Retail Etiquette 101

I've held about three different retail jobs now, each with a different style and position. They say the customer is always right but people can be very disrespectful. If you have never worked in retail, here are some tips—you may not realize the things you do that make your sales associate want to go and hide away for the day.

1. Return Policy- Always ask before you leave, and remember it. It's sometimes even written on the bottom or back of the receipt for you! If you don't ask, do not be angry if your items aren't accepted back. A good rule of thumb is to leave the tags attached and bring it back in 30 days.

2. Cashiers are NOT ATM machines- Unless if you are purchasing something, we usually cannot just 'break' a bill for you. We don't make the rules, just follow them. Along with that, when checking out at the service desk and you only have a large bill to pay for your items, it is respectful to ask the associate if he or she can ‘break’ the bill first before handing it to him or her. We are usually set up with a certain amount of money for security purposes. Especially if we have been busy or at the beginning of a shift, we usually don't have the change yet to accomodate. Lastly, please do not get angry if we don't have change for your $50 when you are paying for a 99-cent candy bar. I don't have access to the safe and can't go to another register to take money out. We will call a manager to get change, in the meantime, please be patient. We are responsible for keeping the line moving.

3. Be Kind and Respectful-We are human beings with human emotions, being rude is not beneficial for anyone. Just because we offer you a little help, doesn't mean we are necessarily on commission, sometimes we are just really bored. We are trained to greet customers as they walk in the door. It's frustrating and actually kind of disheartening when you completely ignore us, it's kind of a slap to the face really. Yes, the music can sometimes be loud or you may have just not heard us occasionally, just be polite, is that too much to ask?

Also, talking on the phone when checking out while we are trying to explain a merchandise policy if needed, total payment, etc. It's akward because we feel rude for interrupting your conversation. Unless if it's an emergency or a work situation, just get off the phone the two minutes you are at the check out counter.

4. Clean Up After Yourself- Whether your children spilled something, you're in a dressing room, you drop something. All we ask is of you is to either, put it back where it belongs, or at least (in the case of clothing, etc.) fold it the best you can and keep it neatly in the dressing room instead of a heep of clothing piled up.We have to clean it up properly after we close and we also have lives other than our work just like you do. Or, let an associate know if paper towels, or if there's a spill. Don't just leave it there and not tell someone. (Okay, that's just a personal spiff I have).

5. We don't know everything- If you've been a front end cashier, or work in a specific department and rarely leave that part of the store, you'll understand what I'm saying here. You come up to the cashier, there's a line of people behind you, a price doesn't come up right as you thought. Please don't be  mad or rude when you say you don't want to sign up for our store savings card (NOT credit card) to save that extra twenty cents. We are more than happy to sign you up, but if you don't want it, then kindly accept that you won't get the sale. Also, if we are at the front cashier or assigned to a certain department, we probably aren't able to leave that department. We may know where certain things are, doesn't mean we know everything. Patience goes a long way.

I could seriously go on and on about this, but alas, I stop my rant. Just try and keep these tips in mind next time you are out shopping.