Christmas Has Arrived!

Yes, It's the most wonderful time of the year... for children of course.


Along with retail, I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas. The memories of roasted chestnuts tend to mix with last minute gift wrapping and a diminished bank account. To top all of those things off, I work in retail.

We have not gone trick-or-treating yet, and the leaves were all still freshly green when the Santa dolls arrived on our dock. When I saw one of my co-workers setting up one of the many fake trees we offer, my heart skipped a beat in fear at what was quickly approaching. Bah humbug!

Everyday I go to work in fear of hearing the endless repetitive Christmas station music that has gotten  stuck in my head for the past five years to the point where I will start singing a stray tune in the most odd place (shower, laundry, cooking). 

Time does not slow once the Christmas merchandise is displayed on the floor, yet time seems to stop on those long nights when we are open til midnight because one customer wants to "play" with us all night.

The season also brings out the "best" in people. For some reason the public likes to take its "best" out on poor retail sales associates. Occasionally we have wonderful people who are contagious with their happiness over the season, but as the years go by the balance between naughty and nice customers is shifting.

On the economic front, money is tight and I often find myself the target of the "get over" group. The people who will say and do anything to get over on you for a couple of dollars. I understand that there are mistakes, but the "sometimes" mistakes are starting to become all the time mistakes.

I think my biggest observation of the shifting times has to do with how people pay for their purchases. More people are paying with checks, debit, and cash rather than credit. Of course I have to offer them my store credit card (unwillingly); however, I find myself laughing with the customers who say no because it makes me happy to see them using what they actually have in hand versus the "imaginary" money that may or may not get paid.

Well I'll be working a lot more this season, until someone else hires me, and that means I'll have plenty of material to work with. So keep an eye out for what is to come...