This IG Account Is Posting Memes For Anyone Who’s Ever Worked Retail, And Here Are 35 Of The Most Hilarious Ones
Most professions include things that nobody else will understand except those who experience it firsthand, and retail is no different. It can be really tough work—entitled customers, poor management, erratic schedule, and lots of caffeine to get you through your shift. However, it’s all about finding the humor in the most ridiculous situations.
If you've ever had a job like this, you'll definitely relate to the hilarious memes that Retail Problems posts. This Instagram account with more than 65.3K followers is all about "the pains and struggles" that shop workers face every day.
We’re about to dive into the collection of some of the best memes posted by the account, so scroll down and upvote your favorite ones. Got similar stories to share with everyone? You can go into detail about them in the comment section below.
This post may include affiliate links.
Yeah, because all the lazy employees were depending on you to do their job.
Usually, when people are straight out of college and looking for work, they choose customer service or retail jobs since it’s a great way to get some experience. Needless to say, being a retail associate definitely has its perks: company discounts, flexible hours, and a variety of different jobs available. Plus, often there’s no need to have some special qualifications and you get to meet all kinds of people along the way.
However, it’s definitely not an easy job. It’s truly demanding, both physically and mentally, and requires a lot of patience and knowledge of how to react in conflict situations. From straight-up unreasonable to plain difficult, retail workers meet some of the most nightmarish customers there are, and the pay does not reflect the amount of energy they put into their jobs.
So having a place to turn to, like the Retail Problems account, can be a great relief. Letting out a few laughs with your co-workers can help you deal with the stress and anxiety that you might feel at work. Whether it’s trying to tell a story in between serving customers or coming back from the stock room and not remembering what the customer looks like, this account is full of share-worthy memes.
But even though the job is demanding and it might seem that there's no way for it to get better any time soon, there are a few things retailers can try. One of the problems is that the employees feel like they have no say in the decisions happening at their workplace.
Most often it’s their shifts that cause the biggest discomfort. Unstable scheduling thrives across the retail industry in order to get better profits, when in fact, such practices have hidden costs, researchers stated in Harvard Business Review.
The online shopping business has grown immensely over the past few years and retail stores needed to find new ways to compete. Since traditional methods like convenience, assortment, and pricing were not enough, the one thing they can really offer is service: "Yet, research suggests that retailers tend to view store associates as an expense to be controlled rather than as a medium to provide better service for customers."
It turns out, customer service is the main thing that separates them from the online giants that steal their customers every day. Researchers did an experiment at Gap where they put retail associates on more stable schedules and studied the business results. When they began working with the American clothing retailer, most employees worked part-time and received their schedules often only three days before the beginning of the new week.
they aren't raised i think they do fission like a cell they just split into another one
During the experiment, 28 stores were randomly assigned to control and intervention groups, and the latter ones had to try out a few changes: giving workers a stable schedule, standard start and end times for shifts, and eliminating "on-calls".
I'll add - You not winning the jeep/suv in the roll up the rim.
I remember a lifetime ago I was working in a shoe store that closed at 5 pm on Christmas Eve. A lady walks in at 4:55 pm and asked If I could stay "a few minutes longer" while she shopped. I said no, and she lost her s**t. She just couldn't fathom that retail workers have families, too.
The results were incredible: sales increased by 7% and labor productivity by 5%. These are some impressive numbers for an industry that works really hard to increase sales by 1-2% and where "productivity grew by only 2.5% per year between 1987 and 2014." So shifting to a more stable schedule is a win-win for both the employers and their employees.
And then feeling so guilty all day serving customers because your boss made you come in anyway
Hello from archive. Every damn story starts nearly ´In the beggining was the Word...´
Moreover, it seems that the pandemic has made such an impact on consumer behavior that makes it difficult for things to go back to "normal". Data shows that customers "are likely to keep the behaviors they’ve adopted amid stay-at-home orders, such as more online shopping and fewer mall visits", so in order to survive, retailers need to put more focus on their employees and take their customer experience to a whole new level.
There is not point when you've also hired people for your management team who have no business being managers.
Load More Replies...
And there's where the entitlement comes from. The pure reason why people ask for the manager. I hate this crap. This and the fact that the pay was so low if couldn't even afford to get to work was why I left retail.
'let me talk to the manager' is an annoying trend that I hope drops soon
My old boss once told me I should understand that he as my boss of course has the privilege to arrange better conditions for my customers. Yes, I understand that. But please be not too surprised if all my customers now ignore me completely and always come running directly to you. Have fun doing my job and let me know afterwards for how long you were able to arrange these better conditions now that everybody wanted them.
Fry's Electronics. Gave a refund on a ten year old toaster because he still had the box he bought it in from that store. NO. I wanted to quit at that very moment.
Fry's Electronics went out of business (bankrupt?). There may be some connection between the return policy and its closure?
Load More Replies... That is so humiliating when they do that. And the nose in the air look of victory the customer gives you afterwords.
