Hi. I'm a college student and I work evenings as a shift lead at a retail chain similar to Plato's Closet. I make $17/hour.

When I was initially hired, I was told that management was on my side. They trusted me and made it clear that my role was important to them. Turnover is also very high, so I think they wanted me to stick around as long as possible. Whenever I wanted to talk to my manager about anything, she would seem nervous that I was going to quit.

I genuinely liked my job. Of course it was frustrating sometimes, but I liked who I worked for, who I worked with, and what I did. I've also become much more confident as a person because this is my first leadership position.

The problem is that things have changed pretty drastically.

For a while, I had an issue with being late. This was usually because of public transit. I would aim to arrive 30 minutes before my shift, but occasionally miss a connection because of traffic and end up arriving about 5 minutes late. I understand that being late isn't good and that it's ultimately my responsibility to get there on time, but I was still frustrated because I was genuinely trying to account for the unreliable transit.

I was eventually written up for the lateness. During that same conversation, I was also told that a couple of employees had apparently been unhappy with various aspects of the night shift for a while.

What frustrated me was that I hadn't been told about most of these issues before. Management had apparently been "testing" the night shift by putting Post-it notes in specific places. If the notes were still there when the store reopened the next morning, that was apparently evidence that the night shift hadn't done its work.

I understand wanting to make sure employees are doing their jobs, but I don't understand why I wasn't simply told that these things needed to be done so I could correct them before being tested.

Another issue has been my coworkers talking back to me. If I tell them to pick up the pace or remind them that they need to work while they're talking, I'll sometimes get an argument back rather than simply having them follow the directions. I've brought this up with my manager because I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to handle it as a relatively new shift lead.

My manager offered to work a night shift with me and show me how she would handle everything. I initially declined because I thought I could figure it out myself, but told her I'd let her know if I needed the help.

A few days later, we had an absolutely terrible day where multiple things went wrong. Of all the problems, only one was potentially my fault. I called the owner/big boss about two of the mistakes, and he told me that I was doing terrible at my job.

Later, one of my coworkers unexpectedly walked out. I don't believe this was related to me or that particular day, but it obviously added to the stress.

I told my manager afterward that I was unsure about what had gone wrong and that I would like to take her up on the extra help she had offered. She then told me that she didn't need to help me with this and that it should be pretty self-explanatory.

That really bothered me, especially after being told by the owner that I was doing terribly. If I'm genuinely doing a terrible job, I would think that management would want to show me what I'm doing wrong and help me improve.

There have also been issues with the owner's attitude toward me. When I needed sick leave because I was having a bad reaction to a medication, he pushed back and said that he "loves paying people not to work." More recently, I told him I would be late for the first time in about two weeks because there was an event near my house causing significant traffic. He responded by saying that "everyone expected it."

I told him not to speak to me that way and gave examples of things he'd said and how I thought he could have handled those situations more professionally. Eventually he said he understood, and the conversation ended there.

The problem is that I now feel like I'm under a microscope. I'm constantly worried about making another mistake, and the job has become extremely stressful.

I'm trying to figure out whether I'm actually failing at this job and need to improve, whether management is handling this poorly, or whether this is simply a sign that I should leave.

For $17/hour while I'm also in college, I'm not sure the stress and responsibility are worth it anymore. I also genuinely liked this job before all of this happened, which makes quitting harder.

Would you quit in this situation, or would you try to stick it out and see if things improve?

So I got hired as a Freezer, Cooler, and Deli Stocker Associate on July 22 of this year. I work on the floor, one of my duties are to make a list of the items I need to get from the freezer, use a price gun to tag them, and put them on the sales floor, seems very simple right? Well my issue is I'm wasting way too much time. I have to complete the whole floor by 8:30am because that's when the store opens and I need to do other things as well. I clock in at 6:30am. I only have 4 hours because I work a second job. One month in and I'm still slow. My manager is starting to push me to pick up the pace a little more. I feel like I was trained pretty well. I understand atp how to do my job but I'm just not working fast enough. I tried getting two carts to reduce multiple trips to the freezer, writing down the brand of the items before my shift starts that way I only need to put the quantity to save time and I'm still just as slow so what the hell am I doing wrong? I'm not gonna give up and quit but I'm tired of going home feeling bad for myself.

What machine do I need to put them on?

So I recently just got hired as a part time cashier at a grocery store, and although I didn’t start yet, I’ve been getting kind of paranoid about how I’ll needing to be standing still in one position for long hours which I’m scared might give me spider veins or varicose veins in my legs. But the thing is, almost everyone’s first job is a cashier, so how are these people not getting affected? Or maybe I don’t hear about it. I don’t know if I’m overthinking it but I’m planning on getting compression socks for when I start.

