Workplace Retail Hell - Stories of current and former retail employees
- Thread starter blah956
- Start date
I worked in retail before and had some nasty customers but I have a story about when I was myself a customer. I think it was in Neiman Marcus, where I stopped to browse at one makeup counter and lady there was really trying to push their skincare line(which I was not interested in).
she said "you really need to take care of your skin because see how dry and ashy it it? it just ages you"
i think at the time i was 24? and actually i get compliments on my skin from lot of women. I didn't say anything to her but i think if she wanted to sell me something, telling me how bad my skin was, was definitely not a way to get a client.
when i worked in a store myself, one time i was closing alone, and i was actually pulling the door shut when a guy stuck his head in and asked me if we carried certain item. I politely told him that we don't, sorry. He looked at me like he didn't quite believe me but left.
next morning my manager gets a call about how i was allegedly rude to him by "slaming the door in his face and that he knows that we do carry item he wanted"
which we did. except that night he gave me the wrong name! and i certainly didnt' slam the door" on him.
oh brother...
she said "you really need to take care of your skin because see how dry and ashy it it? it just ages you"
i think at the time i was 24? and actually i get compliments on my skin from lot of women. I didn't say anything to her but i think if she wanted to sell me something, telling me how bad my skin was, was definitely not a way to get a client.
when i worked in a store myself, one time i was closing alone, and i was actually pulling the door shut when a guy stuck his head in and asked me if we carried certain item. I politely told him that we don't, sorry. He looked at me like he didn't quite believe me but left.
next morning my manager gets a call about how i was allegedly rude to him by "slaming the door in his face and that he knows that we do carry item he wanted"
which we did. except that night he gave me the wrong name! and i certainly didnt' slam the door" on him.
oh brother...
^^I would have written to the company about that SA - they are typically pretty receptive to that kind of feedback.
I worked as a cosmetician for many years and my boss treated her staff like garbage.
To get waxing, facials or makeup done, customers almost always needed an appointment and the crazy woman of a boss would always do the phone while we were on the floor, going through our appointments. Since I was the only bilingual employee working there, she always made sure I was busy so she'd double-book me from morning to evening, 6 days a week. Her philosophy was 'if you have a no-show, you'll have a backup plan'. And of course, almost all my customers would show up on time. And of course, I'd end up dealing with a huge lineup and my boss was the first one to criticize me in front of everyone, saying how inefficient I was. And of course, criticized me every week for my low sales. Like I had time to sell stuff... Very stressful times...
I also had this older lady as a customer (at this same place) who never understood the concept of time. She'd book an appointment for a facial and would ALWAYS show up about 4 hours later. And she'd be the first to scream at me, in front of everyone for not respecting her time and schedule. Um, excuse me??? And given my schedule being double-booked all the time, as mentioned above, I just had no time for that kind of crap.
I had this other one who always came in for facials but simply never...washed...herself. I mean, SHE STUNK!! It was gross, just touching her.
To get waxing, facials or makeup done, customers almost always needed an appointment and the crazy woman of a boss would always do the phone while we were on the floor, going through our appointments. Since I was the only bilingual employee working there, she always made sure I was busy so she'd double-book me from morning to evening, 6 days a week. Her philosophy was 'if you have a no-show, you'll have a backup plan'. And of course, almost all my customers would show up on time. And of course, I'd end up dealing with a huge lineup and my boss was the first one to criticize me in front of everyone, saying how inefficient I was. And of course, criticized me every week for my low sales. Like I had time to sell stuff... Very stressful times...
I also had this older lady as a customer (at this same place) who never understood the concept of time. She'd book an appointment for a facial and would ALWAYS show up about 4 hours later. And she'd be the first to scream at me, in front of everyone for not respecting her time and schedule. Um, excuse me??? And given my schedule being double-booked all the time, as mentioned above, I just had no time for that kind of crap.
I had this other one who always came in for facials but simply never...washed...herself. I mean, SHE STUNK!! It was gross, just touching her.
This thread is so good! Never worked in retail but as a frequent shopper I've witnessed some horrific things and really empathize with some of the crazy crap store employees have to endure. I have a lot of stories but will share some of the recent ones. I was at Nordstrom Rack last month trying on some clothes in the fitting room when I got an awful whiff of poo. I thought maybe the woman next to me was passing gas but it kept getting stronger and stronger. Sure enough she was trying on clothes and I suspect went #2 into her underwear and was in the process taking it off. I was so horrified I changed back into my clothes and ran out of there as fast as I could.
I was also at 800 Degrees pizza a few weeks ago waiting for my order when I was practically slapped in the face with the smell of urine. I turned around and the guy behind me was wearing heavily stained clothes removing napkins from the dispenser one at a time to reach into his pants and clean his nether regions in the middle of the restaurant. He lingered there cleaning himself for several minutes before moving along to the bathroom. None of the workers seemed to notice but I saw a busboy walk through the same path as that guy and almost pass out from the stench. I felt bad for the guy who was clearly homeless, but also for the employee who would have to clean up the bathroom mess.
I was also at 800 Degrees pizza a few weeks ago waiting for my order when I was practically slapped in the face with the smell of urine. I turned around and the guy behind me was wearing heavily stained clothes removing napkins from the dispenser one at a time to reach into his pants and clean his nether regions in the middle of the restaurant. He lingered there cleaning himself for several minutes before moving along to the bathroom. None of the workers seemed to notice but I saw a busboy walk through the same path as that guy and almost pass out from the stench. I felt bad for the guy who was clearly homeless, but also for the employee who would have to clean up the bathroom mess.
