work: my month in retail

I have just concluded a monthlong stint as a cashier at a local office supply store.  It has been a profoundly humbling and eye-opening experiment in work.  After going quietly nuts in the house, I walked in and applied for a job.  Amazingly, it took three interviews to land a job that paid well under $10 an hour.

The experience taught me a few things:
1.  There is dignity in all work - as much dignity as you bring to it.
2.  The two hardest jobs for me, hands down, have been retail and waitressing - far more difficult than anything I have done as a consultant.  I have nothing but respect for the people who do those jobs cheerfully and well.
3. People will follow a good manager; a bad manager, by contrast, makes everyone jumpy and miserable.  The fact that this is news to me means I have been very fortunate to have good managers until now.
4. Many of my coworkers were young single parents who did not have the luxury of walking away.  I applaud them for working and trying to get ahead, but I couldn't help feeling that for some of them, this was as far as they would get.  My heart goes out to them.
5.  My favorite part of the job is connecting with each customer, if only briefly...even the crabby ones.  If I can bring them around, it's a win.
6.  Retail hasn't changed much in the 30 years since I worked at Zehender's Pharmacy in Oak Park.  It's still standing, serving customers, putting away inventory, cleaning, etc.
7.  I am not physically cut out for standing up for 6 hours at a stretch.  Ultimately, that was the dealbreaker for me.

So last Friday, I turned in my uniform shirt and thanked the assistant manager for the opportunity; I will resume my role as a happy customer.  I am grateful to have had the chance to get out and experience that kind of work, if only for a short period of time.  It doesn't pay enough to balance out the foot pain, and it doesn't use enough of my skill set to be satisfying long-term, but it is always useful to push myself out of the comfort zone.  I have no regrets.  Now the real job hunt begins!