Yes, I have made it through today, Christmas Eve. It wasn’t as busy as I thought it would be, though there were many an idiotic customer there. We herded everyone out by announcing every five minutes (starting w/a half hour left) that we were closing.
Ahh, last minute shoppers.
It’s the most wonderful tiiiiimmmeee of the year.
Any other retail dopers work today? Didja make it? huh huh?
I am a retail manager for a very popular, therefore high traffic, store in a high traffic mall.
I worked 10 days straight, with a two or three 12 hour shifts in there. So I gave myself a reward and stayed out of the store today.
I will be there bright and early Boxing Day though, and will probably be pulling a 15 hour day. Envy me.
I’ve just come home to collapse after a record-setting day at our little store. Generally well-behaved, happy shoppers, thank goodness.
Harli: I do envy you. NOT!
::struggles to reach keyboard::
I…just…made it…::collapses::
Actually, it wasn’t so bad. I wasn’t scheduled to go in today, but my boss does Chinese food for everyone, so we all go in for a few hours. Lots of people made the tasks fewer for everyone.
The week of no sleep is ended. By 5 p.m. I could no longer process thought well enough to ring in a sale. I stood there looking at the register wondering what I was supposed to do. But this year it took until 3 pm Christmas Eve before someone said those words: “Are you open tomorrow?”
And of course, corporate wants the after-Christmas sale completely set before we leave…fortunately, my boss said she’ll do it before we open on Friday…but when I left at 6:30, the poor girls at Lane Bryant were changing their window banners. Doesn’t corporate know that we need to get out of there and go home, or to church, as a reward for not hurting people who come in after noon on Christmas Eve saying, “I’m just looking for ideas.”
And I shouldn’t gripe, but I was left to not only close the registers but restore the back room to its original conditon after the shoving things around we did to make room for the party…and drag all the leftover food home. I looked like a baglady dragging six large bags of food and gifts and serving pieces and purse down to the parking lot.
But at least I made it to two services at church (one to perform in, one for my soul) and finished wrapping. Now I have to go stuff a turkey and clean house.
I also survived my second mall retail Christmas. Between my two jobs, today is my first day off since the 3rd of this month. Yesterday wasn’t too bad; we had 8 people working and I got to leave after a few hours since we weren’t busy. Most people who were in were the last-minute shoppers, those who are “just looking” in a store where most people don’t come to “just look.”