This isn't an easy question for strangers to guess about on a forum, but I'll take a shot at a few things that struck me in reading your question.
First, I don't think you can go by all those jobs kids get at 16/17 and have until they graduate. Some people luck out and get a good job or a boring job where they meet a lot of friends at work. Many don't, and those jobs, themselves, aren't a good measure. You can't even always go by the jobs you get right after graduation, because (particularly these days when 4-year degrees are as common as they are) young people fresh out of school often have to take jobs that are far from their dream job or dream salary. I really think that a lot of young people today take until they're in the area of 30 to really feel like they're "established" or at least on their way. That's not everyone, but it's many. Then, expecting themselves to be more established than they are, so they get depressed that they're not. Without benefit of having seen how things once were for recent college grads and others in their twenties, they don't realize what a disadvantage today's young people can be.
To me, retail management (or even thinking about it) is not for a whole lot of people. It can be great for someone who gets promoted from cashier and on up, but there's a "flavor" to retail work that a lot of people wouldn't want.
Your words, "stuck in a rut", suggest you could be going through some kind of "depression" (clinical or "just" the low mood that comes with not having the life and direction you'd like). You may want to have a session or two with someone who could ask the right questions to help you figure out if you have depression or just the need for a little inspiration/direction-finding.
A lot of people get let down when they find out their degree didn't get them the work they wanted. A lot of people expect too much "emotional-reward-wise" from any work. Work that isn't boring can be draining, and draining work leads to burn-out. Some people find work they love and that keeps them "vitalized" for life, but many don't. That's why people need to find rewards in other area of life. It's why people need to work among people where there's a generally positive work environment and where they can have a few "work friends" (at least someone to enjoy lunch-time conversation with, or a few laughs).
What a lot of people end up doing is taking some entry-level job in an office environment, in a company or department involved in the area in which the person is interested; and where there is the potential to move up (even just a couple of "steps"). They may stay there a few years until they have enough experience to find a higher payer job in that field somewhere else. As far as dealing with the less-than-excellent income that usually comes with this kind of plan, there's always supplementing the income with something like an online business, writing, etc. Saving money is important, and learning how to do at least a little investing is, as well. (These "extra-curricular" activities can lead often lead somewhere, and they can also add more "reward" to life just because.) This may seem irrelevant, but if you don't exercise much find some good fitness DVD's and start. That can make you feel better in another way. Something else is that some companies help with tuition for more or different training. Also, not wanting to deal with customers doesn't necessarily mean you're not a "people person".
Hope some of these thoughts have been at least a little useful. (I'm surrounded in my life by people in the "just-starting-out" phase of life.) Work is only a small part of a lot of people's lives, and many don't "absolutely love" their work. There is, though, work that's reasonably pleasant in a company that's good; and people can discover they like what they're doing. Finding reasonably pleasant work in a reasonable decent company is usually start, and from there people can figure out what their next steps will be.
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