Patience, please!

by Hannah Schoenecker • 11/28/08 • As we zero in on the holidays, shopping for the perfect gift for our loved ones is a primary thought. Sure, most guys plead to not understanding women’s fascination and borderline addiction to shopping. So let me lend a little insight. Shopping, to many women, is similar to getting behind the wheel of a muscle car—let’s use my favorite, the 1969 Mustang Shelby GT 500. As clicky heels meet shiny, tiled floor or as worn shoe-tread meets worn rubber covering the gas pedal, a shot of adrenaline is injected into the bloodstream; searching for the perfect gift at a bargain price, getting to it before the lady next to you is akin to edging the gas pedal ever further to the floorboards, bolts rattling and engine roaring, pulling away from the poor guy behind you, stuck eating your pony dust.

That said, let me get to the heart of this particular blog. As one who works in retail, I’ve seen firsthand the shopping madness in a different light. It’s not so much fun when you’re the one folding shirt after shirt after a day of them being pilfered through by who knows how many shoppers. Or forcing a smile as one snappy, crabby person after another goes through your line, upset that the lines are so long and demanding to know why we haven’t done something about it.

So, as we all enter into this holiday season, all I ask is that you go into it with a little consideration for the poor saps who are their waiting on you. They’re doing the best they can with the resources available to them. Return policies, declined credit applications, clothes not available in the size you need — all are out of us lowly employees’ hands. So, be patient. We’re there to help, not hinder.

Hannah Schoenecker is a student at Anoka Ramsey Community College and works at Target