“The Pains And Struggles Of Working In Retail”: 95 Relatable Posts From The ‘Retail Problems’ Instagram Account (New Pics)
Below, we’ve gathered some of the most hilarious (and possibly painful) memes this page has shared that perfectly encapsulate the experience of working in retail. So enjoy these reminders that you’re not alone in the struggles of selling jeans or electronics, and be sure to upvote the ones you find far too relatable.
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When I was a teenager, I assumed that working in retail would probably be one of my first jobs. Folding t-shirts, working at the mall, getting great discounts on cute clothes and helping customers choose outfits that perfectly flatter them. What’s not to love right? To my surprise, life ended up taking me in a different direction when I turned 16, and my first two jobs ended up being at a theme park and in a coffee shop, so I never got to experience that glamorous retail life. But I soon realized that I had actually dodged a major bullet, because working in retail is not for the faint of heart.
From dealing with rude and entitled customers to being on your feet for 8-hour long shifts, retail workers definitely have it rough. If something isn’t in stock, they might be yelled at. If an item purchased doesn’t work properly, they’ll have to process the return, which might also lead to yelling if the customer doesn’t have their receipt. Despite how challenging working in retail is though, it’s a massive sector. According to the National Retail Federation, “Retail supports 52 million jobs and represents $3.9 trillion of annual GDP in the United States.”
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One in four American jobs is supported by retail, meaning that I’m sure many of you pandas reading this article know what it’s like to sell makeup or video games. When it comes to what makes these jobs so appealing, opportunity for growth and a chance to climb the corporate ladder may be one incentive to work in retail. According to one study, 60% of retail workers have been given a promotion, and 90% have earned raises. Almost a third of retail workers are part-time as well, which means having flexible hours might be a huge perk of working in this industry. Students, parents and those who want to combine their retail jobs with another part-time gig might be drawn to the flexibility of these careers.
For many, working in retail is also a great way to build up work experience early on in their careers. Many of these jobs don’t require any specific level of education or pre-requisites, so it can be easy to start off in retail. “71% of hiring managers say that retail provides its employees foundational skills and experience that are transferable to other industries and recommend that employees include retail experience on their resumes,” the National Retail Federation writes on their site. “80% of hiring managers state that the skills and traits that are most important to them are the same skills and traits that more than eight in 10 current retail employees say they use regularly.”
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So if so many people are working in retail, why are the jobs so terrible? Well, one unfortunate reality of working in retail is that many patrons simply don’t treat those working in customer service with enough respect. Kate Morgan wrote an article for the BBC in 2022 exploring why customers lash out at service workers so often, and two of the possible reasons she came up with were the ‘scapegoat theory’ and power dynamics. “When things are slightly off, or don't happen the way we expect, it causes natural anxiety,” Reena B Patel, a San Diego-based psychologist and behavior analyst, told the BBC.
“People may not realize that’s what they’re stressed about,” Patel explains. “But internally, that’s what’s happening. You walk into a restaurant for breakfast thinking you’ll get seated in 15 minutes and instead you’re waiting 45; now, your whole routine is shifting, and the stress is building up.” And when customers are looking for a scapegoat for all of that anxiety, they’re likely to blame whoever they come in contact with next, who’s often a service worker.
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Power dynamics also come into play when we discuss why retail workers are treated so poorly. “Even though we shouldn’t look at one occupation being higher in terms of a hierarchy than another, you naturally can fall into that trap and assume that you’re superior,” Patel told the BBC. And when we’re looking for someone to explode on, we’re more likely to do it with the person we’ll never see again than our friends, partners and colleagues who we have to see every single day. Unfortunately, many of us tend to be on our worst behavior with strangers, and retail workers know that better than anyone.
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There’s no question that retail jobs are among the most detested, according to a recent study from US News & World Report. They compared 190 jobs to determine which are the best in 2023, and being a retail worker or a store cashier ranked so poorly in categories such as salary, job market and future growth potential that they both fell at the very bottom of the list. So the next time you go shop for a new pair of shoes or buy a new electronic device, remember to be kind to the employees. They’re likely already having a very rough day, perhaps even a rough year!
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A few retail experts spoke with Monster.com and shared advice from the sales floor, so we consulted that article to find out how they like to deal with difficult customers. “Keep a cool head when dealing with everyone no matter how they treat you,” Naser Mahmoud, a major sales assistant at Costco, told Monster. And Lynn Tran, who has worked for various clothing retail stores, added, “Customers [can be] rude but know it's not your fault! You're not the owner of the company so take their antics with a grain of salt.”
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Caroline Sullivan, a sales associate at a specialty boutique and has worked at women's and children's clothing stores over the past three years, told Monster.com that multitasking is also very important when working in retail, due to the fast-paced nature of the job. “Also hav[ing] a thick skin is important in anything related to customer service because you can't take things personally. While you need to do your best to provide the store's services and create an overall good experience, stick to your store's policies and don't make exceptions for people. If they don't like the return policy, for example, they can take it up with the manager or cooperate.”
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Working in retail can be exhausting for many reasons, so it’s important that when we’re the customers, we do what we can to make the employees’ lives a little easier. Nobody likes being told no when trying to return an item or having a retail store be completely out of what you came to purchase, but there’s only so much the innocent employees can do. There’s no reason to take anger out on them; just let them fold their shirts in peace until they get to go home!
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Are you having PTSD thinking back on your old retail days? If you currently work in retail, please know how much we appreciate you, pandas. And if you don’t, well, count your blessings. Keep upvoting the pics you find painfully relatable, regardless of what kind of job you currently have, and feel free to share the worst struggles you’ve ever encountered as a retail worker in the comments below. Then, if you’re looking for more memes that will help you bond with your fellow, weary retail workers, you can find Bored Panda’s last article featuring this same Instagram account right here!
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