What Happened to Retail?

When I started working at the tender age of 16, I was groomed to work with the public. My smock had to be clean and pressed while my clothes needed to be presentable. Being a reformed Catholic-school girl, I knew walking into work looking like Madonna in the Borderline video was not acceptable. Did I mention that I was 16? Okay, keep that number in mind.

I had a male friend named Mark who was romancing the thug life. He smoked the happy leaf, drank the beloved "8 Ball", and spent his days off chasing women and hanging out with gang members. He made Tupac look like a schoolboy. Mark was 20, living at home with his momma, and getting around the best way he can. What made Mark unique was his ability to leave all his gangsta crap outside the automatic doors. No one could tell that the friendly, helpful young man standing before them would spend evenings at afterhours clubs partying with Bloods and Crips.

So in the 80's a 16 year old kid and a 20 year old romancer of the thug life, functioned in the world of retail like professionals. Let's fast forward this tape to over 20 years later. I can't believe what I've seen in the world of retail. Today I was in Target buying a few things. The guy who rang me up must've been about 20. He was hoping to get through his transaction with me without speaking. I guess he didn't get the handbook on retail etiquette. I remember a time when I had a migraine and I had to force myself to greet customers and be friendly. I forced myself because I wanted to be professional. The young people today take the attitude that they don't have to do a thing.

One day I had a guy deliberately not speak to me when I was speaking to him. He remained quiet until he detected that I was going to go street on him for being disrespectful. Another guy called himself helping me while smacking and popping bubblegum. He must've been 18. When I commented on his manners, he shrugged and popped some more. I see guys wearing pants 3 sizes too big hanging off their butts pushing carts in the parking lot. I wonder how they can do their job without tripping over their cuffs. I was in a store the other day where the guy who served us looked like he rolled out of bed, threw on his smock, and probably showed his hair the comb instead of using it. Many young guys are wearing 5 carat cubic zirconia in their ears, sporting huge gold-on-the-rope chains around their necks, and displaying odd piercings. At my favorite coffee shop, the guy who makes the best latte has so many piercings that I wonder if he fears lightening. Seriously, I guess the young men who work retail feel smothered by uniforms and professionalism, so they need to let everyone who encounters them know their true identity. I guess Superman needs to show the "S" on his chest 24/7.

Now let's talk about the girls. Yes, I called them girls for a reason. I know that some stores ask their employees to look trendy, but does trendy mean looking like a stripper? Some girls wear pants so tight you could see their ovaries. Sometimes their tops are cut so low that I wonder if they get chronic chest colds. One girl had to tell me about her baby's daddy while I waited for her to ring up my things. Several girls want to hold conversations about their personal drama with each other while helping customers. I had an experience that blew my mind not too long ago. This young girl must've been about 20 was ringing up my purchases. She had to comment on almost everything that was purchased. She wondered where I had picked up certain items which gave me pause. If she worked in the store, wouldn't she had known where things were? But that wasn't the mind blowing part. What got me was how she began complaining to a male employee about his texting habits. Apparently he wasn't texting her as often as she would like. She begged him to text her or she would stop talking to him. Now I am a firm believer in not fishing off the company's pier for many reasons. This lack of professionalism is one of the big reasons. She may be the one who would go to work dressed like Rambo looking for the guy who forgot to text her "good night".

What happened to professionalism in retail? What happened to customer service?