retail musings

Keeping up the appearance and tidiness of the store is like trying to pat wet sand dry... the waves always come back to mess up your work.

Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to have my job. The co-workers are awesome too! Closing is so much fun. It's just that the managers expect us, as sales associates, to really SELL to the customers.

"Hello, my name is Jessica. If you need help with anything, feel free to let me know!"

That I can do. That makes me happy to get a smile and a thanks in return.

But pushing products on them?

"Oh, just this sweater? Would you like anything else? Have you checked out our clearance racks? They're 40% off! And our handbags are 40% off as well! No? Are you sure?"

I feel like a hypocrite when I do this, because I personally hate when salespeople try to push their products onto me. No, I'm fine. If I'm at the register already, I've already looked through everything and chosen exactly what I wanted. Don't try to make me get something I don't already want. And yes, I am sure. Hurry up and get cracking with my transaction! I don't want to listen to your sales spiel.

I don't want to lie through my teeth to get people to spend their money on Tommy Hilfiger products. I'm not going to say that sweater makes you look like a British supermodel when really it just makes you look dumpy. When you ask me "Should I purchase the brown bag or the black one?" when the black one is uglier but more pricey, I'm going to recommend the brown bag. If everything I did was directed toward helping Tommy gain more profit, I would be going against what I truly feel.

This might make me a bad sales associate or businessperson... but I would rather help the customer gain than increase Tommy's profit. Isn't that better in the long run? The customer would be happier with the service and not feel cheated.

Maybe sales just isn't for me. Oh well. This is only temporary!

On a separate but related note: I find I have to force myself to be sociable and friendly, though I may not feel like it at first. However, I do find that as time passes by, I get into my bubbly sales-associate character and start behaving like so. A force-fitting, but nevertheless spirit-lifting. It's like that one idea that forcing a smile makes you feel a little bit better. It usually takes me about half an hour to really get into my role.