Sweater Weather

It is a mere 85 degrees this week but the wind has been a beautiful light breeze which is a wonderful contrast to the usual sweat fest the Florida sun provides daily.

My store gets clothes in stock that make me want to rhetorically ask the buyers for the store, "where do you think we are, Minnesota?"

The store gets clothes that would make you question if you were in the sunshine state or about to face a snow storm if you step outside.

There are vests with inches of fabric that make one appear bulky yet cozy.

There are sweaters, in fact sweaters galore that make you want to buy Yankee candles, sit around watching Audrey Hepburn films, and a warm blanket as if it were freezing outside.



I should know this because for the last two weeks all I can think about is how much my store reminds me of fall. That is right, me of the season fall.

I am from Texas and have never seen snow nor the leaves change colors but in my mind the sweaters, the leggings, the beautiful plaid scarves all make me feel like I am in the Carolina's warming up by a fire place with a spiced tea latte in one hand and To Kill a Mockingbird in another.



Isn't it amazing that a look of a store, the clothing, the mannequins, can motivate one to feel the need to shop for things that keep them in the holiday spirit? I can imagine it is what motivates the world of retail.

I have more sweater tops then I will ever wear and I now buy lattes that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I light candles and watch endless classic films.

My store is getting to me...and I like it.

Forty Percent off Frenzy

The perks of working in retail are slowly starting to pay off. I have a fifty percent discount for my store which is very handy when you’re starting off.

In the beginning of working at Gap I did not feel the need to wear the stores clothing. It did not make me feel like it fit my style or that I would look remotely decent wearing the clothing.

They encourage you to do “fit” sessions where you try on the jeans and tops to get an idea of what you’re selling. Sometime between my first fit session to this past weekend I gradually bought a few pieces to put together regularly so I could appear more “Gap” like.

The few pieces held me for a while but I started to get bored. It is easy to get bored with my plain crew neck tees when the store gets new clothing in once a week it seems.

The need to get new clothes was weighing on my mind heavily and then out of nowhere I am surprised to see, Christmas had come early.

This past weekend we had a forty percent off already marked sale prices. Underwear that is usually twelve dollars was a measly $1.80. Sweater tops I had been drooling over were 10 dollars and some change after mark down.

I happily worked everyday this weekend and every time I came into the store I bought more and more items.

After doing some way over due spring cleaning I added my new Gap attire into my closet and I must say I feel very good about sticking it out and buying the items that were on sale. Sale prices are like heaven on earth.

The forty percent off frenzy was insane and very draining yet time flew by each shift and I got to do some floor shopping as well so at the end of the weekend it was very worth it.

Go Away

I love my work, I love my social skills constantly being utilized every time I do a shift.

What I do not love is loosing hours.

Compared to the last month, I have gone from twenty five hours a week down to ten this coming week.

I went into work a little stressed doubting any chance of me paying my rent.

On arrival I hear everyone else moaning and groaning about a huge drop in the hours.

I have never been so stressed.

I have five days off in a row and almost full time availability.

It is a little nerve wrecking and to make things worse, I worked my one of two shifts for the week Sunday and learned that a few sales associates all returned at the same time from long vacations away from the job hence taking my hours with them.

I know things will work out, I really like my job but a few weeks of this will have me fretting to pay bills.

I am going to remain optimistic and lessen the hostility I feel towards the older employees returning back to work. Its not real hostility just a tension to say, "where did all my hours go?"

I am holding out for the hope of getting an extra shift thrown at me, ya never know, it could happen.

People Are Paid to Count

My schedule is released to all Gap workers on Friday just in time for everyone to plan accordingly for the upcoming week.

This past week I evaluated my schedules hours to get my game face on for the week to come and noticed my hours were drastically different.

Our schedules are displayed in military time which is very annoying. After doing the counting with the added difficulty of military time I realize I am schedule to work from 9 PM to 2 AM.

I immediately had to inquire further about why they needed me for such late hours, come to find out I was scheduled to spend my Saturday doing late night inventory on the entire store.

Inventory involves counting absolutely everything in the store. We division off into groups and begin tediously counting frantically, down to the last sock.

The most fascinating moment of this mind boggling experience is that a company comes in with us and uses scanners to process every number on every item we have in the store.

Individuals from the company begin with a table or items that are hung up, and they type in every stock number through out the clothing.

I, then go behind them and recount to double check that they count every item in the store. If they miss one or over counted I address them and they have to go through all the items again.

Tedious is mild in comparison to how aggressive the counting process is.

I have Attention Deficit Disorder and dyslexia which was an added frustration that held my hand through the wee hours of the morning.

I cannot imagine the type of person it takes to be apart of a counting company. It truly was exasperating as I watch flabbergasted at their counting abilities whip through the stores tall vaults of jeans.

Every week I am learning more about the company, my individual store, and my fellow employees which is nice because the more time I devote the more at home I feel.

Fall Fashion Ceases to Amaze Me

With excitement I am proud to say that I survived my first 6 AM shift at Gap and got to witness the tedious process of getting "new flow" in or getting new clothing into the stores.

Until this moment I really believed that little midnight fairies whisked into stores after hours and dressed mannequins, decorated the windows, and changed the inventory around on top of making the store bright and shiny.

Sorry to burst your bubble if you were in the same boat as I but instead of fabulous fairies doing the dirty work it is the Joe Shmoe also known as me doing the behind the scenes jobs that make a store look customer ready every morning.

I was overwhelmed by this process because I truly had no idea people did all of the work to get things running. I am so impressed with how diligently Gap nationwide works to change up the store layouts. From mannequins to window drops, it takes hours to change the face of a store.

The visual team comes out and strip everything down to the bare minimum and everything is shuffled around the store. With 5 hours of hard work, it is a whole new look for a store.

