Working Retail during the Holidays.

Working in retail during what is referred to in the business as the all important "4th Quarter," is quite the experience. This will be my second time working in retail during the holidays so I have some idea of what to expect. It is an exciting and stressful adventure.

The big chain store that I work at skipped Thanksgiving and went straight to Christmas, having the store entirely decorated and set-up for Christmas the very day after Halloween. There are big, gaudy cardboard signs and ornaments hanging from the ceiling throughout the store. Red and green is everywhere you look. Special seasonal items are out on the floor such as more jewelry in little Christmas gift boxes, sweaters and socks, the usual fare.

The shoppers are already buying it all up like crazy, confirming that all this Christmas hoop-a-la was not set-up too early.  People are buying the artificial Christmas trees to display in their homes now. Toys, ornaments and Christmas themed tableware are rolling down the register belts. Parents can be over-heard saying to their children "maybe Santa will bring that for you," the famous line allowed to be used this time of year to appease a child.

The only relevance Thanksgiving has to the holiday season when working in retail is to be the day before "Black Friday." Our store is closed on Thanksgiving but our workers work so late into the night before Thanksgiving to prepare for Black Friday that they are actually working in the wee hours of Thanksgiving day. I wonder if other countries have Black Friday or if this is strictly an American phenomenon?

Being a cashier on Black Friday and up until Christmas may be the least difficult of the positions to work in the store. I stand safely behind the counter, just rolling people through. Other employees are out on the floor, victim to high-strung shoppers looking for particular items while trying to keep the quickly depleted shelves stocked. I feel especially sorry for those working in the electronics and toy departments where the most popular gifts are located. I suppose apparel is also a rough place to work.


Cashiering during the peak holiday shopping season does have it's special issues. I get a lot of parents sneakily handing me items and asking me to get it into a bag without the child who the gift is destined for and who is with them, seeing it. I am the last person the shopper sees so I have to listen to a lot of complaining about items they had wanted not being available. I have to try and decide when a shopper tells me that an item cost less than it rang up as if they are just trying to rip the store off or if the item didn't get calibrated into the register at the proper price. Should I adjust the price or call the Head Cashier over to do a price-check which means everyone has to wait?


I was surprised when I worked last Holiday season, especially on stressful and insane Black Friday, at how for the most part shoppers were pleasant and patient. Again I think this is an advantage of being a cashier because the employees I spoke with who worked in electronics had many impatient and angry shoppers they had to deal with. Only time will tell what the demeanor of this years shoppers will be.