The Joys of Working in Retail

I’m gonna start this out by saying I absolutely love my job. Working in retail has been an amazing opportunity for me to grow and have so many new experiences. I get to style people, be surrounded by  gorgeous jewelry and clothes, and work with some pretty great people. But, being a sales associate (specifically a style specialist) means I have to deal with all kinds of people all while keeping a smile on my face even during the craziest situations. The stories that retail workers could tell you could make you laugh, cry, and/or be baffled all at once.

Sometimes I find myself in a situation where it is super hard to stay positive and happy when dealing with a customer. For example, I had one lady who did not like a single handbag in our entire store but wasn’t going to leave until she found one. I walked around with her for 45 minutes looking at different styles and colors of handbags before she finally decided to get one that I showed her within the first five minutes. I was a bit annoyed to say the least. I love helping people find what they need but she just kept throwing attitude at me so I just decided to kill her with kindness. No matter what she said or how rude her reaction might have been I just kept smiling and trying to help her. That’s one of the best ways to stay positive while dealing with customers.

The other thing that gets me through a stressful day is my amazing coworkers. I work with an amazing group of girls who keep me laughing and push me to be my best. It makes it easy to get through the crazy situations when your coworkers are there witnessing it along side you. One night we had a lady come in who spent four hours looking through every piece of clearance jewelry and apparel that we had. We had spoken to her several time throughout the night, but around hour two one of my coworkers and I decided to go check on her again and she unloaded her life story on us. She also would call one of us associates over and whisper to us that she needed to pull up her stockings and wanted us to watch to make sure she wasn’t stealing. Needless to say watching a grown woman yank up her stockings was not something I ever imagines myself experiencing. The whole time she was there my coworkers and I kept and eye on her and took turns watching her. It was four minutes until closing when she finally came up to the counter and asked where the ATM was. She had a basket full of jewelry that she decided to then put on hold as she turned around threw her sweater over her shoulder and did a model style walk (if you could call it that) and strutted into the rest of the mall. Now it is something my coworkers and I can laugh about! The memories we share and good times we have make working a blast! It makes waking up at 4:00am to work on black Friday and those late nights doing markdowns until midnight worth it when you’ve got great people by your side keeping you positive.

 There are a lot of stories I could tell you about my work experience so far, but I’ll save the rest for some future blog posts. Working retail is definitely stressful at times but staying calm and having great coworkers can make anything a more positive experience. Just remember you’re helping people find what they want and maybe even making their day. If you ever need some jewelry, clothes, handbags, accessories, or more make sure to come see me or any of the lovely employees at Charming Charlie in the mall of Johnson City! I’d love to help you pick out jewelry for an outfit or a gift for someone. Check us out online as well at the Charming Charlie website.

Hope you all have a great weekend & remember to stay positive!

xx,

Bailey