By Joe Walker
“Will a gift keep on giving if you give it back?”
The closer we get to Christmas the crazier, greedier and more rude shoppers become. It makes me not even want to go to the stores. I hate being in line behind, or standing near, someone acting like a you-know-what! For anyone who has ever worked retail this should really hit home: If an advertised item goes on sale at 9:00A.M. and you show up to the store at 6:30 P.M., chances are you’re not going to get whatever it was you went there for.
Upset as you may be, don’t take it out on the employees. They’re just working. They’re not secretly plotting to ruin your holiday of gift giving or coveting some secret stash of goods in that mystical store location known as “The Back”.
Christmas time is advertised as a time of giving. Your behavior probably gives store associates headaches, tension, a bad mood, or thoughts of mass destruction that begins with your face. Jesus wouldn’t appreciate either of you acting so mean in preparation for his annual birthday celebration.
I’ve been told it’s a good idea to begin holiday shopping in September or October because you’re more likely to find what you’re looking with less stress, searching and hassle (on your part). Christmas is the 25th. You started shopping on the 19th. You’re not going to find the James Bond DVD set, and don’t bother asking for Sex & The City either. The red and green decorations you wanted were gone weeks ago. Ordering that twenty-year-old favorite album for one of your parents is a good idea, just not a week before opening day. You’re not going to get a Nintendo Wii.
With all that said (just as example), don’t go in the stores acting like an unruly brat because you can’t get what you want, or because an employee at the store says they’re out of something or can’t get it in time. Say “thank you” anyway, buy something else, go home and watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. Entertainment with a lesson should do you some good.
New Resolution #24: Be nice, not naughty.
