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I started working in retail as a teen; my job made me hate the holiday season.Hearing the same music on repeat from as early as September and working on Black Friday were awful.Now that I no longer work in retail, I’m finally able to enjoy the music and decorations.
I started working in the world of retail and customer service when I was about 12, when my parents decided to buy their first hardware store. When I went to college, I got a job at a big-box home-improvement store. It was a natural fit, but working in retail came with challenges.
Specifically, it made me despise the holidays. Now that I’ve been out of the retail world for a few years, I no longer hate the holiday season. In fact, I’ve come to embrace it.
Listening to Christmas music on repeat was annoying
If you’ve ever walked into a big home-improvement store, you know the Christmas decorations go up early — really early. It’s annoying enough as a customer to have to wade through aisles of sparkling ornaments and Santa-themed decor when it isn’t even Halloween yet. Doing that as an employee for weeks on end is a hundred times worse.
Then there’s the incessant Christmas music the home-improvement store played on a loop, starting as early as September. There’s just something awful about having to listen to Christmas music on repeat for three months, while dealing with rude customers.
I often worked Black Friday and risked my life getting there
Another misery of working retail during the holidays? The mandatory shifts on the dreaded Black Friday, and sometimes the days leading up to it.
Because I worked part time at the store in college, I didn’t always get the best shifts. One year, that meant being on the schedule to work for four hours at the end of Black Friday. I had been in my hometown for Thanksgiving, and it just so happened there was a winter storm that dumped snow and ice everywhere. But if we didn’t show up for our shifts, management threatened us with consequences. So I drove 170 miles from home to college, on glare ice most of the way — nothing like risking one’s life for a part-time job.
Other times on Black Friday, I’d be scheduled to work a short shift, only to be cut early. Then I’d go home to an empty apartment instead of spending time with family or friends.
The forced festiveness turned me into a Grinch
I became quite the Grinch because of the music and decor that started in September. I refused to watch Christmas movies and darn sure wasn’t about to listen to Christmas music outside work hours.
I started dating my now-husband while in college, and he was a little taken aback by my hatred of anything holiday-related. It felt like everyone else got to enjoy the holiday season, while I despised it because of the forced festiveness I’d already endured for weeks.
Leaving my retail role meant I could actually enjoy the holidays
After college, I transitioned from retail work to customer service. Though working with people was still challenging (especially cranky customers during the holidays), I no longer had to listen to Christmas music and be surrounded by snow-covered decor for months. To my surprise, I was able to tolerate some holiday music and decor when I was out shopping.
Eventually, I started buying holiday decor and music to enjoy at home. In fact, because I adore anything sparkly and have now embraced the holidays, our house tends to be coated in sparkles during December — but never before Thanksgiving.