As I left my house this afternoon at 2:30, I felt a sense of accomplishment at not having to rush out the door and get to work just in time. It takes only ten minutes to get to the mall from where I live, and I knew that although I'd probably spend ten minutes finding parking, I'd still make it to work a good few minutes earlier than usual. That is to say, I'd actually make it on time today.
As I drove down Walnut, the traffic wasn't bad. It was a normal Tuesday; normal enough, that you would never guess it was the week before Christmas. It was a peaceful, tranquil afternoon.
When I was within a block of the mall, I realized why there was minimal traffic on the road. Everyone was dealing with an epic battle to get into the same parking lot, regrettably, the same one I was trying to get into. I realized quickly I'd be lucky to get into work on time.
I hate being one of those people that will risk their life and the lives of those in their vehicle to get a premium parking spot. I'll take what I can get, even if it means walking. Hey, it's more exercise, right? So I decided to keep the "holiday spirit" and let someone who had been waiting at a stop sign in the parking lot to go first, since they had clearly been there for a while. However, the three or four cars behind them (I lost count because I was so mad) decided I obviously let them go to, which they quickly took advantage of. I soon found myself in a hopeless traffic jam which led to me realizing I was already late, which of course brought my emotion out and made me burst into tears. I was so frustrated! And the people that cut me off? They were laughing. Yes, laughing. And pointing. And no, I'm not exaggerating one bit. Thank goodness for the person that was my last hope to get to a parking space; they let me take the lead and get in line behind the countless other cars trying to find a spot.
There's a certain look that people get about five days before Christmas. You know the look. It's the "Ready, aim, CHARGE!" look. I'm convinced, especially after today, that people really do have one single agenda; come rain, snow, nuclear bomb, they will get to that goal and get that gift and they'll be damned if they don't. I soon realized that almost everyone in the mall had that look today. I thought a few times that I might die.
Work was interesting. We literally had a line the entire four hours I was there. And I had to watch what I said, very VERY closely. I never realized that people actually don't understand the concept of "buy 3, get 3 free". Literally. I had one woman ask me today "So I buy 3, and then I get them for free instead?" When I tried to explain that she would basically get six items for the price of three, she rolled her eyes and said "So what's the point of getting 3 more items then if I have to pay for them?" Wtf? Seriously? What's not to understand about that????
I've learned that my pet peeve at this job is when I ring an entire transaction through, the credit card has already cleared, and the customer is walking out the door, when they turn and say "Oh! I forgot I have this $10 off coupon. Is it too late to use it on my purchase?" Well, considering you already purchased it....duh! But sure, let me refund your entire transaction by rescanning each item, entering the price in the computer and why your returning it, and then rescanning it just so you can get roughly $10 back. If this is you, I'm sorry. But its incredibly frustrating. You don't even understand. I had a woman come in today that wanted to do this that didn't realize it yesterday, and hadn't met the $30 minimum you have to reach to get the $10 off. (She had spend $24 yesterday) So she added four items to her purchase, therefore making her total after discounts $27. Um.......Do you see what I mean? She ended up PAYING $3. After I explained to her that the $10 wouldn't actually make a difference, she still wanted to go through with it. Oh, the best part is she had left her coupon at home, but someone told her we had them up front, so we had to honor it and give it to her anyway. Seriously. I don't get it.
I think after working this Christmas season in retail, I've learned to have a greater appreciation for the people behind the counter, in the stores, everywhere. They (we) work hard to create an environment where one can purchase what they need for the people in their lives that they are giving gifts to. So thank you to all that work in a place that you deal with difficult people, decent people, or just people in general. Thank you for keeping your smile planted on your face and keeping your chin up, even though the Holiday season seems to bring out the worst in people instead of the good in people, like it should.
No comments:
Post a Comment