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...Department, that is.
I was just thinking of these two stories from my very first retail job. Long, long ago in state far, far… well, okay one state away…
I worked in a department store mainly in Men’s but we were right next to Children’s.
1) A woman and her daughter come in to find a gift for a friend who just had a baby. They wanted something pretty specific that was the current Hot Item for babies. (I didn’t know it at the time but we didn’t carry it.) However, I show them around Children’s looking for it and never finding it. They get really irritated with me ‘cuz they’re “in a hurry” (of course
)
I take them up to the cash register where the Children’s manager is and tell her these people are looking for Hot Item and I haven’t been able to find it. So, I’m waiting there behind the register so I can take over for the manager so she can go help and I realize that these “ladies” are pointing at me, whispering behind their hands and laughing. I overhear little snips of conversation and realize that they were making fun of what I was wearing and making sure that I heard. Just to be spiteful because I hadn’t “magically” found what they wanted.
What was I wearing you ask? Black dress pants, cream blouse w/ vest with a black and beige design on it. Oh, and black pumps.
2) A lady comes in really excited because her daughter is coming to town and she gets to see her 4 year old granddaughter for the first time. She’s looking for a special outfit for picture taking and tells me her granddaughter has red hair. Ok. Good place to start.
Me: (showing her my favorite outfits first, naturally) Here is a little overall outfit that is really cute. It’s one of our top sellers.
SC: (looking doubtful) Well it’s cute and all, but she has really red hair.
Me: Oh, okay but this comes in several colors. (Shows her more colors)
SC: Yeah, I don’t think so though. She has really red hair.
Me: Well, there’s more on this rack, how about these?
SC: No, I don’t think so. She had really red hair.
At this point I start thinking, well maybe she just has bad taste. I start showing her clothing that I would NEVER put on a redhead; she turns them down. Then I start to wonder if color isn’t the issue and it’s the price she doesn’t like.
Me: (goes over to clearance rack) Well, these are clearance but there are some really cute things here. How about this?
SC: It’s okay….but she has really red hair.
I show her several more racks until, literally, I have shown here every single item we had in her granddaughter’s size. Each time she responds with “Well it's okay, but she has really red hair.”
Me: I’m sorry but I don’t think I can help you. We’ve looked at pretty much everything here.
SC: (getting mad) But I haven’t found anything yet! You promised to help me look!
Me:
I’m really sorry but you have looked at everything we have. There is no more. I can go over some of the racks with you again if you want.
SC: No. But I’m really disappointed with you. How hard can it be to find something for a person with really red hair?!
Me:
I was just thinking of these two stories from my very first retail job. Long, long ago in state far, far… well, okay one state away…
I worked in a department store mainly in Men’s but we were right next to Children’s.
1) A woman and her daughter come in to find a gift for a friend who just had a baby. They wanted something pretty specific that was the current Hot Item for babies. (I didn’t know it at the time but we didn’t carry it.) However, I show them around Children’s looking for it and never finding it. They get really irritated with me ‘cuz they’re “in a hurry” (of course
)I take them up to the cash register where the Children’s manager is and tell her these people are looking for Hot Item and I haven’t been able to find it. So, I’m waiting there behind the register so I can take over for the manager so she can go help and I realize that these “ladies” are pointing at me, whispering behind their hands and laughing. I overhear little snips of conversation and realize that they were making fun of what I was wearing and making sure that I heard. Just to be spiteful because I hadn’t “magically” found what they wanted.
What was I wearing you ask? Black dress pants, cream blouse w/ vest with a black and beige design on it. Oh, and black pumps.
2) A lady comes in really excited because her daughter is coming to town and she gets to see her 4 year old granddaughter for the first time. She’s looking for a special outfit for picture taking and tells me her granddaughter has red hair. Ok. Good place to start.
Me: (showing her my favorite outfits first, naturally) Here is a little overall outfit that is really cute. It’s one of our top sellers.
SC: (looking doubtful) Well it’s cute and all, but she has really red hair.
Me: Oh, okay but this comes in several colors. (Shows her more colors)
SC: Yeah, I don’t think so though. She has really red hair.
Me: Well, there’s more on this rack, how about these?
SC: No, I don’t think so. She had really red hair.
At this point I start thinking, well maybe she just has bad taste. I start showing her clothing that I would NEVER put on a redhead; she turns them down. Then I start to wonder if color isn’t the issue and it’s the price she doesn’t like.
Me: (goes over to clearance rack) Well, these are clearance but there are some really cute things here. How about this?
SC: It’s okay….but she has really red hair.
I show her several more racks until, literally, I have shown here every single item we had in her granddaughter’s size. Each time she responds with “Well it's okay, but she has really red hair.”
Me: I’m sorry but I don’t think I can help you. We’ve looked at pretty much everything here.
SC: (getting mad) But I haven’t found anything yet! You promised to help me look!
Me:
I’m really sorry but you have looked at everything we have. There is no more. I can go over some of the racks with you again if you want.SC: No. But I’m really disappointed with you. How hard can it be to find something for a person with really red hair?!
Me:
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