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[miss_vanilla]

So here's a very general question. And it might sound silly. But I figured it was worth asking. How do you survive the holiday season in retail

Comments

[literaticat]

You just have to steel yourself. It isn't that long, only a few weeks of nightmare really. The way I think about it is, there is only so much I can do. In order to remain good humoured, I try to get plenty of sleep, wear comfortable clothes and shoes with arch support, & eat properly. Even when it is so busy that it seems impossible to take a break, I take my breaks. I help people as much as I can, but if they are overwhelming me I use my spine and tell them the truth: that I am alone in the kids section and 25 other people need my help at any given time, too, so I have limited time for monkey business.

Then, when I get home, I drink.

[jsjoyner]

The drinking sounds like a good remedy. Lots of drinking.

I'm about to go into my first Holiday season, I'm scared. :P

[miss_vanilla]

yeah, drinking does sound like the dominant idea, huh? guess i'd best stock up on my baily's!

and good luck. thing is, for some people it isn't bad at all. i'm just guilty of being thing skinned at the best of times. (and really burnt out. crying at work has become normal.) so don't panic and take it as it comes. i just already know my reactions ;)

[dyfferent]

Drinking IN GROUPS. Go down the pub after work with a few others. Then you can slag off your customers and also drink.

[dangerdean]

If someone is nasty, snide or condescending let your boss deal with them. That's what they're paid to do. Convince said boss to buy candy or snacks for the crew.

I'll also agree with the above comment about drinking, though. :)

[bluegrasshopper]

something that has worked REMARKABLY well for our little branch of corporate, is to have a holiday journal. I believe we aren't allowed to do that anymore, because of some profane scrawlings that were entered... but it's a good idea. you know how you have a customer who is SO MORONIC, that you just have to tell everyone in the breakroom about it? same idea. the "store" buys a journal, covers it in wrapping paper, and writes the year on the cover. employees write down their holiday traumas (and in rare instances, joys) to share with all, and their coworkers can read them at leisure... a bitch-forum for all! =]

[cute_violence]

We kinda do the journal thing at the calendar kiosks we run over the holidays. I generally draw little comics of stupid/annoying customers. May be a bit mean, but it usually helps cheer everyone up.

[miss_vanilla]

oh that's clever. i don't think they's let us do it. but maybe i could do one just for me in a small notebook or something.

[command_line]

those journals work remarkably well in conveying ideas/comments that you've got during the day. where'd we file this certain author? who tried to scam us earlier in the day. it's a good means of communication between morning and evening shifts

[txwhiterose]

Hmm...I've been with the same chain for 8 years now. When someone really gets to me, I go back to the breakroom and vent. Maybe I sip some coffee, water, whatever I have. By then I feel almost human, so I get back to the floor.

Then I go home, take a hot bath with a full wine glass.

[gnomenapper]

Honestly this may seem simplistic- but i just tell myself that it is only books.
It's not like we're solving world peace, or defusing a bomb- it's books. People eventually use them for research and relaxation. It creates a zen inner peace moment for me when I repeat that mantra internally.
When someone is extra crappy to me as well I go out of my way to be nice. Not because I'm a nice pesrson, but because inside I know that they're just a jerk.
It's a trick I picked up at Starbucks- the nicer you are, the bigger the jerk they look like to everyone around, and they eventually calm down.
(If they don't they're just damaged.)

[miss_vanilla]

It's the fact that I know that, and on some level so do they. I guess the worst part is the fact that so many people have this 'you work retail, it's not like you're a real person/you are so beneath me' attitude.

I'm not a good poker face, but I'll try to be extra nice. I don't envy you working in a cafe for the holidays.

[orangemike]

the worst part is the fact that so many people have this 'you work retail, it's not like you're a real person/you are so beneath me' attitude

In a way, those are the easiest, because I can genuinely despise them as class-prejudiced gits without feeling too guilty. They're just part of my favorite Jim Hightower quote:
"Class warfare in America? Hell, yeah! And we didn't start it!"

[miss_vanilla]

oh, that's a good quote. never heard that one before!