Ahhh! Black Friday 
Hordes of people invading my bookstore, calling non-stop...
Most were alarmingly ungracious.
Many approaching with a barked demand - no greeting, no smile, unpleasant tone.
I have made it a habit to flash my crooked smile at these cretins and say 'Hello!' brightly. In some cases it works; they back down and act nearly human. Others, not so much.
I feel bad for my minimum wage crew.
Feel bad for myself! "Get me your manager!'...
me again. Crooked smile. Let me placate your unreasonable demands! There there...
There are rewards to retail work. Not financial, not cerebral...
But a job well done is reward for me. And the few customers that are gracious! Delightful!
I'm already worn out and the xmas madness has just begun.
Be GRACIOUS out there!
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3 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.We went past WalMart on the ride home Thursday night and there were cars parked out on the grass verge of the lot - as there are every single year.
I really hate that part. They don't even give them the holiday off in CT.
It's kind of awful. Not like Christmas Shopping is an essential health or human service is it?
I understood needing to work when I had clients in crisis. But to buy gifts and supplies? Really!??
RavenCT
Level 9
Nov 24, 2018
1
Fortunately, after a few years of retailers' attempts to introduce it over here, the British public seem to have largely decided that Black Friday is one American tradition we'd far rather not adopt. And thank goodness for that!
Jnei
Level 8
Nov 24, 2018
3
Maybe that's why California and Texas have larger economies than the UK.
Im amatertialistic and certainly don't do xmas shopping but at the same time, I don't notice
those who do.
It all seems rather innocuous to me.
Jnei:
@CreoleTango Oh, I'm sure that must be the reason - it definitely wouldn't be the large number of enormous multinational tech companies based in California or anything like that. On the other hand, the UK economy is the sixth largest in the world at $2.625 trillion, putting it only just behind California, so the country is doing ok in that respect. Having once worked on a shopfloor and having seen people physically fight over "bargains" (which often really aren't the bargains they seem), I'm pretty sure the majority of shop workers would far rather not bother.
@Jnei
Personally, I have no interest at all and am not much of a materialist....point being, it's naturally easy to avoid any aspect of it.
We grew up here in America on unbridled consumerism. Bad for us, terrible for the planet, and entirely unnecessary. When I was 15 my family moved to California from Pennsylvania, and I discovered an entire new lifestyle based on owning very little but having lots of fantastic friends who shared my passion for acoustic guitar. I wasn't strong enough to continue with college and was practically penniless but I was never without a roof, food, and community. I'm now in my 70,s and while things have improved immeasurably in some areas, I yearn for those days back in the 1960,s when I was immersed in that blissful Bohemian lifestyle.
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