s/o: so have you or spouse ever worked in retail?

[AnnieW625]

You knew it was coming, right;)

I have not, but DH worked for a few grocery stores from his junior or senior year in high school until his senior year in college. He never minded working on Thanksgiving or Easter because he would get overtime.

My dad was in beer and wine sales so growing up while (and still is now) my dad was always with us for holidays the days leading up to the holidays were always more stressful than had he had to work on the actual holiday doing a display or tasting or whatever so I think that was part of the reason I never really wanted to work in retail either in a food store or in a department or clothing store.

[mackmama]

Right out of college I worked in some retail ski shops so that I could get a season pass to the local mountain.

[TwinFoxes]

In college at a clothing store. It was closed on holidays because no students were around.

[brittone2]

One summer in a bakery and 3 days in a retail store in a mall. I quickly realized the mall gig was not my thing.

[georgiegirl]

No. The closest job to retail was being a demonstrator (offering samples) at the grocery store.

I did apply to the Gap and the bookstore as a high school student, but they didn't want me.

[mommylamb]

I worked in a shoe store for about 2 months when I first turned 16. It wasn't for me. I worked steadily from the time I was 16, while I was in college, and ever since, but never again in retail.

I do not think DH ever had a retail job. He has had all sorts of random jobs-- factory assembly line worker, postman... a colorful past before graduate school and moving to the U.S. But I don't think he ever did retail. He doesn't have the personality.

[boolady]

Yes, at several different types of stores, for many years.

[vonfirmath]

My husband worked retail for the first 4 years of marriage. And would happily work it again now if he could just get a !! Job!

[SnuggleBuggles]

STarted my junior year of high school at a fancy gadget store at the mall (I'll let you guess which one). I continued through college (assistant manager sophomore year +). Quit a few months after graduating college. It was made very clear to me that the sky was the limit with my career there but the path just didn't look appealing. I didn't envy the area and district manager's lifestyle of living out of a suitcase. But, I actually enjoyed the customer service...most of the time. People are pretty fun to help and interact with. I also enjoyed being able to manage, train and delegate. I didn't love selling though I could do it well. My experience makes me hold sales' people to higher standards. I worked most holidays that the mall was open. It was a drag.

[echoesofspring]

DH runs the family business, a small winery (just himself and his dad). It's obviously different than traditional retail in that he isn't subject to the whims of a large corporation, but since they don't have any employees the holidays can be a bit of a juggle, day before/after Thanksgiving & Christmas are often pretty busy.

I worked at Filene's Basement when I was in college (mindless), a food co-op/grocery store during collect (kind of fun), a discount drugstore over the holidays one year after college (awful) and most recently did the holiday rush at Talbots a few years back when I needed some interaction with people after working from home so much. I enjoyed the interaction w/people, although some of the corporate stuff was a bit ridiculous. Despite the tiny paycheck and being on my feet all day, I think it might be the job I've had that I enjoyed the most, it was rewarding when I got to help women find clothes that worked for them, helped hubbies buy gifts, etc. I was just thinking last night about if there was any way to do something similar but actually have more flexibility and better pay.

[Pennylane]

Yes, I ran a clothing store for many years and my dh is still in the retail world. He is an executive though, but if his stores are open he is working.

Ann

[crl]

Not retail. We both worked fast food as teenagers. Dh also worked construction, as a garage doing tire patching and at a slaughterhouse. No holiday hours for me, not sure if dh was ever expected to work a holiday at his fast food job.

Catherine

[Ms B]

I did eight holiday seasons in retail, starting in high school (I had working papers really young) and going right through most of grad school.

I started at Berman's Leather, progressed through a local women's department store, and then spent the next six-plus years mostly at Banana Republic, with occasional periods of time at The Gap and back at Berman's and Wilson's Leather. I worked pretty much every holiday weekend and even on Christmas once (double time!!), but that was cake compared to quarterly inventories where we had to work until midnight on Saturday organizing stock for the count and then show up again at 5 a.m. on a Sunday to help with the inventory and clean up the store after the count.

Retail was a great place to work. You learn to multitask, to work with difficult people (both customers and co-workers), and to self-motivate (key when you have to board-fold stacks of t-shirts for the eighth time in a day). I still can out-ten key pretty much everyone I know other than accountants and got some temp admin jobs in grad school because of that skill. I started off as part-time sales/flunky and worked my way up to "third key". Plus, I had super-cute clothes that I bought for almost nothing with my discounts (including a fur that I still have).

If I had stayed in retail, I could have worked in merchandising right out of college (I had offers to buy from Saks and Federated), but decided to go on to grad school instead. I did work in retail during grad school and it was a pleasure to work in a place where no one knew or cared what a law review was!

That said, (the probable future) SIL is in retail (district manager for upscale casual clothing company in the process of going national) and she tells me that retail is not as much fun as it used to be. When I started in the 80s, the holiday season meant that there were folding tables in the halls behind the mall stores that had booze, ice, etc. and big discounts at the mall restaurants for industry people after the stores closed. That does not happen now. Also, there were a lot more stores that paid commission or good sales incentives back when, but that has fallen by the wayside.

[Ceepa]

I did, and I believe everyone should have to work in retail, food industry and a separate service industry at some point in life. IMO, it offers a perspective you carry with you.

