Retail Killed Christmas

** Note: Not going to disclose which store I work at. Not that I'm going to be bashing my place of employment, just for my own peace.

When I started grad school, it was the first time since I was 14 years old I didn't have a job. A fellow classmate was working at a retail store in the city I was going to school, said she really enjoyed working there, they were really good with her schedule, and the store manager was great. So I applied to get some extra money.

She put in a good word for me, I interviewed, and was given a front end supervisor position.

If you have ever worked retail, you know of the variety of workers you will have. Mainly college kids, some middle-aged adults, and possibly even some older adults, working because they got bored during retirement. Everyone has a different schedule, and it's hard to get a solid amount of people to work a normal shift. A normal retail store (especially one that is apart of a mall) is open roughly 9 am to 9 pm Monday through Saturday and shorter hours on Sunday. Remember this conversation when we start talking about holiday hours.

Let's start with holiday number one I endured.

Easter: This one isn't terrible unless you are religious. Unless you work for Hobby Lobby or any other retail store that has religion in their mission statement, you are working Easter weekend. I attend a Catholic college so we are given off Wednesday-Monday of Easter to be able to go home and celebrate the holiday. The store was only closed on Sunday so you are expected to work until Saturday night. Not many complaints about this one since I haven't gone home for Easter in a few years. Next.

Memorial Day: BBQs, Boats, & Booze. Seems like a great weekend. Except if you're working retail. Memorial Day weekend is one of the first weekends of the year for HUGE sales. It's the gateway to summer. Winter clothing is going on sale, summer clothing may be on sale, and if you work somewhere that sells camping supplies/boating supplies; SALE. Oh, and you don't get off that whole weekend. NEXT!

4th of July: This one again isn't terrible, especially clothing retail. Most people are camping or out on the water. Probably grocery stores and sporting good stores see the grunt of the 4th of July traffic. I've noticed some places will close early so you can still enjoy the night festivities. Next.

Labor Day: See Memorial Day Weekend. Next.

Halloween: Weak sauce. Clothing stores that are made specifically for costumes. I praise you. Godspeed. NEXT.

Thanksgiving/Black Friday: Literal nightmare. Growing up, stores would open at 6 am on Black Friday and that was starting to push it. Most retail stores are now opening on Thanksgiving night and staying open until Friday night. My place of employment opened Thanksgiving night then closed for a few hours Friday morning, but opened very early again Friday. I don't think people understand how stressful Black Friday is for workers. We give up spending time with family on Thanksgiving, or can't go home for Thanksgiving due to living in a different city than the place of employment. Our computers/registers get really slow when it's busy, coupons, and sales that aren't ringing up make this day really difficult. When I think of Thanksgiving, I used to think of going home to see my parents and going deer hunting with my dad. Now all I can think of is Black Friday. Rant over. Next.

Christmas: My favorite holiday EVA! Was... Pretty much from Black Friday until Christmas Day, the store was always busy. Major sales, more people, and more coupons. In the month of December, our store had no caps on how many hours employees could work, so you worked all the hours. Most people are lovely, "Merry Christmas! Thank you so much for your help! Hope you get to go home soon!" Those are the comments that make your day go a little better. If you remember from earlier, my position was front-end supervisor so I deal with the majority of the angry customers. It would leave me going home completely burnt out. And store hours change the week of Christmas. 6am–11pm. Most employees are working 9+ hours most of those days.

Working these holidays would make me associate them with working long hours, being away from family, and more than not angry customers.

Don't get me wrong, I know I could just quit this job, but this is for all the retail employees out there who make their living doing these jobs, because who else is going to do them?? Thanks again garbage men & women!