How working retail had helped me

Good morning!

We’re all on the same page, working customer service in retail is never a fun thing to do with how workers get treated.. however, I’d lie if I would tell you that it didn’t help me learn a thing or two – and even improved my anxiety on the good side though it is mostly impacted me negatively xd.

1. Speaking english

I’ve addressed it a couple times before, especially in this one here, but I was rather late to finally get a hold of learning english. In fact, when I graduated high school, I was absolutely terrified of speaking it!! In the end, I got a job at the sex shop on the english part of the town.. which mainly 95% of the customers were english- so I literally had no other choices. Totally true when they say the best way to learn a language is to be engrossed in it 😅

2. Beat my phone phobia (social anxiety)

At the same workplace, since we were working alone most of the time, again we had no choice but to pick up the phone when it rang. It helped a LOT on the answering part, more than the calling part, because when someone calls you they usually know what they want to tell you.. i’m very much still panicking when I need to call somewhere, sadly.

It somewhat also helped ease my social anxiety as a whole .. as it’s expected of you that you engage in conversations with customers. I’m certainly a more “inside myself” type of person, I’ve never been the outgoing type, but atleast I can approach people better.

3. Gaining confidence

Working at a local family owned pet shop helped me gain so much confidence! It’s something that I always struggled with, as I grew up with depression & anxiety – I got to learn products and pet nutrition, so whenever people would ask any questions, I knew the answer and had the informations. Knowing I had the knowledge and know my stuff helped me greatly, aswell as all the customers being grateful for my informations and really believed me (some others however..) 

Among all the bad, did retail gave you a few good aswell?