There are lots of reasons why I don't want to spend my life working in retail. One of the most absurd is this theory some people have that because you're wearing a uniform for the store they're in, they can treat you like absolute garbage.
Today, I got to experience this again.
Not only did I deal with a customer that was so rude I wanted to punch her, but she was wrong the entire time she was there. Insisting that her ink that we advised she purchase (a high-yield cartridge), didn't fit into her printer, she demanded a refund, a discount on the "right" cartridge, and reimbursement for her time and money because she had to drive back. Okay. No big deal. Sure, we can handle that.
Then she not only called one of my coworkers dumb (at least three times that I heard), but she also told him to shut up twice (forcefully and then with wide eyes said to me, "God bless him, I swear!"). I almost yelled at her, "Get out."
No one says that to my friend. Coworker or otherwise. If I had been a manager, I would have told her to leave and never come back. I wasn't thinking of repercussions, so I might have been fired.
How arrogant can you be to completely demean someone else and call them dumb? How selfish and close-minded can you be to tell someone to shut up that you don't even know that is only trying to help you? My hands were shaking as I rang through her return and I tried my best to not talk. 'Cause I knew I would say something that would "get me in trouble."
People like that make my anxiety level fly through the roof. My stomach gets in knots and my body trembles. I want to yell at these people in anger. How dare they act that way? Don't they realize that words hurt? Don't they realize that everyone has something they deal with every day? How do you know your dialogue with someone won't drive them over the edge?
Look, this is one of the few things that I firmly believe in and I think everyone should hear. Treat others with as much respect and love as you can offer. Even if you don't know them. Even if you don't like them. Even if it kind of hurts you and you have to force it out. You might be the only opportunity to save someone's life.
1 comment:
That really stinks Susan. I remember many an experience in my days of retail as such. But, I hate to tell you, it isn't specific to retail . . . there are always people who feel they are entitled to treat others like crap, simply because they think they "know better", or are better. I've seen patients treat physicians in a similar manner. Nothing is worse than watching a full-grown person who has the reading level of a 7-year-old tell a doctor who's been practicing for years that they are wrong and are just trying to make money off of them, when all the doctor is trying to do is treat their medical problems. These people exist everywhere, and all we can do is pray for them, and pray that we don't do or say something we regret in the future.
Love you sister!
Post a Comment