Work In Retail? Here Are 10 Weird, But Effective Tips for Making Your Job Easier

Millions of Americans currently work in retail. Working in a job where you interact with hundreds of people every day exposes you to both the best and the absolute worst of humanity.

Between being on your feet all day, the busy rushes and boring lulls, and the customers who are impossible to please, working in retail can take a toll on you. So how do you keep your job without going crazy?

Follow these ten working in retail tips to survive retail!

Put Rude Callers on a Courtesy Hold

Sometimes you get callers who will never be happy no matter what you do. The only thing they want to do is scream and yell until they get their way, even if there’s no possible way to make that happen for them.

Put those callers on a courtesy hold. A courtesy hold is a period of time in which you place the caller on hold to talk to your manager or search for an item they want. Instead of rushing back to pick the phone back up, you take an extra thirty seconds or so to take a deep breath and collect yourself.

This makes the call easier for you, and, let’s be honest, it feels kinda good to make the rude guy wait a little longer.

Don’t Take It Personally

This may seem like an impossible task, especially when you’re being called everything under the sun by an angry customer.

Remember, the customer is not really mad at you, they are mad at the situation. Perhaps they’ve been unsuccessfully searching for a particular product that they really need and haven’t been able to find it. They could also be having a bad day.

Regardless of what’s going on with the customer, remember that the customer doesn’t know you from Adam. Take what they say with a grain of salt and move on.

Stay Positive

It may sound cheesy, but maintaining a good attitude throughout the day will have a positive effect on how your day goes. Coming into work thinking “today is going to be awful” sets you up for just that.

Not only that, but it’s harder for difficult customers to be mean to someone who polite and courteous. In the event they aren’t kind to you, you’ll be able to let it roll off your back.

Know Where Everything Is

It’s hard for customers to trust someone who can’t tell them where to find the item they’re looking for. Having knowledge of where items are located in your store makes for a more positive customer experience, for you and the customer and makes them less likely to complain.

Another perk of knowing where everything is is that enables you to move on from that customer more quickly than if you had to help them search for it!

Make Friends

Nothing is more frustrating than having an issue and not having anyone to commiserate with. Get to know your co-workers if you haven’t already, they know exactly what you’re going through.

More than likely, they’ll know who you’re talking about when you bring up that customer who is always difficult and you can vent to each other.

On top of that, develop a good rapport with your favorite customers. After a while, their visits will seem like a breath of fresh air.

Take Your Breaks

You know those 10 minute breaks your company allows? Be sure to take them, even if you don’t have any pressing need to leave the floor.

Taking a break, even a short one, gives you time to decompress from the stress of the store, and to take care of any personal matters that are weighing on your mind.

Not sure what to do on your break? Try catching up with friends on social media, or scrolling through a list of cute baby animals. If you’re really looking for an escape, plan what you’d do with the money if you won the lottery.

Dress as Comfortably as Possible

You may have great style in your off hours, but that doesn’t always translate to the retail floor. Shoot for clothes that you can comfortably wear for hours. Nothing is worse than standing for eight hours in shoes that pinch your feet and clothes that are too tight or too warm.

A pair of sneakers would be ideal, but if you have to wear something more professional, check out your local ergonomic shoe store for shoes that look nice but are also comfortable.

Don’t Manage Inventory Manually

Keeping your store stocked used to mean going out to the shelves and manually counting each and every item you have in stock. From there you’d have to match that inventory to what you’ve sold, and then create a purchase order for new items.

This completely tedious process is no longer necessary in the digital age. Instead, utilize an inventory system that will help you manage your inventory through one website, and save you tons of time, effort, and money.

Leave Your Job at the Door

Work is stressful enough when you’re actually in the store. Don’t take it home with you.

Coming home with work stress on your mind only serves to reinforce and negative feelings about your job, and it takes away from your personal time. Your time off is for you, don’t let rude customers and lousy coworkers ruin it.

Think About the Future

Your job may seem difficult today but try and contextualize it as one step on the pathway to your future career.

Do you want to manage the store one day? Or do you want to open your own store? Then look at your current jobs as a means of getting necessary experience for your future career in retail management.

If you don’t want to stay in retail, set your career goals and create a plan to achieve them.

Did You Like Our Working in Retail Tips?

Retail work can be one of the most thankless jobs out there. Now that you have these working in retail tips, you’ll be able to make the most of your job without going crazy.

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