by Cody Hodge

Created on: February 16, 2009   Last Updated: January 14, 2010

Ah yes, the world of retail, the very best of what the working world has to offer, and yet those words ring so hollow. You see, the world of retail is one of pain, suffering, and lots of funny stories that go along with it. I have been in retail for way too long, or at least longer than I thought I would ever be involved with it, and have seen everything that you can possibly see. From happy customers, to regulars, to grumpy old men, to burned out employees, I have seen everything there is to see when it comes to retail.

The worst part about working in retail is the low rate of pay that is involved. For putting in 40 hours a week at your favorite retail location, you can expect to be paid around 300 dollars if you are younger, and maybe 500-600 dollars if you have been working a little longer. I have a college degree, and I still don't make ten dollars an hour at my retail job, in fact I make almost as much writing as I do in retail, when you take my earnings as a writer, divided by the hours I usually spend writing a month.

Sure you can make more if you are in management, but you have to be really high up on the food chain before you would be making what I call significant money. 30,000 dollars a year just isn't going to justify me staying in retail, and even then you have to have connections to make that much.

The other drawback to working in retail are the customers that you have to work with on a daily basis. While most customers are nice, and understanding, there are always the ones who can't understand why they cannot get what they want, or why they have to wait so long for something. Yes, customer service should be a priority, but you cannot always get what you want right away, it just won't happen sometimes. Either that, or the customers who got a certain price back in 1948, so why don't they get that price today anymore.

The hours are the worst too. Most retail locations are open really late, or sometimes 24 hours, and usually are open on holidays, to make as much money as possible. Think that you are going to get Thanksgiving off? Unless you have a lot of seniority, think again, you will be the sucker working during that day, and on Christmas if your store is open, and New Years, and Easter, and all the other major holidays. It is just a fact of life in the retail business, that you will not get a lot of time off for the holidays.

Other than that, working in retail is just like any other job. You will always have grumpy co-workers, employees, and people you just don't want to deal with. The hours are never good if you have a job that you hate, which I do in the field of retail, which I don't see how anybody can be happy. Maybe some are, but if you have spent more than five years in retail, and can say that you wouldn't want to do anything else, I would be shocked.

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