A quick 4:30am rant

I've been up for about three hours already and I'm afraid I'm in it for the long haul, so may as well write something that's been on my mind for weeks.

When shopping this holiday season, be a servant to those who are trying to scrape together a living and find ways to make their jobs easier instead of harder. If you try on a coat, zip it up. If you try on some gloves or a hat, put them back where you found them.

I've been dealing with cold weather clothing for three months solid now and am constantly amazed that people will come into a store, destroy the place and leave with a "Well, they're paid to clean up after me" mentality. From snow pants left half inside out in the middle of the floor to hats that are left laying at the bottom of the shelf instead of being rehung, I spend a large part of my day cleaning up. Before I leave at the end of a closing shift, the shops have to all be cleaned and straightened for the next day's business which means that I am usually there for almost a half hour longer than I would be during bike season and have to shift my attention from selling to cleaning about one hour before my shift ends instead of focusing on helping customers if I hope to get home to spend time with Amy.

I'm not paid to clean up after people at the store. I'm paid to sell stuff. If the shop I'm selling in is a mess, it makes the shop less appealing to shop in and makes items harder to find. So guess what? I wind up having to clean it up. While I am cleaning it up, I am less able to assist customers and sell less. And when I sell less, I make less.

Yes you can certainly make the argument that in a sense I am paid to clean up after people, but pretend you're a guest in their home and don't take advantage of a retailer's hospitality.

Thanks for indulging me.