I'm into my 3rd week of being employed again and for the most part, I don't have many complaints...except for one. Now, it has been quite a few years since I worked retail; but I haven't forgotten that some people can be rude and difficult "just because" while others can be delightful and understanding. In the past, this would normally refer to the demeanor of the customers; however, I'm finding that while most of the people at work are pleasant, they aren't necessarily nice, friendly, or incredibly helpful...well, at least this is so for the team with which I usually work. The 5am-9am shift is interesting for me because (1) I am not a morning person and generally dislike needing to be out of the house before 7am and (2) I spend most/all of the shift working alone. I don't expect to be talking about our life stories with each other, but a little bit of conversation while working tends to lighten the mood, especially that early in the morning. I feel foolish even writing about this as it is only part-time work, but the anti-social-ness bothers me since I am still training.
My most interesting customer so far:
A woman who looked very young for her age (she told me she was 78 but looked like she was in her late 50s) told me not to tell anyone that she grows a garden in her house. She whispered this to me across the register counter as I was ringing up her items.
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After quitting my full-time job at UNF to have more free time to finish my degree, I thought it might be nice to work at Barnes & Noble. On the orientation day, they showed us the security room from where the store was monitored via security cameras. They emphasized that they used this room to watch employees who were socializing and "not working" rather than to watch people who were shoplifting.
I decided not to work there.
Is something like that going on there? Maybe employees have been reprimanded in the past for talking to each other?
Wow. That's hardcore. We didn't go over anything like that during training (actually, I'm not sure where the security camera feed is), but you make a good point. I understand that employers don't want their employees chatting it up on the clock, especially in retail when you have to be mindful of customers in general. However, the 5am-9am shift is a little different in that there aren't any customers, period. I think it's less the store policy and more the people with whom I work. I think most of my annoyance is with the fact that when I ask co-workers for tips/help/info with the stock room, I don't really get an answer other than, "Ah, don't worry about it". I'm trying to learn, people!! :)
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