topic Re: Retail job rant in Anxiety

Retail job rant

Losttwentysomething_ — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:28:11 GMT

I work a retail job and I am quite frankly I am sick of it. I have been there for over 5 years now and I am getting tired of having to ask to be moved and changed up constantly. Yes I know we are short staffed and need to give the new staff a chance to learn various departments. I was moved into the checkout/ self serve department from night fill (I asked to be moved to another department - merchandise, which management at the time said that they could put me in the department, but then a few weeks later without my knowledge, they go and put me in checkouts/ self serve. A department that lacks variety, which is something I despise. I voiced them this but anyway, here we are. Since then I have managed to land a part-time job at another place so it breaks up my week and I am not constantly at this retail job, but I am still not happy with that job either, but I keep looking for other opportunities with my skill set.

I had a shift on the weekend where I was working and a customer seemed they disappointed in my service (I don't even know what I did to be honest) so again I shouldn't just assume and should just ask the customer why she seemed upset, she asked for my name at the end of the transaction and when I said goodbye she looked disappointed and just shrugged and walked of. It wouldn't surprise me if she put a complaint in. After that interaction I started to feel myself get emotional and wanted to cry but I couldn't since I had a line up of customers to serve that constantly put things on my till to ring through and my script of 'how are you today, need a bag?, have a loyalty card?', of course I have to keep constantly repeat myself as we have a safety screen and it makes it hard for people to hear.

I was rostered on to work another checkout shift on the Sunday but I ended up walking out as soon as I started, I wasn't in the mood to work plus I am unwell and I have an overseas trip that I am leaving for very soon so I was already feeling anxious and emotional as it is. Yes I know I should be grateful to be rostered on to work on the weekend and get penalty rates and being a casual is good money. Yes I am aware that that wasn't the right thing to do and that I should've called in sick instead to allow them to find someone else to cover. One of the managers followed me as I left and I basically told her that I was sick of working here, how there is no growth and no variety and that I wanted to resign. She told me the process to resign so now it is up to

Re: Retail job rant

Losttwentysomething_ — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:39:31 GMT

Part 2:

me to follow through on that I guess.

I have been unhappy there for a while and I find myself becoming so easily irritated and losing patience, not even at this job but in my life in general when I wasn't always like that. I am not sure what is wrong with me and why this is happening. Perhaps I feel entitled and am becoming/ became an entitled brat of this generation (I am 28 btw). Perhaps I just need a good kick up the backside to wake me up. Idk.

Thing is, what other jobs are out there if I seem to be sick of customer service and not suitable for it? I wasn't always like this, I enjoy/ed helping people but I seem to not enjoy working with people anymore. I like having variety and having things to do, I sometimes don't mind the people interaction as it is good to be social and breaks up the monotony but I also find myself getting impatient when I am constantly bugged and can't complete my work. I think I am just too fussy and being too difficult now as I write this.

Is there anyone that could help? before I resort to coming to the conclusion that I am just a ungrateful brat and that I am being too difficult.

Re: Retail job rant

therising — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 08:15:12 GMT

Hi Losttwentysomething_

My heart goes out to you as you become more conscious of what feels so intolerable. Personally, I have a lot of respect for anyone who works in retail, as I just couldn't do it these days unless I had absolutely no choice. I stopped working with the public at 20, which is going back few decades or so.

I think we can be grateful for the job and life we have but still feel a deep need to not settle. Not being able to settle doesn't necessarily make us an ungrateful brat. I like to think it can more so define us as sensitive. If I'm sensitive to the dismissive nature of management, sensitive to highly triggering people/customers, sensitive to the need to move onto something that suits me in perhaps more soulful ways etc etc, that's not my fault, that's actually points to my ability to feel the need for change and feel what just doesn't work for me anymore.

Personally, I'm a sensitive gal, something I see as a strength. I think sometimes we gotta trust what we sense, as opposed to living in self doubt. 🙂