Working in Retail: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

College is the time where we make new friends, learn about things that we find interesting, and see what lies outside the confines of our tiny high school’s walls. Unfortunately, all the newfound freedom brought about by college comes at a price — and by that, I mean an actual price tag. Nothing in this world is free, and much to the dismay of us college students, that hits hardest when we finish up with high school and head into the real world.

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So, how do we cope with this harsh reality that everything we want/need costs money? Why, we get part-time jobs, of course! And retail jobs just happen to be some of the most common ones out there.

When I first started college, I worked all sorts of jobs: everything ranging from babysitting, to tutoring, to freelance web design projects, to working at a library. But it wasn’t until the summer before my senior year that I dove into the world of retail and, let me tell you — what I saw wasn’t pretty.

I know that there are plenty of people who have had absolutely amazing experiences working in retail, but it seems that most people can agree with me when I say that this job is one of the most brutally painful experiences of a person’s life (and probably not for the reasons that initially come to mind). I want to share with you some of what I encountered while working for a couple of different retail stores over the course of one summer.

The Bad

(1) You might be forced to lie to customers. One of the companies I worked for regularly advertised their store credit card, and employees were under constant pressure to sign as many people up for this card as possible. Initially, I wasn’t too keen on advertising this (I personally hate when retail employees bombard me with relentless requests to sign up for their store card). However, my managers told me I need to start advertising the card if I want to keep my job.

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Now, here’s the twist: I don’t have to tell customers that this is, indeed, a credit card. I can just refer to it as a “store card” and slyly go through the process of signing them up without disclosing any information about the fact that a credit check will be run on them, and that within days they will have a brand new line of credit open. I hate dishonesty, and I hated how determined this company was to have me and fellow staff members regularly lie to customers like this.

(2) Your login information = your responsibility. This was always one problem that got the best of me at three retail jobs. Every employee gets their own login credential that they input when they’re using the register. This is done so that the person logged in is responsible for transactions conducted when they are logged in.

However, if a senior employee asks you to step away from the register while you’re still logged in, you have very little of a say in the matter at hand, and the transactions that follow — even if you are not physically present — will be tied to your name. This means that any problems that arise while you’re logged in (including money missing from the register, wrongfully applied discounts to transactions, etc.) will all be your fault at the end of the day. Does that make any sense? Nope. Did it still happen regularly? Oh, you bet.

(3) The human resources department might not care. They might not care the slightest bit about any issues that arise for you, a low-level retail employee, working for a major organization. I would regularly reach out to the human resources department of one of the companies I worked for, and I would regularly get ignored.

The people you meet at work could end up being your friends for life (image via pexels.com)

My managers always told me that if I had any issues with them or the organization, human resources would be where I should reach out to. That was completely useless information to me, seeing as to this day, I’m not sure if anybody even worked for that human resources department, or if it was just an email set up for the emotional reassurance of struggling employees like myself.

The Good

(1) You get to meet lots of people. If you’re looking for a job that allows you to interact with all sorts of people, then retail is for you. With a very high turnover rate, employees are constantly coming and going, so you’re getting the opportunity to be exposed to individuals of all backgrounds and age groups.

And, if you’re putting in extra hours to maximize that cash influx, you’re bound to spend lots of time with your coworkers. Even if the job itself ends up being painful, at least you’ll have your new work friends to hang out with during and after hours.

(2) The discounts. Need I say more? If you get a job with a company whose stores you enjoy shopping at, you’ll have the pleasant opportunity to take advantage of employee discounts. Even if work isn’t treating you well, you can remind yourself that you’ll be rewarded with a nice 25% off those nice pants you’ve been eyeing all week.

(3) The resume boost. While a part-time job in retail initially doesn’t seem like the most important part of one’s resume, most employers know how much work goes in to keeping a retail position. If you survive a job in retail — even if it proves to be one of the most dreadful experiences of your life — you’ll be leaving with a wide variety of new skills under your belt, such as time management, multitasking, customer service, organization, and teamwork.

Are the potential benefits worth all the risk? (image via pexels.com)

The Ugly

Taking on a new retail job can be a gamble. You can prepare yourself as best you can by researching the organization you’re getting involved with and reading reviews from past employees, but at the end of the day, you can’t be entirely sure of what to expect. Lucky for you, you’re just a college student trying to make some money by working part-time.

So even though you might be taking a risk by pursuing a job in retail and things might work out very poorly for you as they did for me, at the end of the day, it isn’t a lifetime commitment. So if in your eyes, the good outweighs the bad, and you’re not scared of the “ugly” uncertainty, then take the risk — go for retail!