I can't say that I like the idea of working that early in the morning but it was a great learning exeperience.

The Fall line arrived particularly the morning I worked. I do not know what possesses stores to put garments in Florida stores that are so unnatural for anyone to wear.

Fluffy vests that are five inches thick around the body just do not cut it down in the sunshine state.

I love sweaters and would own every sweater in the store if it were something I would use on a regular basis.

Since the products have hit the shelves I am always asking customers where they are going if they purchase any thing in the fall line.

Everyone seems to be heading to New York over the next few months. I must say I am slightly jealous. I would love to have a place to wear some of the things that we released last week.

I will continue to let the blog community know about the behind the scenes work that the "retail fairies" do.

Busy Little Worker Bee

It confused me at first but I see now why people did not greet with me a hug and a jump for joy when I told them I was embarking on my first run in to retail. What people knew that I did not, is retail is grueling. The long hours, the throbbing knees, and the inflaming feet after an eight hour shift are more than words can describe.

On top of that there are the hot flashes while I hustle in and out of the fitting room. Come to think of it, hustle is mild compared to the chaos that takes place after a customer dumps a pile of the same t-shirt in five different colors onto my arms as if I have nothing better to do with time then wait on them.

I have learned that my hard work and perseverance are counteracted by my minor achievements after working a long shift.

For example, I got another Gap card this week which granted me praise from my fellow employees as well as putting a smile on my face. Then there are the foreign traveler's who stroll through the store willing to buy practically anything because its cheaper in the United States then in their countries.

My favorite moment of this past week has been helping a 6 foot 2 girl gain the confidence to trying on every jean we have in the store. Seeing her face when she fit like a glove into our Long and Lean jean was the high of my week.

I realize that my true calling in life is helping people. It pleases me to assist them in anyway I can. I think that as long as I get excited when I help someone,it means I am happy right where I am in life.

The day that feeling changes, is the day I move onto something new.

For now, it is safe to say retail does makes me feel fulfilled and positive about what I do on a daily basis.

Never say never

To be honest, I had my doubts. Giving a credit card out these days is like tattooing the word debt on a persons forehead yet I did it.

I sold a Gap card. Besides getting praise from my work team I felt great about myself. It was a wonderful sweet woman who was not hung up on the doubts about getting a card, in fact she was eager to get one which made my enormous challenge seem smaller somehow.

I was so happy that I had closed the deal on my goal that I stumbled through the entire order. Once I processed the information for the card I was so relieved to have my Gap goal for the week off my back that the rest of my shift seemed to just fly by.

Now that the first one is behind me I am already looking to a second and now that I need another credit card but I am eager to get a card for myself in the near future.

A big to do about nothing

The intensity has continued to build as the cash register became a little easier this week for me. I thought that once I had the register down I would be in good graces with all of my responsibilities at work only to learn that I HAVE to sell a Gap card.

I like goals and thoroughly enjoy accomplishing it but this one was super intimidating. They tell you the great perks for selling the card and give you tips on how to do it then feed you to the wolves as you pray t0 the retail gods to bring someone into your store that will have a desire for a credit card in this horrible time for the economy. I don't need another card so talk about a challenge it is to try and motivate someone else to get one.

We have quotas to fill for the month and mine obviously is very low but one card might has well be one million. I continue to go over my lines in my head. The whys to why you need the card and the whats as in what you can do with the card and all the added goodies Gap gives to make the card appealing. I am hoping and praying I can get a card this week just one to make this pressure all go away. Wish me luck!

Well that went well

To mark my one week of retail work, my superiors felt it necessary to commemorate my hard efforts by teaching me how to work the cash register. I felt like I was being human sacrificed as I went through some prep work before the doors open. Nothing could prepare me for the flood of people demanding refunds, exchanges, buying gift cards, the list goes on and on and every transaction is different.

Thankfully the team I work with is very accessible and they held my hand through the day as I faced challenge after challenge. By the first hour of ringing I wanted to cry or go hide somewhere in a hole. I did not do anything that was not expected of a first timer but the anxiety I felt having to ask someone every single time I had a customer kind of made me feel like I was bugging everyone to death.

I worked my first open to close and by the end of the day I was in need of a serious hug, some comfort food, and a foot massage. I am already dreading my second day of cashiering but experience is the best way to learn so I am working on being more optimistic about it.

I just thought that experience was worth sharing and I have yet to learn what a traveler's check looks like so when that happens to cross my way I am sure the anxiety will set in all over again.

And the fun begins

After advancing through my collegiate years with internships to accelerate my career goals I was happy to see that I had quite the media resume. I had made many connections in the world of media and journalism and almost all the college credits I need to graduate. What I did not have was a bank account with a positive amount to get me through the month.

Between jetting back from class to class and running to get coffee for my superiors at my unpaid internships I had somehow not had saved a dime and began frantically looking for a job. Lucky for me GAP was hiring and so my adventure into retail began. I am on week one and I can admit honestly that I am absolutely beat. I had no idea so many people spent the amount of time, effort, and money into finding the perfect pair of jeans before heading back to school.

I love people and believe now that I have truly missed my calling in retail all of these years. I used to think that going into a store and trying something on and lazily discarding it behind me in the dressing room was no big deal. I vow to never do that again because karma has showed me the error of my ways as I wait on customers hand and foot and fold ten million shirts and jeans a day. Through my whining I must be honest getting paid to sell clothes, listen to really loud music, and hang out with my fellow employees has been great so far.

With week one behind me I have had my matters of frustration mainly involving people and their lack of courtesy for others but it won't be the last time so I am going to take this experience in stride and thanks for all who read this through out the months ahead. Until next time, I am off to sell some jeans.