At work, my manager is 23 years old, and by his own admission, he doesn’t give a any fucks about anything. Today, we got really busy, and he just pulled me aside, telling me that he had only slept for 2 hours and wasn’t really trying to work very hard. He is literally rude to customers when they ask for help. In all my adult life in retail, I have never seen anything like it. It goes against so much customer service training that I’ve been through in so many different retailers.
We work in the electronics department at a Target store, but not for Target. We aren’t supposed to be doing Target employees’ jobs; we are strictly supposed to push the cell phones that move our staffing outsourcing company’s sales metrics. The problem is that we have login credentials to do Target stuff, like ring out baby formula or Lego sets. The other problem is that Target, like any retailer cutting costs on payroll, doesn’t staff the department sufficiently. There’s no one to help these people, and my manager just tells them it isn’t his job. I help everyone because I feel so awkward watching the way he moves, just telling customers to blame Target but not him. Also, not dismissing customers needs is ingrained into my head from working in retail since I was 21.
He got into an argument with a Target employee about her not being there right in front of a crowd of customers, and she absolutely schooled him with her verbal sass. I had to walk away; I felt awkward for everyone just looking at it.
You might think this is all me complaining, but absolutely not. This is great; if I were to give even a minimal fuck (I don’t), I could be the best employee they have. I mean, the bar is set so low. I love the complete lack of supervision and accountability; it really suits what I’m trying to get out of a job at this time (easy money).
Honestly, I like talking to people, especially those who are different from me; I have a good time. It’s weird; I have a lot of social anxiety, but once I clock into a retail job, it just goes away. I’m not going to say I love my job, or want to be working in any capacity, I’m just saying it’s totally manageable.