[sweetsue98]

I worked at Victoria's Secret for about 5 years and worked every thanksgiving and Christmas ( pre and post holiday). Wow...people get vicious!

[elliput]

I worked at a grocery store for about a year as both a checker and a stocker (dairy dept). As it was a single store and family owned business, the owners did not open on holidays. This was 20+ years ago.

DH is an engineer and previously an Air Force officer. He has never had a service industry/retail job.

[rlu]

I put yes for me, but not at a store, but in the admission department at a theme park. I sold everything from parking tickets to season passes (and taking the pictures) to taking admission tickets. One season facing the public was enough. The next year I audited all the cashiers and handled upset customers. 4th of July was mandatory which meant missing a really big family event on my mom's side, but it was only two years.

I'm not in retail but I am required to work crazy hours around month end, so the month-end holidays get jacked a bit.

DH is a salesman, he's sold everything from used cars to cutco knives to life insurance to real estate. Not retail, but all-time public facing.

[queenmama]

My first job was at a video store (remember those? haha!) and we were open 365 days a year. All employees were required to work a 4-hour shift so no one had to be there all day.

I also worked at JCP for awhile but I don't remember whether we worked on holidays.

As to the comment about working food service, no way, José. I'm an excellent patron, friendly and patient with servers, and always tip 20-25% but I am not cut out to serve. I do not have the temperament to deal!

ETA: DH has never worked in retail and has always had holidays off.

[ilfaith]

I worked at an Express clothing store in college. When we first moved to Florida (and was pregnant with DS1) I worked in a gift shop (we knew the owner...and it was meant to just be for the holidays, but lasted through the new year and into the spring).

[buddyleebaby]

Yes, my first "real" job was in the airport, manning various gift shops (they're all owned by the same company). I worked one Thanksgiving. We did not receive overtime pay. They did let us close an hour earlier than usual (8 instead of 9) because the terminal was virtually empty and had been for most of the day.
My family had gone away to have Thanksgiving with my extended family but my mom cooked and left in her fridge a complete Thanksgiving meal for me to share with my then-boyfriend (now DH).
We often reschedule thanksgiving because my DH, brother, BIL are all civil servants and my sister works for a pediatric urgent care clinic. Someone always has to work and it's really not a big deal. Still, I hate the trend of stores being open on thanksgiving.

[elektra]

I never have but DH has. He worked at Neiman Marcus and at his college book store. His brother still works there. He also has a brother who works at Disneyland. So we are used to them having to go to work on weekends and holidays.

[carolinacool]

I worked at a grocery store my senior year of high school and then when I came home for summer and breaks through my junior year of college. The store was open until 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving, open until either 4 or 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and closed Christmas Day. It was insanely busy on Thanksgiving morning/early afternoon. It was one of the few times we usually had every register open.

My senior year of college, I worked at a sports bar that is a small regional chain. It closed on Thanksgiving and then was actually closed for three or four days Christmas week. Now, that was back in 1997 and the staff in that location was almost exclusively students who didn't hang around Chapel Hill over breaks. Where I live now, we have four locations and they never close for several days. I also think they are less dependent on college students who leave town.

[BabyBearsMom]

I worked one summer at a major department store in the...ahem...intimate apparel department.

[crayonblue]

DH worked retail in high school/college. I never worked retail but did work fast food (yogurt shop). I actually enjoyed it! *Most* people are happy when they are buying frozen yogurt. :)

[HannaAddict]

Yes. Nordstrom and fancy European toy store (before fancy trains and corolle dolls were widely available).

[egoldber]

I worked at Kroger as a demonstrator, stocker and cashier.

DH worked at a McDonalds and other fast food.

[Indianamom2]

Yes. I worked at a pool/spa store every summer after high school and summers during college. Decent pay, not as crazy as some retail jobs and a small store. I did everything from work the cash register to stocking shelves, cleaning and testing/analyzing pool water and helping customers figure out why their pool was green or orange or yellow!

[mom_hanna]

Yes. I worked in an ice cream shop, a bagel shop, a card/gift/souvenir shop, the Gap, an independent bookstore, a discount bookstore, and the corporate offices of Amazon and Target.

[BabyBearsMom]

Oh and my DH worked for an electronics store for a couple of years.

[StantonHyde]

Retail isn't the issue--its health care. I grew up in a family where my dad worked holidays and now DH does as well. Fortunately, he has been able to reconfigure his Christmas schedule so he was home from 7 am-noon xmas day at least. Thanksgiving is a crap shoot. But that's normal for us!!

[MamaSnoo]

I worked in a Dillards for a couple summers and over Christmas a few times. Had to work Christmas eve, but I was in college, so the money was appreciated. I worked in the housewares/linens/towels area. It was not a bad gig, but at the time our store did not allow associates to wear slacks, and you had to wear hose!! I think that has totally changed now (for the better).

[TxCat]

Yup, worked at Papyrus, then Banana Republic in high school, and continued with BR through early college. Now I'm in health care and since I've graduated from med school, I've always worked either Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's every year, sometimes 2 of the 3 in the same year. Usually we have potluck parties at the hospital and everyone tries to stay festive and positive - we all miss our families, but someone's gotta work.