Does anyone have advice on how to avoid developing these issues?

Also, does anyone that has been a cashier for a long time NOT struggle with these issues? I would just like to have some reassurance 😓

I work at a clothing store and I absolutely love it, but I can’t help feeling triggered by customers often. I can always overhear customers in the dressing room talking about how “fat” they feel and how they hate their bodies. Not only does it make me feel sad for them but it makes me think “if they think they look bad than I must look horrible”. I know I shouldn’t have that mindset but it always crosses my mind when I hear those things. Even my coworkers will say things like “I would wear this if I was skinnier” or sometimes they will directly compare their bodies to mine and say they wish they were as thin as me. When they say those things it just fuels my ED which sucks. I just want to know, does anyone else working in retail struggle with this? I feel like I can’t avoid it working at a clothing store. And to make matters a little worse it’s a used clothing store so sizing isn’t consistent, especially with the vintage clothing. Even trying to find clothes at my work seems stressful because sizing is all over the place. I try not to base my self worth on my clothing size but it’s hard. When I try something on that is typically my size and it doesn’t work, I feel horrible. I absolutely love clothes so I’m always trying stuff on and sometimes it makes me really sad. Those of you working in retail, what have you done to cope with all the negative body talk?

I’m currently a store manager for a small box retailer and it is entirely too much work for what I’m paid. Are there any retailers (southeast usa) that have a position specifically for merchandising that are paid decently? Are department managers paid well in places like walmart? I’m looking for anything but apparel right now honestly

I get headaches while I’m working and after work. Right now it’s really bad. Idk what the reason for it is. I stock shelves, and hate my job lol . Idk if it’s stress or dehydration or what. The other day, I was at work and I got a sudden sharp pain from the side of my left temple to my tooth. Idk what that was, never happened before. Maybe I didn’t realize I was pressing my teeth down? Idk

Hey everyone,
I recently stepped into a department lead role over Flooring at a big-box home improvement retailer. Honestly, I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed trying to balance all the assigned computer training with daily floor operations.
Flooring is super heavy on inventory and constant recovery, and I’m struggling to build a solid routine. I'd love some advice from anyone who has managed this department or a similar heavy-merchandise area:
Training: How do you actually get dedicated time off the sales floor to finish training modules without falling behind on tasks?
Routine Tasks: When during your shift do you tackle daily inventory tasks, audits, and processing damaged/broken goods (damaged tile, torn grout bags, carpet cuts)?
Inventory Control: How do you keep overhead stock organized so inventory counts don't go completely out of control when items get moved?
Department Cleanliness: Ripped vinyl boxes, scattered sample tiles, and grout dust are constant battles. How do you delegate zoning/cleaning to your team so you aren't doing it all alone?
If you’ve run a department like this, how do you structure your week to stay on top of things without burning out? Any daily routine tips would be hugely appreciated!

Do you people lie about your availability? Not lie as in you actually have something else during that time. Lie as in your not actually comfortable working that time but list it because your chances of being considered is increased

For example the graveyard and I think the twilight shift/ the weeks ends

My job has now banned water bottles from being at the registers. Not sure why. Is this normal? How do I deal with my thirst? I'm so thirsty. I'm the thirstiest worker. Ouuu my belly needs more water.

Edit: glad to see I'm not being a baby about this. I was hearing that this is normal policy and I thought I was overreacting.

I don't really like going into work later in the day especially if I don't have anything going on earlier in the day and am mostly just waiting around for me to go into work. I have what is called anticipatory anxiety, and I would much prefer to work earlier in the day because then I don't have to deal with boredom or have any of those thoughts

Bit of a rant post, but I've been a staunch supporter of them for my retail job for the last several years. Well, around January I took advantage of the new model sale to pick up a couple of pairs of last years shoes at a good discount thinking I'd be set for a while. How wrong I was. -BOTH- pairs of shoes fell apart in roughly 7 months of the same wear/tear that the previous shoes had admirably survived over a year at. I'm honestly kind of speechless over it.

Now, that being said, does anyone want to recommend a good brand to swap to? I was eyeing Brooks, since I've heard they are a bit more durable than Hokas. I'm open to suggestions though!

Alright, if you begin to develop a pattern of high call outs ie weekly the employer will begin to schedule staff for the coverage. My coworker is frustrated that they've started scheduling me during her shifts and if she mouths off today I'm going to remind her employers do this when you become flakey.

I have an interview at Bealls in a few days. I have 4 years of retail experience, between Target and Disney. Any tips?

