Pour yourself a wine and let it all out. If you work in retail, you know this is the worst time of the year. Because people are absolute monsters when it comes to Christmas shopping.
But you have a shoulder to cry on here, friends. I’m still dealing with the trauma of my stint working in retail – and it’s been over a decade since I quit.
We’re gonna need a bigger bottle.
Back in my uni days, I worked at a mass-market jewellery store in Western Sydney. We’re talking Cubic Zirconia territory, not fancy pants bespoke gems. It was stinking hot – literally – because the store air-con was busted. Such a hoot!
A week before Christmas, a guy came in with his two young daughters, aged maybe eight and 10, and he’d given them $50 to buy something for Mum. Now it doesn’t take Tiffany’s to tell you 50 bucks won’t go far with jewellery, but I accepted the challenge and found the girls a few delicate pieces.
They chose a simple twisted rope-style gold ring for their mum. Nothing offensive; in fact very in-style with the whole stacking trend right now. The girls were super proud, and I wrapped it up and sent them on their merry way, quietly chuffed at myself.
Definitely getting into the Good Place.
But when the store re-opened after Christmas, in walked Mum with her two kids and hubby in tow. She threw the box on the counter and declared: “I want a refund, I won’t wear this”. I know, right? WHAT. A. MONSTER.
I’ve seen mums wear hand-made macaroni necklaces and absolutely rank perfume out in public just because their kids gave it to them. But apparently toting a small gold ring, even for a couple of outings before hiding it in a drawer and eventually regifting it, was too much for this woman. It was as if she’d been lumped with The Lord Of The Rings band and really, really didn’t want to go to Mordor.
Yeah, no one really wants this ring, ey?
So in the interest of reclaiming a bit of Christmas spirit from these monsters, let’s hug it out, go around the room and just vent. This is your safe space.
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