Tis is called fear on the part of the manager then you should confront him!
Yup. One time I had a customer return what she claimed to be about $50 of unlabeled, unpacked, rotten fish with absolutely no evidence of where she purchased it. I kept telling her the numerous store policies that would prevent me from giving her a refund. Finally call a manager, and he just gives her a store gift card. Seriously!?
Ya know this Karen name calling is really ubiquitous and old. A Karen is someone who calls the cops on a Black person(s) for simply doing nothing but being Black. If you receive horrible service or if a person behind the counter can't help you, and generally that's because they don't have the authority to do so, to ask to speak with their manager or someone who could assess the situation and decide what to do is being a Karen? This is getting old that every slight in retail or in life denotes a person as a Karen. Let's keep it to the original intent.
Yeah, F**k this. I was a manager at a Clark's shoe store in Chicago and we had the WORST customers.. but before I took over the store, my manager was such an asshole. People would bring in 20 year old Clark's and demand a refund and it was against policy. Obviously... but she would always just do it and then yell at us for not doing it.. so these customers would take FULL ADVANTAGE of this s**t.. they'd buy $300 winter boots, trash them, wear them for months and come back for a refund... she'd give it to them... finally she got fired for stealing and I was promoted and that was the first rule I changed. My regional manager was fucken stoked when he saw our daily numbers increase by nearly 30% in just the first few weeks of me taking over... and that continued to rise because we actually followed protocol and stopped allowing Karen's to abuse us. I never ever EVER sided with an asshole customer over my employee. Ever. You need to respect your employees n have their backs! No exceptions
Could the manager be working at the counter every now and then so they can say, “Ma’am/sir… I am the manager”?
Had someone bring back a 'gift' that was 2+ years old unboxed item, the manager gave them a gift card for the item
Or even better, explaining policies or refusing a refund for whatever reason. Customer asks to "see the manager" and you say "I am the manager". Mwahahaha 😈
I was behind someone at a return desk who tried the "I want to talk to the manager" thing. The manager came and immediately told him he completely backed the employee. When the customer tried to push him harder he told him that the product was not returnable and his attempts to force a return were beginning to border on fraud. The customer was threatening to go to the *Internet* with it and was told "you go on-line with this and I'm going to the police. Make your choice." As the guy left I could hear the manager muttering some profanities about "self-entitled so-and-so" as he returned to his office. That is how those kind of customers should be dealt with. Fully support your staff. Let the customers know that you know they are trying to steal from the store. Too bad there wasn't a crowd around to hear and applaud. Just me trying to eavesdrop without looking like it.
Too few are the supervisors and managers who actually stand by their staff.
I work retail and managers tell me they always give in because once it goes up the food chain closer to corporate, it usually means you're giving away more free stuff. What managers need to do is tell the Karen that the person was right but we're doing this as a one time courtesy.
In order to protect your sanity, you need to adopt a Squidward attitude : "I don't know, I don't care, that's not my business, where is my paycheck?"
We all know that having a chuckle improves our mood, makes us more productive and generally happier. While there are still plenty of problems within this slowly declining industry, retail workers find different ways to laugh about the pains and struggles they face in their day-to-day jobs. So thanks to Retail Problems, the atmosphere for associates at work can become a little lighter, and stress levels a bit lower.
Yes. I’ve also loved my job but hated my coworkers, and hated my job plus hated my coworkers. The job you love with coworkers you really like, that also pays you enough to live (they don’t all do)—-is a rare and beautiful thing. Hold on to it tight and cherish it.
Motivational boxes. A brilliant innovation in the world of product packaging.
That's called being an introvert, and it's normal. Sometimes, you just need a break from peopling to refuel yourself.
In the TV show, Superstore, the main character Amy intentionally wears nametags with other names because she doesn't want customers knowing her name. (It's a terrific show if you haven't seen it.)
Note: this post originally had 95 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
I just noticed my co-worker had been on the phone for a really long time with a customer. I could hear her getting frustrated and then she said, "I don't care who it's for. It could be for the Lord Jesus himself, you cannot get it by Thursday!"
I've worked in some form of retail for most of my life and yes, there are challenging customers every day. I identified with a lot of these posts. But, if you truly HATE what you do, please find another job. If not for your own sake, then for the people you serve, your family, and your co-workers. Life is short. Your job doesn't have to be wonderful all the time but it shouldn't be miserable either. You deserve better.
There's very little choice for some people. A lot of jobs require degrees. Here, unless you have a degree you pretty much are going to be a driver, miner, tree feller, etc., or work in retail. All the jobs that DON'T require a degree generally require speaking to the customer (except mining, there you just have to speak to a foreman.).
Load More Replies...
I can't understand why people are so rude to anyone who works in retail hospitality or customer services. The whole wasps with vinegar and honey comes to mind....
It's a sense of entitlement. Fortunately here it's mitigated by factors like (a) every shop has security guards so you'll probably have a bad time if you get uppity, and (b) if you act all entitled you might get misinterpreted as it being a racial incident if the customer and retailer are from different demographics, which they quite often are because of the huge diversity here.