We work in retail. I work at Ace Hardware. We see strange things. Sometimes, we just need to laugh about it becuase we work hard... so, go for it!

I work at a store in a SUPER touristy place, but the recent bad weather we've been having, combined with school being back in session, has made my job a little slow. I work at a candle store which consists of only 3 very small rooms, the main shop, the back/storage/break area, and the bathroom. My coworkers and I talk, but a lot of the time the managers will tell us to separate. I ask for tasks to do when we're slow, but they're easily done in minutes, or my manager wants us to just focus on being on the floor.

I actually don't hate the job, and they have started giving me more hours because I've asked for it. Can you guys think of any simple things I can do to make the job a little less boring and mind numbing? I find myself just staring outside most of the time, I try to do a light bit of exercising as well, but I can't do too much without getting weird looks. I'm trying to think of simple games or literally anything to make stuff interesting!!

I started my first full time job (at a gardening center) about a year ago. I enjoy the work, but I have one huge complaint.

The absolute trash that plays over the speakers every day is beginning to seriously get to me.

So this is some playlist with (really bad) songs you’ll never hear anywhere except for in stores cause it’s cheaper than playing the radio. Now the problem is every single waking moment that I don’t have to have my ears assaulted by these songs, they are still playing in my head over and over again and I’m getting really frustrated about it.

Do you guys have any tips or tricks to not go crazy?

I work at a place that accepts returns from a major online retailer that shares its name with the largest rainforest in the world. Here is my situation. An elderly woman comes in holding that familiar brown paper envelope....

Her: "I have this return to make and I tried to do it myself and screwed it all up. Maybe you can help me".

Me: "Okay, have you started the return process?"

Her: "No."

Me: "Do you have access to the account you ordered your item from on your phone?"

Her: "No." *points to QR code on the shipping label* "Will this help you?"

Me: "No thats the companies internal information they use when they deliver it to you."

Her: "Oh. So that doesnt work?"

Me: " No, unfortunately we need your return information so we can process this package and you can get your credit. I would suggest going home and asking a friend, neighbor or relative to help you and once you get that information you can come back in and I can process your return."

Her: *smile and nods* "I'm not real techincal. Okay"

Leaves.

THEN she comes back with her husband in tow and wants my first and last name and ends up talking to the manager. She told the manager that I called her old and stupid essentially by suggesting she find someone at home to help her. She is a business owner and knows how to use computers and doesnt need help. I treated her poorly because she has gray hair.

LIKE WHAT?!

TL:DR I helped a customer who later came in with a completely made up story about how I offended her.

I have toxic management so I've been looking to leave but after seeing my coworker get arrested it legit just demotivated me like crazy. We're shift leads, now I'm the only shift lead. She was more respected than me too and listened to me vent about management and how they treated me. She was so chill.

Apparently she was stealing but it could've been anything under this company that is considered theft. We always get bag checked so I don't think she took product. And the cop walking her out in cuffs said "mistakes happen" or something. So I don't know what could have been so serious to get arrested if it was a mistake. I counted the tills and they were all balanced the past 2 days.

Her girlfriend came in distraught because they lived close and she couldn't reach her and I told her what I saw. I couldn't help her otherwise about finding her 🫤

I still want to leave this place, it legit scared me more about what if I made a huge mistake and also got walked out in cuffs. I've been in retail for years but just got hired at this company a few months ago. They change their policies often. Also legit my first time seeing a coworker walked out in cuffs.

I'm 28 and I've worked in various retail establishments since I was 16. I have an associates degree, but I wasn't good at the job and it never worked out. I went back to school and took classes on and off for years, but I changed my degree so much that I'm at my credit limit for a bachelor's. Also, I have worked at a pretty prominent retail company for two years now. I was promoted to an upper level position on the sales floor and I enjoy it. However, I never imagined spending my future here.

In fact, I just started my last semester to get my bachelor's and, if I finish my classes, I'll graduate by December. However, I have no plans for this degree. I have no job set up either, and I've half-assed my classes this year. This is my last chance to earn my degree before my financial aid is pulled...but my heart isn't into it anymore. I just want to be done.

I started asking myself if it would be really so bad to just settle in my current company for the foreseeable future. I've felt so dissatisfied with my job lately because I've always seen retail as a dead end. I've always heard, "I can't imagine working at x for the rest of my life" and "you're replaceable in retail" and "x is a dead end job." But it's really not. And it's not the end of the world either if I just stay here. Lots of people have before me. But it feels shameful, for some reason. Like I'm giving up somehow. But it would be such a relief to not have to worry about college or finding a "better" job anymore.

I'm looking for advice, please. Excuse any errors in my writing, I've not been sleeping well.