Christmas in Hell
I stood at the railing and looked over, straight down into the Food Court, and realized that the flooplan of the mall I work in was probably drawn from a schematic set down in Dante's Inferno. The mall stands three levels, somewhat elliptical in overall shape. There are various points within the mall where you can stand and look down into the bottom of it and see people feasting on high carb, low nurtient foodstuffs, and hear the foodstall barkers cry out "free sample, free sample" as they attempt to thrust small pieces of sugar coated chicken in the face of each and every passer-by.
Later you can watch the denizens of this hellmodel waddle around as they try to negotiate the narrow isles and floorspace in most retailers. If you are lucky enough, you can hear the whines and complaints how nothing comes in "normal" sizes.
But is a size 24 womens and a 52 waist in men's really normal?
Working at the mall is surreal to say the least, and gets worse with the Holiday season. Civility, usually at a premium among mall patrons, clearly goes straight out the window as they jockey for the cheapest price for the highest quality goods.
I hate to be the one to tell them, but this is a mall in Western Mass, not a bazzar in the Middle East. I have no power to haggle prices. I am only there to provide entertainment.
And that is another consequence of the mall: shopping as a form of entertainment. That being the case, "customer service" can now be considered a form of performance. Heck, it takes special clothing, special makeup, and special skills to pull it off, so there is little to distinguish retail work for exotic dancing or performing in the local theather company.
Think about it....when I go to work, I have to dress in a certain uniform dictated by the Corporation. I have to wear an identifying tag, too, although my manner of dress is enought to set me apart. I think funeral directors have more variety in their wardrobes than I do.
I must also psyche myself up and put on my happy face. After all, working retail is all about satisfying the customer...even if the customer is the most unpleasant person in the universe who has left her house that day with the distinct mission of making the lives of others completely unpleasant. I have to be pleasant, cater to her whims, make her feel that she is more valuable in my little leopard-carpeted world than she is in her own. I am there to absorb her (or his) problems, projections, neuroses, or other mental issues, because she/he is the customer and that dollar spent is more important than common civility, respect for oneself or my dignity.
I am the black-clad happy face there to make your dreams come true.
And it is tiring work--even moreso during the holidays. At this time, most retail employees work longer hours with little compensation. Most malls keep hours between 8 am and 11 pm for at least two weeks. Some keep stores open that late even on Christmas Eve (although the local mall isn't that Scroogish). I spoke with a woman at another retailer who, as a full time employee, is expected to work a 10 hour day during the holidays.
Some managers must close the store than be back at the store to open. They might as well set up cots and sleep in the store.
Some retailers, who have underperformed throughout the rest of the year, often ask that staff hours be cut during this busiest time of the year. This usually means managers work longer hours and floor coverage in stores is inadequate. Local shoplifters know this, and try to take as much advantage of the situation as possible. But, if post-season inventories are substandard, it is not because managers were asked to cut employee hours during the busiest time of year, but because, somehow, someone within the store must be stealing.
There are not enough words to explain the hellish conditions of retail work. There is no way to explain that even when co-workers try to create an atomosphere of conviviality within these Dickensian conditions, that one working there still winds up leaving overworked, sleep-deprived, and drained of any sort of holiday spirit that might have been preserved via the good will of one's co-workers.
Even if the Dantean mall flooplan ever changed, I know that the overall zeitgeist of retailing will not change any time soon. We are a low-brow form of entertainment that no respectable union will represent and are entertainers few individuals consider worthy of civil treatment.
Holiday cheer is only elabortate window dressing and pressured performance in these earth-bound outer circles Hell.
Later you can watch the denizens of this hellmodel waddle around as they try to negotiate the narrow isles and floorspace in most retailers. If you are lucky enough, you can hear the whines and complaints how nothing comes in "normal" sizes.
But is a size 24 womens and a 52 waist in men's really normal?
Working at the mall is surreal to say the least, and gets worse with the Holiday season. Civility, usually at a premium among mall patrons, clearly goes straight out the window as they jockey for the cheapest price for the highest quality goods.
I hate to be the one to tell them, but this is a mall in Western Mass, not a bazzar in the Middle East. I have no power to haggle prices. I am only there to provide entertainment.
And that is another consequence of the mall: shopping as a form of entertainment. That being the case, "customer service" can now be considered a form of performance. Heck, it takes special clothing, special makeup, and special skills to pull it off, so there is little to distinguish retail work for exotic dancing or performing in the local theather company.
Think about it....when I go to work, I have to dress in a certain uniform dictated by the Corporation. I have to wear an identifying tag, too, although my manner of dress is enought to set me apart. I think funeral directors have more variety in their wardrobes than I do.
I must also psyche myself up and put on my happy face. After all, working retail is all about satisfying the customer...even if the customer is the most unpleasant person in the universe who has left her house that day with the distinct mission of making the lives of others completely unpleasant. I have to be pleasant, cater to her whims, make her feel that she is more valuable in my little leopard-carpeted world than she is in her own. I am there to absorb her (or his) problems, projections, neuroses, or other mental issues, because she/he is the customer and that dollar spent is more important than common civility, respect for oneself or my dignity.
I am the black-clad happy face there to make your dreams come true.
And it is tiring work--even moreso during the holidays. At this time, most retail employees work longer hours with little compensation. Most malls keep hours between 8 am and 11 pm for at least two weeks. Some keep stores open that late even on Christmas Eve (although the local mall isn't that Scroogish). I spoke with a woman at another retailer who, as a full time employee, is expected to work a 10 hour day during the holidays.
Some managers must close the store than be back at the store to open. They might as well set up cots and sleep in the store.
Some retailers, who have underperformed throughout the rest of the year, often ask that staff hours be cut during this busiest time of the year. This usually means managers work longer hours and floor coverage in stores is inadequate. Local shoplifters know this, and try to take as much advantage of the situation as possible. But, if post-season inventories are substandard, it is not because managers were asked to cut employee hours during the busiest time of year, but because, somehow, someone within the store must be stealing.
There are not enough words to explain the hellish conditions of retail work. There is no way to explain that even when co-workers try to create an atomosphere of conviviality within these Dickensian conditions, that one working there still winds up leaving overworked, sleep-deprived, and drained of any sort of holiday spirit that might have been preserved via the good will of one's co-workers.
Even if the Dantean mall flooplan ever changed, I know that the overall zeitgeist of retailing will not change any time soon. We are a low-brow form of entertainment that no respectable union will represent and are entertainers few individuals consider worthy of civil treatment.
Holiday cheer is only elabortate window dressing and pressured performance in these earth-bound outer circles Hell.
posted by Tish Grier at 11:37 AM
1 Comments:
I think you've summed up my biggest personal reason for avoiding retail work for life, if I can. The way employees and most managers get treated disgusts me on so many levels, plus the overkill of consumerism and consumption. Has a time of year that for many has major religious and/or spiritual connections (Yule/Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hannukah) really come down to how far in debt one can become to outdo some mythic other in terms of gifting?
I did two gifts for work people this year, one secret santa and one for my assistant. They both got charity donations in their name. So instead of funds going to short-term flotsam, the money will instead provide long-term help to many people.
*dismounts from her horse*
-Soli
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