People say that everyone should work retail or service at least once in their lives.
I couldnt agree more.
Like many people, some of my first jobs were retail service gigs.
One in a department store, another in a bookstore.
Eventually I moved on to a bookstore in a local mall, with an awesome group of people.
I still regard it as one of the best jobs Ive ever had.
Then I moved on to a different kind of service: IT support.
I could write an article just on that.
Working retail teaches you a lot about peopleand not just that they can be terrible.
Plus, it all applies well later on down the road, even if you never work service again.
I mean, we all know Ill never shop here again is bullshit.
The people who said it to me were usually back first thing in the morning the next day.
Thats the clincher though.
When youre face to face with that realization, you understand yourself, and others, better than ever.
Retail taught me this lesson loud and clear, very early on.
Seriously: self care is critical not just at work, but throughout life.
Be happy when you find coworkers like that.
Everyone has it tough, including you, and everyones trying their damndest to cope.
Dont expect someone to help you.
You should learn to handle your own stress, in your own way.
Weve talked abouthow to deal with stress, but working service makes you pick up those tricks early.
You learn to remove yourself from a situation before you say something youll regret.
You learn even the best bosses will put you to work anyway if you dont say something.
Yes, it sucks.
If you dont have those safe spaces, you find them.
Any job can teach you these lessons, but something like retail can teach you pretty quicklyand pretty young.
Which is something Im thankful for.
Everyone is the protagonist in the drama of their individual life.
The only point of view we can really understand is ours.
That also means that well bend over backwards to see to it we rationalize our actions.
When we behave a certain way, we usually forgive ourselves because theres some reason for it.
That doesnt make those rationalizations bad, or our actions justified.
But theyre still rationalizations.
Remembering this helps us avoid dwelling on the bad behavior of others.
It does, however, give you insight, so you could get over it quickly.
After all, youre the hero of your story, right?
I didnt really believe this before I worked service.
I thought that this behavior had to be an outlier.
Keeping this front and center in your head is the first step to dismantling it.
This isnt limited to service jobs, either.
There are good retail jobs and bad ones.
But those things apply toanyjob.
Illustration by Sam Woolley.
