Retail: After Covid 19

A pandemic had our retail establishment close, due to our not being an essential establishment. My two months off was enjoyable, btw.

I received the call 10 days before we were to re-open. Not everyone was called back - YET!! A few refused to come back, YET!!

We have some understanding customers, and some not so understanding customers. Having to wear a face shield is unbearably hot. Seizures (for me) are a concern in warm weather. I am on a streak of being seizure free for 4 1/2 years. My goal is to keep it that way.

If there is one thing my managers have taught me is to NOT take mean customers behavior to heart. They say, "don't let their bad day ruin your day." It's true. I have the power to keep my day from being ruined by someone else.

With the coronavirus still plaguing us, (I found out that our establishment on the West Coast is actually still closed.), we must wear a mask, and we had to wear a face shield, until we got our plexiglass delivered to be placed in front of our registers. When we received these, we were then allowed to open another register that was not 6 feet apart. Before, we could only open every other register.

Coronavirus is not mine, or my co-workers fault(s). I have had some customers thank me for coming back to work. We have also had some customers that come in to pick a fight. Try to be as polite as I can be, but luckily, my bosses know me better than most of our customers. Since we have reopened, I have guided a customer through an Epileptic seizure in our ladies bathroom, walked her to the ambulance that was waiting for her outside, (we can be stubborn about seeking medical attention after seizures, (I KNOW) if there were no other injuries during the seizure) but she was also pregnant. She didn't want to see a paramedic, but I mentioned she should get checked out because she is pregnant. Luckily, I had the full support of my store manager, who gave me his phone after he dialed 9-1-1. I also picked out counterfeit money, placed the bills in the managers hands, and she told the customer that we could not accept these bills as payment. (Apparently, the customer did not know they were counterfeit.)

Yesterday, we had two employees walk off the job at lunch time. I know one of them were having issues with the customers' behavior. We had an up to 50% off sale....does this make customers treat our store associates worse? The sale ended the Saturday before Father's Day. I just hope we get to a place of normalcy, even with having to wear face masks. These were one of the stipulations that we had to follow to go back to work. Sometimes, I feel judged that I wear a face mask, in which I also do because I live with my elderly parents, and I see my young nieces weekly. I am being considerate in keeping my family members healthy. If I don't know you, your opinion doesn't matter.

Therefore, the things that I have learned is more important for character building. I wish we were all on the same page in keeping each other safe, but I know that we are not.

For those outstanding customers, "thank you so much for the support." For those others, "I am important too. I have to take care of my health first, before I can be of any assistance to others. My store manager has agreed with this when I said it to him before."

R.I.P Ray