Let’s Be Kind This Season

It is that time of year again: the Holiday Season. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are just around the corner. These popular holidays play a big part of everyone’s life, even if they do not celebrate one of the holidays. Between decorations being put out in the stores earlier and earlier in the year (Target already Christmas lights out!) and people shopping earlier and earlier for these holidays, it becomes pretty busy in the retail world.

Working in retail this time of year is always tricky. It is always busy. You never have time to just breathe. Something always needs done and guests always need helped. On top of trying to get work done and help the shoppers, retail workers are constantly trying their best to make sure everyone has a good shopping experience. However, this is sometimes hard to do when the guests they are trying to help start yelling at them for no reason. It is very common for a guest not to like a policy the stores have. Instead of understanding that their cashiers cannot break the store policy, the guests blame the cashiers and tell them, “We are never shopping here again,” “That is a stupid policy,” and the classic, “Can I speak to your manager?”. The retail workers are not to blame for your opinion on the store’s policy, nor are they the ones who came up with the policies to begin with. Most retail workers are just trying to get through their shift without incident. And most take the yelling and complaining with a smile the whole time, most likely trying to fight the urge to yell back.

Even if you do not work in retail, you are bound to be around  people who give  retail workers a difficult time. You may be behind them in line. You may be trying to get through the check-out line as quickly and as painlessly as you can, but they

Hannah Middaugh, Editor-In-Chief

are in front of you, yelling at the cashier for a coupon not working because it is expired. They could just be yelling at the cashier for how expensive the toy was that they were buying for Christmas. And heaven forbid if you stand up for the cashier. They will turn around and start yelling at you for being nosy. It is impossible to completely avoid these people.

My point is, no one likes rude people. No one likes people who cause a scene. Retail worker or not, respect and understanding should be the first priority for everyone. Retail workers should respect and understand the fact that some things will not work the way they are supposed to and the employee should call their supervisor to try to fix the problem. However, the shopper should also respect that there are certain store policies that just cannot be changed or disregarded. Shoppers need to understand that the retail worker will work to the best of their ability to fix the problem. It is just as awkward and humiliating to be the one yelling and causing a scene as it is to be the one getting yelled at for doing your job correctly.

Holidays are supposed to be cheerful and fun. We are supposed to celebrate togetherness. No matter how you feel about what is going on around you this holiday season, be kind. The smallest amount of kindness shown could make someone else’s day, even if you are having a bad day. Everyone has a bad day. You can be mopey and angry, but do not take that out on those around you who have no idea what is going on in your life. Retail workers especially appreciate kindness during the holiday season (trust me, I would know!) and so would those around you. Lets be kind this holiday season and try to spread good cheer!

Leave a Reply