No, I didn’t suddenly change my mind about YouTube- Retail Flashbacks.
I was initially a seasonal employee and kind of waltzed right in after Local Life Guarding was done. I spent a long time learning the Department Directory and moving Merch from Pallets to Carts so we didn’t scare the Customers.
And we moved Merch. Lots and lots of it. I learned every cranny of that building. Want to know what we did with the hangers we stripped off the clothes? Stuffed them in the cavernous Mirror space behind the facade through a hole in the drywall that got, uhh… ignored. Had to sort and ship them back to the Warehouse after the season which was a pain. Took our excess fixtures up to the roof and parked them next to the Air Conditioner. During season? Your Pants? A 6 foot high 10 foot deep pile jammed in the corner of the Department’s Storage Room.
Corporate: What do they need storage for anyway. It should be on the Floor so you can sell it!
Well, we ain’t gonna keep it on the Loading Dock. Have to get ready for the next truck.
On Black Friday itself what we did was collect hangers (no, we didn’t cram them behind the Mirror while the Customers were watching, what about not scaring them don’t you understand?) and deliver boxes.
“Yes, we need some 11 x 13 Shirt Boxes.”
At the beginning of the season they had parked a dedicated Trailer of boxes that I’m sure initially had some sort of bureaucratic organization but it wasn’t combat load out and it hadn’t survived the heat of battle.
There was some urgency from above (Sales!) but no prospect of immediate resupply so…
Improvise!
“Uh… I have some 11 x 14 Sweater Boxes.”
After Boxing Day the Trailer was empty and scheduled to be returned so on New Year’s Eve all us sweaty (it’s really not that much work) Loading Dock guys put together a Party the Store Manager shouldn’t have been at and I’m happy this was before the days of strict enforcement because I don’t think a single person who went to work returned in quite the same frame of mind.
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