I worked in retail for almost three years. During that time, I learned a lot about myself and how to work. And I’m going to share those insights.

Why I Joined

I initially joined Shopko because I was struggling with social anxiety. I had become attached to the opinions of others. This anxiety was so uncomfortable that it drove me to avoid social interaction.

This fear was damaging my life. I knew the only way out was to face my fear voluntarily. I had deliberated on a few different options, and I decided the best action was to get a job cashiering at Shopko. It was a means of self-development to leave out of my comfort zone and face my fear of social interaction. This was only the start, as I applied this mindset to learn new roles and develop myself.

Cashiering as a Crash Course in Social Skills

My first job at Shopko was cashiering. Cashiering included checking out items, restocking register merchandise, calling other departments to bring up items, receiving customer calls, and collecting shopping carts.

The first few days were painful. After that, I became less afraid. I became less attached to their opinions and started observing their behavior. I asked questions such as,

• Did their tone of voice sound stressful?
• Were they in a rush?
• How talkative were they?

After a while of these observations, I created a script for customer interactions. I would say hello and ask them if they found everything they were looking for. If not, I would help them. If yes, I would ask them how their day was going. That usually sparked additional conversations.

Finding New Ways to Create Value in Lawn and Garden 

After one and a half months of cashiering, my manager asked if anyone wanted to work in the Lawn and Garden section. I saw this as a great opportunity to expand my skill-set and get into management’s good graces, so I took the job.

My responsibilities included checking customers out, watering plants, swapping features, consolidating plants, and stocking new plants.

This position was more independent than cashiering, as there were no supervisors. The only way to ask management for help was to call inside the store, which usually took a while.

I had to be resourceful, proactive, and learn to solve problems by myself. There was one time when the hose broke at the faucet, meaning we couldn’t water the plants. Without water, the plants would’ve died, costing the store thousands of dollars. 

I had never fixed a hose before, but I knew how to problem-solve. After quickly assessing the situation, I duct-taped the broken part together. Then, I could still water the plants until someone could repair the damage.

As I became more competent in my role, tasks took less time. With fewer tasks, I started looking for new ways to add value. This included developing a more robust script for talking with customers, sweeping, and getting carts for the cashiers.

Learning to be Efficient in the Backroom

After the lawn and garden shut down, management asked me to work in the back. There was a shortage of associates, and they needed extra help. Again, this was a great opportunity to expand my skill set, so I accepted.

I stocked shelves, back stocked, straightened merchandise, unloaded trucks, re-designed features, and ran up items to the registers.

Contrary to the lawn and garden section, I always had more tasks. Rather than finding new ways to create value, I focused on being more efficient. I memorized the location of many items and answers to common customer questions, prioritized stocking the most profitable and least stocked areas, and created a workflow that resulted in peak efficiency. I batched similar items and worked them together to save time. And, learned I enjoy independent work. Work where I chose the speed. It gave me an incentive to be more efficient.

Working on the floor was my biggest team environment. We had about 7-10 different employees working on the same side of the store. We had delegated and specialized in different departments. These were where we instantaneously knew where everything went.

Specializing in Electronics

After working on the floor, management again asked me to take on extra responsibility. This time it was electronics. Electronics has its own associate because it’s more technical and has more safety precautions.

I had to answer questions about different electronics, unlock TVs, stock electronic merchandise, and lock expensive items.

The key idea I got from electronics was specialization. I had to know my stuff, as customers would ask specific questions about a SIM card, a new gaming console, or a TV. So, I picked the brain of the head electronics associate.

When customers asked me questions I couldn’t answer, I made a mental note and found the answer later. Then, when customers asked me a similar question, I gave a better response.

Work to Develop Yourself

Retail was an outstanding experience, as it taught me so much about myself. I learned,

• How to work well in a team
• The style of work I enjoy
• How to talk to customers
• How to add value
• How to be efficient

None of this would have happened if I didn’t take that first step to leave my comfort zone. After that, I was merely looking for the next opportunity to improve. And sometimes, that’s all it takes.