15 Horrifying Screenshots From Retail Workers That Will Convince You To Be Extra Nice To Cashiers From Now On
When it comes to the joys of working retail, I'm sure the first thing that comes to mind is how wild customers are. Speaking from experience — yes. They sure are. However! The trials and tribulations of working retail stretch far beyond the sales floor. The cruel truth is that unhinged customers threatening violence over an expired coupon is just the tip of the iceberg.
The real struggle is behind the scenes. Trust me when I say every store manager I've ever come into contact with is so unnecessarily intense that they run a boutique in the mall like the Navy. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are 15 truly chaotic photos that show exactly what I mean:
1.Starting out with this (appropriately named) boss who has implemented a policy where leaving a door open = not getting paid:
2.Policies like this are so common that you'd think being a cashier is a matter of life and death:
Managers made me so nervous with unhinged policies that I'd clock into my sales shift with the stress level of someone diffusing a bomb. Red wire or blue wire? I mean, um, paper or plastic?
3.Anyone who's worked retail can confirm that if the manager wants to fire you, they don't just let you go in a professional way. A more common practice is getting "soft fired" — aka scheduled one single, solitary day a week (one hour in this case!!) until you quit out of frustration:
4.This sign from a pharmacy can give you some insight into how sitting down at work is one of the deadliest sins you can commit on shift:
From a customer perspective — I've never been offended by seeing a staff member sitting down? Are people offended by this? Expecting employees to stay on their feet for eight or more hours (even when no one is in the store) feels dramatic for no reason.
5.Being on your phone? The deadliest sin of all:
It says: You are not permitted to charge your cellphone at work. There is no need to charge it if you aren't going to use it. Charge it at home.
If someone is observed by myself during work hours using their cellphone in any way, charging their cellphone, or if a cellphone is in sight, the employee's wages will be reduced by $2 per hour for one month for the first occurrence. If there is a second occurrence, the employee will be fired for violating this cellphone policy.
This is not a joke, and I suggest that you do not test this new policy's validity, as there is zero tolerance toward cellphone use at work. You are paid to work, not use your cellphone. If you think you can't find something to do, start cleaning the entire store. Then, when you're done with that, start over cleaning the entire store.
6.You ARE gonna listen to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" on repeat for the entire month of December, and you are gonna LIKE IT!!!
7.If you're working retail, then spending time with your family during the holidays is a distant memory of childhood:
8.Don't you dare get sick during the holiday season, either — even if you get a doctor's note:
9.Never (and I mean never) has a store manager responded to me calling out sick with a simple, "Feel better!" It's always something like this:
10.Or this, because apparently the manager is the only one who can have a life outside of work <3:
11.The colorful font can't fool me. Paying out of pocket for paid time off feels wrong in every way:
12.Something I never got while working retail? A raise. Something I did get? A single banana:
13.No, the irony of this Labor Day sign isn't lost on me:
The bond between a store manager and caps lock is a bond that cannot be broken.
14.Are all of these working conditions stressful? Don't worry! You can relax at the staff Christmas party — buuut you have to pay to attend:
15.And finally, if anyone ever needed me during work, this is where I'd be:
H/T: r/retailhell and r/antiwork
