5 Things I Learned About Retail (and Disney) After 2 Years at the Disney Store
By: Anthony Wolf
Tags: Work Life Balance, Workplace Culture, Retail, Disney, Life Lessons

But you shouldn’t blame them for it. Retail can show you two contrasting sides of the people you work with: the one on the shop floor, and the one outside of the store’s premises. You will see people laugh and cry, even get along with them, and then hate their guts as soon as you have to work together. It has happened, it happens to everyone and it will happen all the time.

But when you truly start to get along with someone, when you make some real friends— well, that changes everything. Then you can have a laugh even at the most stressful and tense of times.

3. Wealth : Politeness = Water : Fire?

Retail can easily trick you into thinking there is a simple rule to being a person in today’s materialistic world: the more wealth you have, the more of a prick you will be. Especially if you were born with that kind of “luck” — although new money people are no joke either.

The truth is that rude people are everywhere, regardless of wealth, social status and personality. Perhaps you’ve even stumbled upon them on a bad day, trying to get an expensive costume for a crying seven-year-old, and you’re just adding an extra nail to their coffin. However it goes, you will meet a lot of unpleasant people along the way. Just remember to keep smiling, realise you’ll never see them again, and move on.

Because, at some point, you will meet that one amazing person that can make your day. Perhaps you have a lot in common — perhaps you can just have fun talking to them, sharing a moment in each other’s day. I remember this amazing guy in a wheelchair who came into the store a couple of times, with Disney tattoos all over his body and a Sorcerer’s Apprentice tribute on his back simply because he was such a huge Disney fan. And I loved spending some of my time with him and his girlfriend, two lovely people I will probably never see again in my life.

Rude people may be everywhere, but not all people are rude. Some of them can still be adorable — the amazing hardcore Disney fans, a caring father, an old lady looking for a gift for her beloved niece. They will all put a smile to your face.

Remember them, the moment you have to serve a rich prick.

4. People generally don’t care…

Photo by Ashley Jurius on Unsplash

At some point, however, you’ll learn that people don’t actually care, most of the times. It’s not like they’re laid back or taking the piss — they genuinely care more about themselves than you.

Perhaps you need management to help you with a shift swap even if you can’t do overtime. Perhaps you express your concerns about constant early lunch breaks (oh, right — forget about choosing your own lunch time, you’re not in an office), and all you hear is ‘I only care about the business’ needs’. Which can be a big turndown if you’ve spent the past year trying to grow as a professional in the store.

Sometimes you expect people to just be human, but that doesn’t happen all the time. Instead, you get some self-absorbed leaders focused on themselves and their KPIs, and prioritising ‘the board’ over a guest waiting at the cash registers. And that can drive you crazy too. Luckily, you also get to meet tons of lovely managers along the line — and those who read this will definitely know where they stand, between the two extremes.

The downside of all this is that you’re seen as employees, not people. You’re treated as the same numbers that get written onto those boards, someone to milk until they choose to walk away — just to be replaced with another poor desperate who thinks the Disney Store is the best thing that could happen to them.

On top of that, Disney in particular has a gigantic array of strict requirements and expectations, and some (even among your colleagues) will genuinely think it is acceptable to treat you in a certain way, just because you’re on the company’s payroll.

But that’s never acceptable. A happier workplace is a better workplace — for everybody. Standardised measures and procedures lead to alienation. And if you’re a creative person like I am, you will suffer because of that.

If you’re in retail right now, regardless of your role, make sure to take care of your mental health. That’s the most important thing you have at the moment.