If you’re going to shop on a holiday, don’t rub it in when you talk to store employees. OK?
Retail worker Colleen Brown (@colleenbrownnnn) recently posted a video on the joys of working a day that most people have off. Brown pretended to speak to a customer off-camera as she stood behind a cash register.
“‘OMG I cannot believe you guys are open today! It’s a holiday!’ – customer who comes in to shop on said holiday,” she wrote via the text overlay.
@colleenbrownnnn it bc of u #fyp #retail ♬ original sound – Aaron 🫢
She doubled-down on her frustration in the accompanying caption, writing, “it bc of u.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, Brown’s post had more than 861,000 views, with a number of fellow retail workers claiming to have had similar interactions with customers.
“And then they proceed to be needy and expect you to go wildly above and beyond your job description,” one commenter wrote.
“‘I’m so sorry you have to work on a holiday!’ no you’re not,” another said.
“people will ask why i’m working on such a nice day, like sir??” a third person complained.
Others, however, didn’t understand why service workers were complaining. Some said that they plan to utilize a store’s availability—regardless of whether it’s a holiday.
“how is it my fault that yr boss didn’t close down for the day?” one person asked. “if its open imma go in.”
“Why are people blaming customers?” another questioned. “That is up to the people that own the place.”
“Idk I used to feel this way then I realized it’s management/corporates fault,” a third person said. “Yes customers come in but it’s truly the greediness of the company.”
But opening a retail store on a holiday isn’t always worth it, according to Harvard Business Review. “Opening stores on a holiday often means they pay employees time and a half,” it said. “And it’s unlikely that opening stores earlier makes people spend more for holiday shopping; they just spend more that day and less on other days.” (The publication wrote specifically about opening for business on Thanksgiving, so it’s unclear if the same logic applies to July 4).
Still, according to Harvard Business Review, holiday operating hours mean that “retail employees are once again reminded of how little their companies care about their lives and well being.”
Update 3:57pm CT, July 5:
In an interview via Instagram direct message, Brown said she was surprised by how much the video resonated with viewers.
She thought that the audio clip was funny, and it immediately made her think of working on July 4, she said. She’s been working in retail since she was a teenager.
“People relate because we are underpaid and understaffed on days like that,” Brown told The Daily Dot.
