Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The Look of the Hunted Retail Worker
A customer with a long list should never ever stop me in mid purpose stride while I am obviously in the middle of helping someone else. When this happens my neck snaps real quick and the customer gets The Look, its a cross between the little girl from The Exorcist and the woman from I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. After working on her feet for 8 hours two guys try to pick her up she screams at them, she has cramps and her face morphs into something hideous. That's the Look impatient customers get when I am busy and they act like I am some catchable thing. If I could stop the Look I would but I can't, that's like asking a deer not to run when they hear the telltale sign of a rifle, or asking a cat not to hiss when trapped in a corner, or asking a baseball player not to move out of the way of a 90mph fastball. The Look is a reflex. I am simply trying to survive and not scream on the sales floor.
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7 comments:
Ohmigosh - I always get that feeling like the woman in "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka"! That movie cracks me up, period...that scene...priceless!
There are some get scenes in that movie. Chris Rock in that food joint, people still quote that part.
Doret, you scare me sometimes! We need a photo one of these days -- I'd like to see "The Look" for myself. But would I have to use a mirror to survive? Isn't that Medusa? I'm going to have to review my mythologies. Anyway, good luck surviving the holiday season.
James Preller
Sometimes retail is a scary place
Everybody should work retail at some point in their lives. And wait tables. The problem with being a waiter is that you then overtip for the rest of your life!
My most memorable job was a temp deal over the winter holidays. I worked in the "Trim-A-Tree" section selling artificial Xmas trees -- right next to the Toy Department. The closer we got to the holiday, the meaner, more frantic, more stressed the customers got. Talk about cognitive dissonance.
James Preller
O god, I am so glad that the bulk of the holidays are over. I got three rich ladies in a row the other day who all wanted to chastise me for not having the book they wanted (academic press titles, hardcovers from 3 years ago, but whatever) and explain how I was doing my job wrong. I kept from being rude, but I'm sure the Look was creeping into my eyes.
Yeah sometimes you can't contain The Look, its like asking the Hulk not to turn green. Christmas Eve though busy wasn't too bad and I was off on the Dec 26 aka return/exchange day.
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