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Era, have you escaped retail hell?

Nov 6, 2017
464
Morioh
I’ve worked a retail job for 2 years now and it’s looking like I’ll be stuck here another year minimum until I’m able to start looking for internships. How about you era? Were you able to escape retail or are you still stuck in its clutches?
 

Hobbes

Incident Manager
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
4,131
United States
I was lucky enough to go from retail to starbucks to the wonderful world of IT within the span of 2 years. I'm extremely thankful and do not wish on anyone to work retail unless the pay is nutty (it never is).
 
OP
OP
A Wild Ambulance Appears
Nov 6, 2017
464
Morioh

Violet

Member
Feb 7, 2019
2,728
dc
I did my time (high school/college) in the food service world instead of retail.

From what I can tell vs my friends, food service is better paying and you don't have to deal with as many people, but food service is harder work
 

Squarehard

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,197
For awhile now.

Had been there for roughly 7 years, and once they started giving me items to "celebrate" how long I've been there, I knew it was time to leave.
 

Gorthaur

Member
Oct 28, 2017
170
Still working at Apple retail after two and a half years. I have mixed feelings. Sometimes it’s cool, most other days is shitty dealing with people.
 

Nexas

Member
Oct 25, 2017
212
I worked for Toys R Us. Them going out of business was probably the best thing that ever happened to me.
 
Dec 21, 2017
10,686
Used to work at a GameStop. I literally walked out the door and left the keys on the desk one day and never looked back. Retail hell indeed.
 

Fulminator

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,642
yes

i'd do it again though if there was a reason to...i didn't hate it that much all things considered
 

Midramble

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,526
San Francisco
Served my time at Gamestop. Midnight releases, selling gameinformer subscriptions, pushing preorders, taking in trades, all near 3 high schools and a college in a major mall. Never again.

If I have to ever go back to minimum wage days again it'll be making pizza.
 

Paches

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,119
After I finished college (well right before), I was able to land a job in my field and finish college while working at my current career. Thank God too because working retail is just awful.

It was nice though to have a lot of the older people looking out for me, reminding me to stay motivated so I wouldn't be stuck there for life like them. It was kind of depressing though to see them having seemingly given up, though...
 

finalflame

Product Management
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
2,772
I did my time in retail (high school) and food service (college). Valuable experiences.
 

konka

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,542
Did it for 10 months after college in 2010/2011. Would never go back.

it def helps develop people skills that are valuable though
 

Z-Beat

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,452
I worked retail at Wal-Mart for a while when I was in college.

I can't go back. I WON'T
 

Massicot

RPG Site
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
1,674
United States
I worked Retail in late highschool / early college but I was a bit lucky. I ended up putting up displays/signage and demo stations instead of having to work as a sales clerk or cashier.
 

asagami_

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
3,437
Mexico
Hey that’s still a step up!
Actually I left out to work at this store (working as cashier) after a year and half to look for a intership... only to land here; I got a proper position a year later. It's right, it's a step up but it's funny :) In november will be my fourth year here, but it have been difficult to grow, but lately I have been looking for more opportunities and hope can get what I want soon.
 

Ensoul

Member
Oct 27, 2017
528
Yup and this is coming from someone who worked at at Grocery Store 9 years and until I was 25. The long and the short is that is applied for a bank teller position and somehow they gave me the job even though I had zero office experience and I was stocking shelves at the time.

I worked both jobs for a while until I had enough and flat out walked away from my retail job. I worked the teller job for over a year until I better opportunity came along and I have been working office jobs ever since.
 

Trace

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,135
Canada
I was stuck in retail for 7 years at the same store, I got out but only because of connections from friends.

Ended up as a supervisor at a grocery store, it should be a requirement to work retail for a few years to learn how not to be an asshole to store employees.
 

mute

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,742
Was in and out of retail until a year or two after college.

All things considered, the jobs I had at grocery stores, drug stores, and best buy could have been a lot worse. Doing media (CDs, DVDs) at Best Buy was pretty chill tbh. I'd hate to work in any other department there though.
 
Oct 25, 2017
17,009
Honestly, aside from a handful of incidents, it wasn't that bad. I actually enjoyed helping parents pick out video games for their kids when I worked the electronics counter at Target.
 

Fisty

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,072
Yep made it out of sales completely, I dont even have a customer-facing job anymore. Never been happier
 

cjbenny

Member
Oct 29, 2017
61
Yep, worked in retail for five years, three as a manager and I left early this June. I work at a local college now and couldn't be happier.
 

Pankratous

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,357
Never got into it in the first place. The job I had whilst also at University was extremely cooshty in a nice office with no customers, and then I got a "proper" job after uni.
 

Lump

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,031
Worked retail for a while, and one of my previous managers that escaped later referenced me brought me on to to an Apple outsourced call center as a reference.

Later, one of my Apple outsourced call center managers that escaped later referenced me and brought me on to an HR & Payroll company to do some real legit white collar work.

Now I’m climbing the ladder well in this HR & Payroll company and I’m having a very good work life.

Networking has been everything for me since the beginning.
 

Mammoth Jones

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,047
New York
Yes. I worked retail for some years.

Was treated as a disposable piece of shit. But it gave me wonderful appreciation for a comfy desk job. Hence why I will vehemently defend against folks shitting on cubicle office workers and calling us disparaging shit like “drones” and “worker bees”. Some of ya’ll ain’t shit. Go lift some boxes for 5 years then come back to me with bitching about podcasts and coffee and how terribly mundane it is.

Pffft. I love my job. I sit at a desk. Sometimes at home. And I use my laptop to knock out some work. Memories of retail keeps a fire lit under my ass In my current vocation.
 

TaySan

Member
Dec 10, 2018
6,295
Yes. Worked 6 years wasting my life as a Deli Clerk.
Overworked, emotionally abused and underappreciated all for minimum wage.
Please treat these people with respect and dignity.
 

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
35,410
I worked at Suncoast Video for a year and then GameStop for about a year and a half. Never been back in retail since (my last time working behind a counter was in 2009 or so), and I don't miss it.
 
Jul 27, 2019
217
While a teenager I worked part time at a health food store for about a year, barely above minimum wage. It wasn't too bad but I didn't need the job to survive.
 

Techno

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
2,440
Somehow never had a retail job, I managed to dodge it. My first job was data entry, then after that straight into IT.
 

Based0ne

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
661
USA
I worked 10 years in the bank (started when I was 20) and it was hell. The stress of sales, the uncertainty of your job, and dealing with customers over money was just too much. I was literally taking my baggage home and was mentally exhausted by the time I got off.

Those 10 years as shitty as they were, I’m thankful for due to the fact of how much experience I got and how it’s helped me out on my resume. I went from a teller to banker and I was able to successfully switch careers. I now work in IT as a Help Desk Technician and that’s partly due to my customer service experience and the fact I got my A+ certificate.

In the month and 1/2 I’ve been here, my mood has completely changed and I’m certainly not stressed like before. I work for a great company that certainly takes care of its workers. Happy to have made the switch and I feel like it’s the best thing that happened in my life plus, I make the same amount compared to my last position.

Best of luck OP.
 

Kindekuma

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
2,049
No I’m still living it as a store manager. Corporate breathing down our necks about pushing sales when traffic has gone to an all time low and trying to hire seasonal people when our pay is lower than other shops in the area. It’s an uphill battle.
 

CopyOfACopy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
980
kmart couple months
waldbaums couple months
Sears couple months
Pergament couple months
Bobs couple weeks
Target 7 years....

and ive been out for 11 years