Working in Retail (Any nightmare stories?)

[Rocketman]

Cough 'em up! Your hell-on-earth stories of working in retail.
- Wal-Mart
- Target
- Best Buy
- Anything and everything else.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Everyday at work is a nightmare story, LOL!

 

[Ultra Lantern]

Work in general is a nightmare story.-LOL

Win the lottery and be happy.

 

[Lighthouse]

I work in the 1-Hour Photo, and anything that has to do with professional/copyrighted photos is a hair pulling nightmare.

 

[Hobgoblin]

I work in a supermarket deli and the multitasking sucks. One of the worst nights I remember was when we had roasted chicken, fried chicken and fresh, hot pizzas on sale. There were three of us working and I had the duty to cook and fry the chickens and make the pizzas. (One lady was in the deli and swamped with customers and another was busy making cheese balls.) So I have to make all this food, as well as stop to answer the phone to take orders, stop to make sandwiches for customers and get it all done ASAP. Naturally, I started screwing up and people complained, so the manager came over and chewed us all out.


Plus there are just idiot people. One lady asked me a few months ago what the difference was between honey ham and smoked ham. I stopped for a minute to see if she was joking and when it was clear that she wasnt, I calmly told her "one is honey flavored and the other is smoked." She looked at me and said "Oh."

 

[Metamorpho1977]

I work at Lowe's and had a customer that wanted me to do a color match for hot pink spray paint so she could brush it on the wall. The color matcher said the formula for that color wouldn't fit in any of the gallon cans and I told her this. She then asked me if she could just take the top off of the spray paint can and brush it out from there. I told her, "Sure, take the top off and see what happens."


More stories will follow

 

[Rocketman]

I'm an electronics salesman inside a department store.
I am specifically reminded frequently that guest service is 90% of what I'm supposed to do. The other 10% is tidying up other areas when I have downtime. For example, the Toy department is right next to where my Electronics station is, so I'm responsible for cleaning up the toy aisles and making sure it's all organized from the kids who trashed the area.

However, I am constantly busy in electronics, and I am constantly having to help people buy the stuff they want - TVs, Blu-Ray players, movies, games, phones, iPads, Kindles, etc. In other words, I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. 90% guest service, and most of the time, it's EXTREMELY busy.

Yet, when the toy aisles are still messy, it gets implied that I purposely didn't clean them. WTF? Does this mean that I, the Electronics salesman, should worry more about the Toys, and ignore the customer who wants to buy a $900 TV, and lose that sale????????

It just happened again tonight.
The assistant manager actually told me that I need to start paying attention to the toy area more.
Dude, I'm over in Electronics helping people all day!! It's not like I'm just sitting around and picking my nose. I'm literally on my feet 8 hours a day, answering customer questions and ringing people out with big items, the WHOLE time.
And again, I was specifically told by those in charge and those around me that staying in Electronics and focusing on customer service should be 90% of what I do, and that when I have downtime, I should use that other 10% to tidy the toy aisles.
WELL, I DON'T HAVE DOWNTIME.
Therefore, I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing - making money for the company.

 

[Lighthouse]

In my years of retail experience, I've found that it is virtually impossible to cover both Electronics and Toys. You could spend the entire day tidying up Toys and you still won't be finished by the end of your shift.

 

[Rocketman]

In my years of retail experience, I've found that it is virtually impossible to cover both Electronics and Toys. You could spend the entire day tidying up Toys and you still won't be finished by the end of your shift.

But see, the people who will accuse you of "not doing anything" are the people who have never done it. They have no idea how that part of the store operates. If I spend 2 hours tidying up the toys, one child will spend 5 minutes destroying everything that took me 2 hours to clean. Kids are like little tornadoes. They pick up a foam sword and start rocking everything off of the shelves.

Meanwhile, my job description is Electronics salesman, who sells the most expensive items in the store... yet I'm supposed to give two ****s about some brat who knocked over a Barbie doll? I think it's more important trying to sell a $500 TV and making the store $500.

My assistant manager has ZERO clue how to manage anything. Priorities are completely ass-backwards.

And the hilarious thing is that when I do take time to organize the toy aisles, I'll finish Aisle 1, move on to Aisle 2, and while I'm at 2, kids will be destroying Aisle 1 again, and the whole process moves down the entire row, all the way to Aisle 22 - so I when I'm done with 22 and walk back up to Aisle 1, I have to start all over again. There was no point. I could've been selling Blu-Ray players for $100 each.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I've been threatened bodily harm twice, nearly hit by a car, yelled at, seen kids whine for icees a ton of times, cleaned up things I don't like to describe to people eating, and had to work one time in a foot of snow without a cart puller resulting me to drag 200 carts from carrals to the side of the building (and in 1 foot of snow, given the resistance, cold, wind, etc...I got so weak, I could only push 2 carts at a time...and in 0 degree weather, was sweating without a jacket on).

