Just Once in Your Life

I love my job.

I work in the retail business. My first real job was at Kmart working the cash register, then later moving to the Customer Service Desk and supervising. Now, I am in a better job with more hours doing pretty much the same thing.

Over the last few years, I have dealt with some great people. I've made friends with regulars and enjoy the new faces. But jobs in retail have their ups and downs. But the biggest downer for my job is, believe it or not, the general public.

I like working with the public. I gain many experiences in doing so. But on some days, I want to just ask some people, "Why do you treat me so badly?"

And for those of you who have worked as a cashier, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The people who march in the store and expect you to be absolutely perfect and if one thing -one tiny little thing- goes wrong, its ALL on YOU. Let me tell you a little story.

In 2008, during my very first week at my first real job I was on the register. I was ringing up an older woman who had her grand daughter with her. She was buying some cola because it was on sale in the ad. I rang up her items and the cola and when I told her the total, she glared at me. What happened next, I will never forget. This woman went from being very nice to belligerent. She began cussing at me, telling me that I was overcharging her for the sale item and that everything was my fault. She carried on to let me know that I was purposely trying to rip her off.

After my managers intervened, I sat on my break and I cried. Never in my life had I ever been treated so poorly! And all because the woman forgot about the bottle deposit that gets tacked on at the end of the purchase. That day, I almost quit, even though I had only been on the job for a week. My co-workers encouraged me to not give up and just press on. "Don't let one person ruin your job." And so I kept working.

Five years later at a new job, I am dismayed, but not surprised, that things like this still happen. And I am writing this to you to say one thing: I firmly believe that every single person should work as a cashier for at least one month in their life. Imagine how many people would change their attitudes!

Ask yourself these questions. How do you treat a cashier at a store? When the place is busy and shorthanded, how does it affect your behavior towards them? How many times have you blamed your cashier for something to go wrong?

Sometimes, a person has a bad day and they take it out on someone. Life happens. I understand. But, for those that look down on the working class, shame on you. As a cashier myself, I work very hard at my job, and although it may not pay as much as other jobs, it gets me by. And I don't appreciate being treated poorly because things don't always go the way you want them to.

Insults are another thing. Countless times, I have taken my time to politely explain how things work; for example, pricing. I will tell a customer how things are priced or where something is located and for the most part, things are good and they have their question answered. But then there are those who don't like what they hear. Here's another story for you.

Same job as the first story. It was an extremely busy day and I was doing my best to keep up with the gathering people ready to check out and leave the store. This particular day, we had been shorthanded and what cashiers we had were working as best they could to keep the lines down. I had five or six people waiting in my line and I moved as fast as I could while talking to each customer. When I reached my third person waiting, a woman in her mid 30s or early 40s, I greeted her and thanked her for waiting. After I had told her this, she began insulting me, insulting my coworkers, and insulting my place of employment. She became so worked up, she told me that everyone that worked in the store, including me, were all "retarded without a clue how to serve".

Insults will not get you very far in life, I'm afraid. And dishing them out will not change the situation. Instead, you will be treated just as poorly as you treat the person you insulted. That day, I told that woman she was out of place for saying such things, and she left without her items.

For those who read this, I am not saying this is you. You yourself may be in my boat. You could be the person that witnesses the bad behavior and console the cashier and cheer them up. And for those of you who do, you are awesome! After a bad customer, its disheartening. Based on my own experiences, after someone lashes out at me and leaves, I get upset (Not crying like that one day, but just a little down in the dumps). But the next customer who watched the entire thing will always bring a smile to my face and tell me to keep going.

What I am simply trying to say is take a step back and pay attention. Life could be so much easier if everyone practiced patience and realized that stuff happens. If something doesn't ring up right, its not the cashier's fault. They weren't the ones responsible for pricing or programming sales into the system. They are simply the messengers.

Life is too short to go around blaming everyone else for little things. We don't live long enough to be so hateful towards others. If we just took our time to show others who are trying to help us sincerity, we could sleep better at night and set better examples.

I really have nothing more to add to this. I'm just trying to understand why it is that people treat others the way they do. It frustrates me to see someone acting so horrific to another. To see someone step all over another human being like they are beneath them or are garbage.

Its moments like these I understand why bullying still exists. When a parent goes through check out with their child and begins throwing a fit and yells at a cashier, their child will remember that and do the very same. And then, they will treat everyone like that; kids in school, other peers and adults, and eventually their own parents.

Take a look around you. How do others act when you're around? How are you treated in a store if you blame everything on those who don't hold the fault?

To those who take time in their lives to be nice and patient, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Its people like you that get me out of bed every morning and help me love my job. You remind me there is still good in the world and that gives me reasons to smile.

But for those who may be offended by this or taken aback, perhaps you should think twice before opening your mouth to speak.

That is all I have on this topic. Until next time, friends.

Chelsea