I was a part of the retail industry for almost 13 years before I made tough career choices and opted for sanity. While the exposure and connections you establish are beyond helpful for your career, it all comes with a price. What I loved about retail was the fact that anyone could join this industry. You don’t necessarily need a retail-related degree but just good command over language and a lot of sass! When you realise that you want to be a part of this glamorous industry, no one tells you about the customers you have to face. If you don’t have patience, chances are, you’ll build it over the years because you have no choice. However, dealing with these customers actually entertains you throughout the day. So, if you’re from this industry, you may have encountered at least a few of these in your life, if not all. Here they are:
1. The Exchanger
This person takes the “no questions asked exchange policy” way too seriously. They buy something once, and then keep exchanging it. And you spend all that time on someone who won’t even help you reach your target because this was an exchange!
2. The Season Shoppers
Sale, sale, sale! They only shop during the EOSS (End Of Season Sale). They collect money and pre-select their products before the sale. They even increase your walk-ins by entering your store to ask when the sale will start. FML!
3. The Snappy Shoppers
They get in, do their thing, and get out! Don’t get the wrong idea. What I mean is, they don’t waste time and aren’t fickle-minded. They know what they want and shop real quick. They also don’t like being attended to. So, stay away from them!
4. The Ones That Take Their Time
Quite opposite to quick shoppers, these guys take forever. No sales associate wants to attend to these customers, TBH. They take their time, look at 1000 things before they make a decision and probably don’t even end up buying anything.
5. The Fickle-Minded
These guys don’t know what to do. They sometimes are so gullible, they actually ask the sales associate to make the decision for them. And they still can’t decide.
6. The Browsers
These peeps never buy anything ever. They’ll walk in with all that confidence that’ll make you believe they’re gonna buy and you’ll never expect them to leave without anything. But they do. The betrayal is real!
7. The Fighter
They wanna get free stuff so they make up reasons to fight with you. They’ll bring the house down and make such a big scene about everything. It’s the worst situation to deal with.
So, if you’ve just entered the retail industry, especially front-end, this should be of some help before you go ‘on the floor’. We’d love to hear your experiences if you have any. So, do tell us your story in the comments below.
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