5 things working in retail taught me

When I took my first retail job last year, I came into it with a little background experience in waitressing, so I had an idea of what I was getting myself into when dealing with customers. And while the experience is going to be different at every store, I'd still have to say that serving is a much harder and more thankless job than retail. That being said, you're always going to find yourself dealing with the worst customers at some time or another. After a few months of working in this industry, here are a few things I've learned:

1. The customer is rarely right, but you still have to be nice. 

This saying is a favorite in the world of customer service, and rightfully so, as it usually pays off. But in the regular day to day activities of retail, it becomes evident very quickly that people really have no idea how things work. Customers will argue about prices until you can prove to them that, yes, the price marked on the item is, in fact, correct. They will share their dismay that you don't carry or ran out of their sizes. And you still have to smile and nod and thank them for shopping at your store.

2. That doesn't mean the customers will be nice back to you.

No matter how big your smile is or how sweet you sound when you tell a customer to "Have a great day!" or "Thank you for shopping with us!", there will always be people who just. don't. care. People who simply ignore you and walk out, people who look directly at you and walk away without saying a word, and people who respond with a glare or a snarl. You can spend five minutes trying to get a hat off a metal stand on the very top shelf for a customer who will then decide they don't actually want it — but instead of thanking you for getting it or apologizing for your trouble, they'll just hand it to you and ask someone else to get another item down for them. For those who preach about that Midwestern friendliness, work a few weeks in retail and you'll find out that even the nicest cities have some stunningly rude people.

3. The laziness is REAL. 

If I had a dollar for every time I picked up a pair of earrings sitting on a table right next to their display rack, or a hanger put on the rack backwards, I would never have to work again. You want to leave a pile of clothes in the dressing room? Fine. Ask me to put away some shirts you decided weren't so cute? Not a problem. But taking a piece of jewelry off its stand and dropping it there on the table? Here's a tip for shoppers: IT'S NOT. THAT. HARD.

4. Stupid questions do exist. And you'll answer a lot of them. 

Is this a shirt or a dress? This is a question I got last weekend, and at first I'll admit that it's not such a silly question; some shirts are long and dresses are short. But when you put it on and it goes down past your knees, it's a dress. Yes, I'm sure it's a dress. No, really — I promise, it's a dress.

5. Your responsibilities are more than your job description.

In the 9 months I've spent as a part-time sales associate, I have been a cashier, a visual merchandiser, a janitor and a personal shopper. I have unwrapped, hung and steamed countless garments, and I have seen too many middle-aged women in bras. I have followed needy customers around and carried piles of clothes for women who seem to think we have nothing else to do. I have climbed ladders and nearly dropped metal bars on my head. Working in retail is far more than selling clothes.

P.S. 7 mistakes you're making at a career fair, and what I learned from my first jobs

Thoughts from a college graduate

I first read this article by Julie Ma about famous women on their college years when I was in the middle of my last semester at Iowa State, and it made me think: I wonder what I'll say when I look back at my college years?

Well, I've had that fancy little diploma for a little more than two months now, and what I think of most when I look back at my three-and-a-half short years in college is how much I really did learn there.

When I enrolled in the journalism program as a nervous 18-year-old, all I really knew about it was what I saw in movies and TV and what I'd assumed by reading books and magazines. I chose journalism because I loved writing, and it seemed like a safe option in terms of getting paid to write. That, and I really, really loved magazines.

And then I took my first classes and realized I had no idea what I had gotten myself into — but I loved it. My first year of college could probably be summed up as a realization of how little I actually knew, both about careers in journalism and life in general. I didn't know AP style, or systems operations, or how important it is to pay attention to the news every day. One of the most beneficial lessons I had in that first year was the weekly news tests we had to take in my first required journalism course. We had to read, watch and listen to multiple news sources and take a test to see how well we paid attention to current events from week to week. Up until that point, my version of getting the "news" was asking my mom what the weather was supposed to do that day.

In college, I learned there are infinite job opportunities for a journalism degree. I learned how to copyedit the work of my peers and, more importantly, my own. I learned how to write catchy headlines and attention-grabbing leads, informational news blurbs and feature-length stories. I learned that in order to become a copy editor at any national news source, you have to know current events from five years ago and a little bit of basic geography — I didn't.

I learned that when people find out you study journalism, there's an 80 percent chance they'll ask you when they're going to start seeing you on TV, anchoring the news — because does writing even exist anymore? And there's a 100 percent chance they will have something to say about the death of print journalism, and how do you expect to make a living? And I also learned that print journalism isn't going anywhere just yet. And if it does? I'll still be able to find a job. Because college taught me that opportunities come to those who seek them.

I think Madeleine L'Engle's quote from the article sums it up best:

"I left college and went to New York to earn my living with the assurance that all doors were of course open to me, and that's a good attitude to have. If you expect doors to be open, they're likely to be open. If you expect them to be closed, they're likely to slam in your face." 

In 10, 20, even 50 years from now, I hope I remember every one of these lessons, and dozens more that I'll learn between now and then. I hope I never forget how it feels to look at the world and see nothing but opportunities and open doors, because that is what I learned in college.