Load More Replies... In the town I live in its alot of locals that have lived here their whole life. You get alot of cashiers that have been on their job for 10+ years. They are a wonderful community. When I was down and out I took a job as a cashier at a local and very frequented gas station. A lady screamed at me because of the price of her cigs going up. A local customer before I had a chance to explain it to her, said "oh hell no lady, you don't yell at her like that, get out of here with all our nastiness. We don't treat people like that around here". I loved that little old lady. She was amazing and wonderful for sticking up for me. Even though I could handle it but still 💓
People who believe that being rude to servers, bartenders, and clerks will garner them better service are completely deluded. It's not difficult to have a modicum of empathy and understand how difficult it is to serve an ungrateful public. Be nice. Tip well.
Don't forget listening to all I want for Christmas is you on loop for your entire shift starting on September 1st.
[me entering pharmacy to pick up prescription] Boomer [yelling at pharmacy staff]: Why wasn't this done yesterday. I told you I wanted it yesterday. Pharmacist: Ma'am, we have almost 300 prescriptions that need filling right now. Boomer: That's YOUR problem. I should just go somewhere else. Me: [to Boomer] I think *everyone* would be happier if you went somewhere else. Boomer [to me]: Ah go to hell!! Me: You first.
I'm gonna start telling entitled people that anywhere they are is hell.
Load More Replies... Everyone is rude. Customers are super combative and have zero courtesy. But retail workers are people too, and they’re made up of the same bunch. Karen’s, assholes and jerks and entitled idiots. It’s very much a “both sides” thing with all the normal people also on both sides. Working retail isn’t that bad compared to working restaurants.
I am with @2---it was absolute truth, but, better than when I (truly) picked cotton and worked in tobacco. When I filed insuran ce claims? I spat on the forms if no one could see me. Yep!! that was me..
I just noticed my co-worker had been on the phone for a really long time with a customer. I could hear her getting frustrated and then she said, "I don't care who it's for. It could be for the Lord Jesus himself, you cannot get it by Thursday!"
I've worked in some form of retail for most of my life and yes, there are challenging customers every day. I identified with a lot of these posts. But, if you truly HATE what you do, please find another job. If not for your own sake, then for the people you serve, your family, and your co-workers. Life is short. Your job doesn't have to be wonderful all the time but it shouldn't be miserable either. You deserve better.
There's very little choice for some people. A lot of jobs require degrees. Here, unless you have a degree you pretty much are going to be a driver, miner, tree feller, etc., or work in retail. All the jobs that DON'T require a degree generally require speaking to the customer (except mining, there you just have to speak to a foreman.).
Load More Replies... I can't understand why people are so rude to anyone who works in retail hospitality or customer services. The whole wasps with vinegar and honey comes to mind....
It's a sense of entitlement. Fortunately here it's mitigated by factors like (a) every shop has security guards so you'll probably have a bad time if you get uppity, and (b) if you act all entitled you might get misinterpreted as it being a racial incident if the customer and retailer are from different demographics, which they quite often are because of the huge diversity here.
Load More Replies... In the town I live in its alot of locals that have lived here their whole life. You get alot of cashiers that have been on their job for 10+ years. They are a wonderful community. When I was down and out I took a job as a cashier at a local and very frequented gas station. A lady screamed at me because of the price of her cigs going up. A local customer before I had a chance to explain it to her, said "oh hell no lady, you don't yell at her like that, get out of here with all our nastiness. We don't treat people like that around here". I loved that little old lady. She was amazing and wonderful for sticking up for me. Even though I could handle it but still 💓
People who believe that being rude to servers, bartenders, and clerks will garner them better service are completely deluded. It's not difficult to have a modicum of empathy and understand how difficult it is to serve an ungrateful public. Be nice. Tip well.
Don't forget listening to all I want for Christmas is you on loop for your entire shift starting on September 1st.
[me entering pharmacy to pick up prescription] Boomer [yelling at pharmacy staff]: Why wasn't this done yesterday. I told you I wanted it yesterday. Pharmacist: Ma'am, we have almost 300 prescriptions that need filling right now. Boomer: That's YOUR problem. I should just go somewhere else. Me: [to Boomer] I think *everyone* would be happier if you went somewhere else. Boomer [to me]: Ah go to hell!! Me: You first.
I'm gonna start telling entitled people that anywhere they are is hell.
Load More Replies... Everyone is rude. Customers are super combative and have zero courtesy. But retail workers are people too, and they’re made up of the same bunch. Karen’s, assholes and jerks and entitled idiots. It’s very much a “both sides” thing with all the normal people also on both sides. Working retail isn’t that bad compared to working restaurants.
I am with @2---it was absolute truth, but, better than when I (truly) picked cotton and worked in tobacco. When I filed insuran ce claims? I spat on the forms if no one could see me. Yep!! that was me..
