As Christmas comes to a close and Boxing Day sales begin to emerge, the month of December brings retail and food businesses to the peak of their sales. With thousands eager to shop for loved ones or to snap up the best bargains, December shoppers can prove quite overwhelming for those who serve and cater for them. While shopping can be stressful or even for some a pain, many people enjoy the atmosphere of a super-shopping-spree; but what is it like for the workers that actually make the experience of Christmas shopping available?
Abbie Ransom, aged 17, and a Christmas temporary worker in a retail store in Bluewater Shopping Centre, gives an insight into what it is like for the world of workers during this prime shopping season. She notes “working over the Christmas period is stressful for both the customer and the employee”.
“Everyone wants certain things and sometimes it’s not easy to please customers; no one likes being told that something they specifically want is out of stock and often the customers do not take it very well”.
Many employees find themselves working from and to ridiculous hours to please customers and uphold their stores, most working on public bank holidays such as Boxing Day, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Abbie adds “it’s also extremely busy which makes it harder for retail staff as there is hardly any time to breathe – it’s non-stop, all day long”.
The common phrase known to modern day employee is that the ‘customer is always right’, trying to preserve the confidence of the customer and maintain their loyalty to the store. In Abbie’s words: “it eventually usually ends up being the staff’s fault”. However, what is easy to forget is that the employee, out of hours, is just like the customer – a person – the only difference is that they happen to be on the other side of the till.
Perhaps the next time you shop, spare a thought for the person behind the counter, who most likely has already worked many hours and doing their best to present a happy persona and maintain a positive reputation for the store they work in.
Lucy O'Brien - Erith School
