If you are habitually late you will be leaving your coworkers in a lurch. You also risk facing disciplinary action or even dismissal, depending on the jurisdiction in which you work. If you can’t make work because you’re ill or indisposed for a good reason, alert your workplace as early as you can. This allows them to make alternative arrangements to cover your shift. Equally, if you want to get ahead in the job, making it known that you’re available to fill in at short notice can be a great way to get noticed, make more money and be seen as highly reliable. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/9/9d/Excel-in-a-Retail-Job-Step-1Bullet2. jpg/v4-460px-Excel-in-a-Retail-Job-Step-1Bullet2. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/9/9d/Excel-in-a-Retail-Job-Step-1Bullet2. jpg/aid3785363-v4-728px-Excel-in-a-Retail-Job-Step-1Bullet2. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

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If the store requires a uniform of some sort, keep it well laundered and pressed (find out if the company covers such costs). [1] X Research source Have a comb or brush handy for touching up hair during the shift, and perhaps a small mirror and some makeup for touch-ups. [2] X Research source {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/7/72/Excel-in-a-Retail-Job-Step-2Bullet2. jpg/v4-460px-Excel-in-a-Retail-Job-Step-2Bullet2. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/7/72/Excel-in-a-Retail-Job-Step-2Bullet2. jpg/aid3785363-v4-728px-Excel-in-a-Retail-Job-Step-2Bullet2. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

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For example, you might want to take home used boxes from the store for your volunteer work of doing art with street kids. However, your store might have a policy that employees take nothing from the store; you’d need to know this beforehand, or risk being dismissed.

What about those times when a coworker wants to chat endlessly? Realize how bad this looks to customers, and how it can cause customers to shy away from asking for your help or service. Ask your coworker to keep the chatting to times when customers are not directly affected; if your coworker seems to keep chatting, it can help to ignore any attempts to engage you in conversation when it’s not convenient. [3] X Research source Seasonal events can stress everyone in your team, when there are many shoppers, stock is strewn everywhere and you’re constantly stuck at the cashier’s spot. On such occasions, give each other pep talk, offer a word of praise now and then, and keep an eye out for coworkers who miss breaks and offer to cover for them so that they can take them to refresh. Sometimes coworkers will behave negatively. On such occasions, be aware that workplace conflict is a natural part of working with others and is something to manage, not run from. Try to handle things yourself initially but if it’s too difficult or involves serious issues such as harassment, seek immediate help from your supervisors/superiors. There may be times when one or more members of your team fails to take the role seriously. Realize that everyone has down days or feels fed up with what they’re doing. It’s not usually about you, so don’t take their behavior to heart. Ask them “What’s up?” and be compassionate about their issues.

Aim to be flexible. This includes keeping an open mind if you’re asked by management to stay late during the busy holiday season or to take on an extra responsibility. If you execute this well enough, your efforts will be recognized and you are likely to receive some kind of benefits in the long run, perhaps even a promotion. Ask questions. Whether it’s because you don’t know something or because you’d like to try something innovative but you’re not sure how it’d go down, asking questions shows engagement with the job and interest in it.

Smile and stay upbeat even when the customer doesn’t smile back. Customers do notice your smile, they may simply be too busy, self-absorbed in thoughts about what they have to do next or a shrinking violet. Your pleasantness may be enough to thaw the ice for the next person that customer meets! {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/6/66/Excel-in-a-Retail-Job-Step-6Bullet1. jpg/v4-460px-Excel-in-a-Retail-Job-Step-6Bullet1. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/6/66/Excel-in-a-Retail-Job-Step-6Bullet1. jpg/aid3785363-v4-728px-Excel-in-a-Retail-Job-Step-6Bullet1. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">

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<br />\n</p></div>"} Be aware that disengagement from or lack of enthusiasm for your job is apparent to all––to your coworkers, your boss. . . and yes, your customers. And customers are super ready to judge that a disengaged retail worker is likely to not want to help them, setting up a defensive situation from the start. Even if this job isn’t your dream ticket to a future career, stay professional; it’s good training for any future job. And you never know when your next customer might be a source of information or work opportunities––or simply interesting!

Be aware that often the more challenging customer has underlying emotional issues, such as anxiety about overspending, anger about something totally unrelated to the store/sale (and you’re sadly an easy victim), a sense of entitlement, etc. It is not personal (which is probably why it hurts even more, as you feel treated like an automaton). Whatever the cause, stay calm and polite, and if you feel you’re over your head, call for your supervisor. [5] X Research source Debrief whenever a customer has been especially difficult. Whether it’s encouraged by your workplace culture or not, find at least one team member with whom you can talk through difficult experiences. If your workplace doesn’t already have such an opportunity in place, suggest that learning sessions be implemented to help all of you learn how to better deal with difficult situations in a more professional and constructive manner. Nobody is born knowing how to solve all conflict, and such skill-building should be part of your workplace training.

Demonstrate to others how important it is to pick up stock on the floor, rearrange messy stock etc. , by simply pitching in and fixing it whenever the need is apparent. You don’t need directions from above to keep the store neat.