’t come in at 6pm on a friday night and expect your food within 15 minutes, nor am i your server (therefore i don’t care lol).
i’ve learned that guests often like to leave “verbal tips” such as “oh everything was SO GREAT” and then they leave a shitty tip. yes, because i pay my bills with compliments. thank you oh so much.
mind you, i’ve learned many positive things but i’m in the complaining mood tonight /end rant

One valuable lesson I’ve learned; some people are simply miserable pieces of shit. And no amount of ass kissing, crying or getting angry is going to change that. Don’t take it personally.

I actually am getting a job serving in a bar simply because having one job is no longer sufficient. It sucks to go back to something after you thought you’ve left it in the past but it’s also a relief to know you hold a skill that not everyone can do & there will always be a demand for.