Yeah, I've got stories

 

[Rocketman]

I've been threatened bodily harm twice, nearly hit by a car, yelled at, seen kids whine for icees a ton of times, cleaned up things I don't like to describe to people eating, and had to work one time in a foot of snow without a cart puller resulting me to drag 200 carts from carrals to the side of the building (and in 1 foot of snow, given the resistance, cold, wind, etc...I got so weak, I could only push 2 carts at a time...and in 0 degree weather, was sweating without a jacket on).

Yeah, I've got stories

Where the hell do you work?

 

[Spider-Fan]

Where the hell do you work?

Target...I'm a red shirt

 

[Rocketman]

Target...I'm a red shirt

That's where I work. t:
We're gonna get along just fine, you and I.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

Oh yea, you think that's bad. I walked in on two co-workers getting on and I was held at gun point by three pre-teens.

Top that...

 

[Spider-Fan]

That's where I work. t:
We're gonna get along just fine, you and I.

A fellow red shirt!!!

What areas are you trained for at Target? I normally only do carts, but I am cross trained for Food Ave and Hardlines also.

 

[Ultra Lantern]

That's where I work. t:
We're gonna get along just fine, you and I.

Make that the 3 of us.
I work at Target as well.

 

[SpideyVille]

Wow, and I was thinking of applying for a job at the Target next to my house.

 

[Rocketman]

Oh yea, you think that's bad. I walked in on two co-workers getting on and I was held at gun point by three pre-teens.

Top that...

Bold part is awesome.

I witnessed a brutal fight in the parking lot while I was on my way to get lunch.
A couple were fighting - the guy punched his girlfriend in the face, and then she ripped his shirt off of his body and he ran away screaming. I had to fill out a police report.

 

[Ultra Lantern]

A fellow red shirt!!!

What areas are you trained for at Target? I normally only do carts, but I am cross trained for Food Ave and Hardlines also.

Salesfloor and backup cashier when needed.

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

I saw a security guard clothes-line a woman who tried to punch him after she got caught stealing clothes (by hiding them under her baby). K-mart 1997 lol

 

[Hotwire]

My wife work the service desk at Walmart. Oh, the horror stories she shares whdn she gets home.

The worst ones always involve management. For the longest time, the had their little buddy, a total bum, who would get whatever he wanted from management. No one has any idea how he was doing this. The loser is total ghetto, and the store management is not. Yet, if he complained about anything, he got his way. The punk even reduced his availability, something management frowns upon, so he wouldn't miss any football games on Sunday?!?!

 

[Rocketman]

I am trained for Cashier and Electronics.
The thing that makes zero sense is that my store considers the entire back of the building to be my department.

Most of the time, I'm back there completely by myself, and I am in charge of:

- Electronics (TVs, DVD players, Phones, Video Games, Cameras, eReaders, iPads, iPhones)
- Music
- Movies
- Books
- Toys
- Luggage
- Sporting Goods
- Camping supplies
- Bicycles / Scooters
- Exercise equipment
- and on and on and on (batteries, blank media, wall mounts, cables / cords)

They could literally hire three more people in addition to where I'm at.

Also - whoa!

Spider-Fan
Ultra Lantern
Rocketman

A Red Shirt Trinity!!

 

[Hotwire]

I saw a security guard clothes-line a woman who tried to punch him after she got caught stealing clothes (by hiding them under her baby). K-mart 1997 lol

My wife's store has a security guy who wishes he was a cop. He's too short, though. But this dude hangs out at the barber shop the cops go to. He's applied to the academy more than once. He lives to tackle shoplifters, and I'm sure he's begged corporate to let him use a tazer. I think he even sits at home every night watching Cops while touching himself.

 

[SuperFerret]

Red Shirts get killed. That's why I'm Captain Kirk. I get laid.

 

[Rocketman]

My wife's store has a security guy who wishes he was a cop. He's too short, though. But this dude hangs out at the barber shop the cops go to. He's applied to the academy more than once. He lives to tackle shoplifters, and I'm sure he's begged corporate to let him use a tazer. I think he even sits at home every night watching Cops while touching himself.

LMFAO!!
Thanks for making me choke on a pretzel.