Skewed

For as long as I remember receiving a paycheck, I have been working in retail. Before I graduated high school, I was scribbling down my weekly schedule and requesting days off. And as long as I have been self aware, I have been a misanthrope. But I had to ask myself, upon the self realization of who I am, this: did I always hate people or did working in retail make it so?

[mas-an-thro-py] noun, a hatred or distrust of humankind

This isn’t an easy answer. My instinct is to say it is naturally within me and that I masochistically choose customer service jobs to further my inner hatred. But the longer I punch in and out, the more I answer the same questions daily, I feel less and less inclined to be in want of human company. Then I started to lean towards nurture, believing the jobs made me like this. Logic says it’s the middle of the road, a combination of both. And I tend to explore both concepts.

[mas-och-ism] noun, pleasure in being abused

I have worked retail since about sixteen; it’s just long enough to be at peace with the daily atrocities of coworkers and customers but too short to really have gone anywhere up the ladder. Well, that and I have a fondness for changing jobs every year or so. I have worked in a movie theatre, a bar, in electronics, coffee, food, books, humorous gadgets, serviced computers, a dentist office, at a children’s fitness center and answered the phones. Throw a few odd ball jobs in there, like a renaissance fair and modeling nude for art classes, but neither of which will really be involved in this blog (most especially not the modeling). So needless to say, my inability to stick with one job for long periods of time has left me at the bottom of the totem pole every time, with minimum wage but maximum stress.

[human] noun, a bipedal primate mammal

Now, as a college graduate, one would assume I was finished working retail and would move on to bigger and better things. One would naturally assume that rather than try to work up in the company, I would use my degree to find something much more pleasing. And you would be accurate; but in the meantime, I’m that girl serving your food with a smile on her face and her eyes on the clock.

[re-tail] noun, the sale of commodities or goods in small quantities to ultimate consumers, also: the industry of such selling

Most people tend to think that it’s not stressful at the bottom, since you rarely have to worry about numbers, getting customers in and dealing with the worst of the problems. You don’t really have to answer to corporate, who marginalize your daily efforts into spreadsheets and percentages. You just have to make sure your shirt is tucked in, you look presentable and you’re always smiling when they show up. But by claiming that working retail is any less stressful than a manager’s position is ignoring the fact you, or I, in this instance, work daily with the consumer. I am the one that has to hear the complaints about the taste, quality, or price when I have no direct say in the matter. I listen to the customer stories that I can’t turn away, even with a line out the door, and I get the nasty glares when someone isn’t in a good mood. I am the one that gets that phone call at the end of my shift, hearing f-bombs and being told I ruined their life because something didn’t work properly or a co-worker of mine told them something incorrect. So I apologize, apologize and apologize.

[blog] noun, a web site that contains an you’re probably not reading this, are you? you know what a blog is anyway, so nevermind

So what, you say? You’re probably thinking that’s life, that’s your job so deal with it. And my answer is: I am. This blog is less about trying to make a change and more about voicing the ridiculous things that happen, what people do that annoy me and so on. Some of these stories will seem normal and shouldn’t annoy an average person, and that’s where I ask you to remember the misanthropic nature of the author. Others will be crazy stories about customers. I promise you, it is all true; just skewed by my point of view.