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The author of this article pretty much summed it up. \u00a0This year I am fortunate to be working in retail but not having to deal with customers (for the most part) but I can still empathize with those that do. \u00a0And while the focus here is on the holidays (yes, listening to the same Christmas music for 6 weeks will slowly destroy your soul) in actuality retail workers deserve a break year-round. \u00a0Because when you think about it, there is ALWAYS a holiday of some kind coming up.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ah, shopping. Some consider it a joy and a privilege (because it is), and others avoid it at all costs (hello, Amazon Prime).<\/em><\/p>\n There are so many kinds to choose from: grocery shopping, back-to-school shopping, comparison shopping, window shopping. People shop at thrift stores and private galleries with thousands or zeroes of dollars at their disposal, loving or hating every minute of it. But regardless of your financial situation or personal preferences, almost\u00a0everyone enters some kind of retail establishment during the holidays.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s difficult to avoid. Believe me, I\u2019ve tried.<\/em><\/p>\n In the hustle and bustle, it\u2019s very easy to get annoyed with the person behind the cash register staring at you with soulless eyes. Maybe she mumbled or didn\u2019t give you correct change. Or maybe he bagged a bunch of bananas on top of the bread, squishing it flat.\u00a0Maybe you\u2019re in a hurry, and\u00a0no one else is moving fast enough.<\/em><\/p>\n Retail employees tend to bear the brunt of our holiday stress. And why shouldn\u2019t they? They\u2019re the ones standing there at the precise moment when you\u00a0just can\u2019t take it anymore.<\/em><\/p>\n This year, I submit that we cut them some slack. People who work in retail get the holiday spirit beat right out of \u2019em. They\u2019re restocking shelves, bagging egg nog, mopping up spills, and answering unintelligent questions all across America when they would much rather be somewhere else.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n But they have bills to pay. So they\u2019re there, wearing that damned elf hat.<\/em><\/p>\n When I was working in the customer service department at a grocery store, a woman once returned 12 full-sized frozen turkeys the day before Thanksgiving. She had the kind of attitude that let me know I was ruining her day by existing, probably because she hated life and I looked like I was trying to enjoy it. I had nowhere to put the birds, so they piled on the floor behind the counter and slid around my feet like hockey pucks until a guy from the meat department showed up to load them up and put them back where they belonged.\u00a0This is the kind of stuff that happens to people who work in retail.<\/em><\/p>\n Here are a few reasons why we should\u00a0give retail workers a break:<\/em><\/p>\n