Last edited:
I worked for a popular men's clothing store in high school (They're out of business now). For the most part the customers were great. Two memorable instances I recall are
1) this happened to me on more than one occasion: the tight biking shorts were popular at the time (late 80's). Men would come in & try them on, skin tight and would come out & model them for me and asked me how they looked. I was maybe 17. I'd have this man in his 40's, 50's with what looked like a stuffed tube sock in his shorts wanting me to look hard at him. But it gets better. He'd go back to the dressing room & watch me over the dressing room door. After changing back into his clothes he'd come out & leave. And guess what he left for me all over the dressing room mirror? I don't know how else to say it. He enjoyed himself in there. Then I'd have to clean it up & call security. I bet it happened 5 or 6 times with different guys. Sadistic. The saddest part is that I was a child & these were grown men. I just hope none had teenage daughters. Sick people.
2) another incident I clearly remember was two groups of guys came into the store. There were probably 20+ people between these two groups. No one saying a word. We're trained to watch for odd behaviors, specifically for shoplifters. But these weren't shoplifters. We noticed they weren't looking at clothes but each other. Other customers noticed too & quickly left. But myself & another girl (again, I'm about 17) backed away near the register and back room and suddenly everyone (20 + people) started fighting. There were racks knocked over and clothing racks rolling out into the mall. The fight itself made its way out into the mall and other people joined the fight. We quickly rolled the gate down to our store until the cops came and the mall was cleared out. It turned out to be a gang fight. Luckily they only hurt each other. That was a crazy night.
There are lots more stories. Mostly perverts & girlfriends with bad attitudes.
1) this happened to me on more than one occasion: the tight biking shorts were popular at the time (late 80's). Men would come in & try them on, skin tight and would come out & model them for me and asked me how they looked. I was maybe 17. I'd have this man in his 40's, 50's with what looked like a stuffed tube sock in his shorts wanting me to look hard at him. But it gets better. He'd go back to the dressing room & watch me over the dressing room door. After changing back into his clothes he'd come out & leave. And guess what he left for me all over the dressing room mirror? I don't know how else to say it. He enjoyed himself in there. Then I'd have to clean it up & call security. I bet it happened 5 or 6 times with different guys. Sadistic. The saddest part is that I was a child & these were grown men. I just hope none had teenage daughters. Sick people.
2) another incident I clearly remember was two groups of guys came into the store. There were probably 20+ people between these two groups. No one saying a word. We're trained to watch for odd behaviors, specifically for shoplifters. But these weren't shoplifters. We noticed they weren't looking at clothes but each other. Other customers noticed too & quickly left. But myself & another girl (again, I'm about 17) backed away near the register and back room and suddenly everyone (20 + people) started fighting. There were racks knocked over and clothing racks rolling out into the mall. The fight itself made its way out into the mall and other people joined the fight. We quickly rolled the gate down to our store until the cops came and the mall was cleared out. It turned out to be a gang fight. Luckily they only hurt each other. That was a crazy night.
There are lots more stories. Mostly perverts & girlfriends with bad attitudes.
Last edited:
When I was a young teenager, I worked retail inside of a mall that was located in a neighborhood that was not great, but wasn't bad and didn't have a high crime rate either. Typical neighborhood.
I remember one day I was working retail in the mall on the same day, at the same time that someone got stabbed inside of the mall and it later made the news--luckily it wasn't in the exact store that I was working in.
I also remember a separate day where thieves would come in the fragrances department and steal all the testers off of the counters, right in front of my face. They'd bring in a garbage bag and take anything that was out on the counter. Unfortunately, they did this multiple times. Security knew about it but the thieves would always come in the evening when security had already left for the day. They obviously knew that the security system wasn't great. What are you supposed to do when you watch someone stealing and you go to call security and they aren't there for the day? We were told we were not allowed to call the police ourselves, but just to keep on reporting things to security. It's sad how bad the security and camera systems are in some malls.
I remember one day I was working retail in the mall on the same day, at the same time that someone got stabbed inside of the mall and it later made the news--luckily it wasn't in the exact store that I was working in.
I also remember a separate day where thieves would come in the fragrances department and steal all the testers off of the counters, right in front of my face. They'd bring in a garbage bag and take anything that was out on the counter. Unfortunately, they did this multiple times. Security knew about it but the thieves would always come in the evening when security had already left for the day. They obviously knew that the security system wasn't great. What are you supposed to do when you watch someone stealing and you go to call security and they aren't there for the day? We were told we were not allowed to call the police ourselves, but just to keep on reporting things to security. It's sad how bad the security and camera systems are in some malls.
You were told to not call the police when people are stealing?!? It also sounds like a inside job, they conveniently came in to steal after LP left. Shoot if you're going to go through the trouble of stealing at least go for something better than half used cologne bottles lol. Seriously what can you do with that much half used colognes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using PurseForum mobile app
Yuck, yuck, yuck!!
I thought you're supposed to wear underpants when trying on swimsuits so the next person trying them on doesn't need to get hold of your dirt lol?
I thought you're supposed to wear underpants when trying on swimsuits so the next person trying them on doesn't need to get hold of your dirt lol?
I remeber customers who would wear foundation (makeup) on their bodies and then try on white shirts and dont bother to buy them. We had to put those clothes in the damaged pile.
also customers that OD'd with the deoderant and would do the same with thing with our tops.
This woman's own lipstick smeared the shirt she tried on and tried to get a 10% discount because of it.
An Ebook I've read (can post the link on Amazon if you wish) about the history of women in the 20th century said a British clothes store owner in the 1960s told her customers to wear paper bags on their heads so their lipstick couldn't smear the clothes cause she was sick of being asked for discounts cause of it.
I was at a department store and one of the workers told me to just "wash it off." When I'm laying $70+ dollars for basic clothing I expect it to be spotless. She kept giving me dirty looks from there.