Black Friday Woes: In the Shoes of an Adidas Employee

1133 Words3 Pages

He’s twenty-five. Works at Adidas, an athlete dream job, who can get items at a discounted price. Knows ahead of time when items will be on sale and receives benefits as an employee of Adidas. He has been working at Adidas for the past 2 years, his salary depends on customers stating his name when an item is purchased. On average, he earns nine hundred dollars a month.

My job is becoming stressful and holidays like Black Friday, isn’t the best way to spend it as an employee. I applied right before Christmas ended in 2013 and so did my friend. I was hired a day after my friend received a notice the following year, stating that he did not get the job, but I did. (Laughs.) Ever since the past two years working as a salesperson, the theory of changing jobs has not passed through my mind yet. The company provides various athletic equipment and clothing, for numerous sports. Since I’m a competitive soccer player, I can create better customer relationships in all departments. However, that all changes, when Black Friday arrives. Customers become aggressive and expect answers to each question, within seconds. I see customers on Black Friday, as a snatch and grab customer, who moves from one store to the next.
At my position, I greet and inform customers on our Black Friday sale. I stand in the middle of the store, hoping to not get a rude customer, because that ticks me off. “Hi there, can I offer my assistance?”. Most times, I get a “no or yes” but after working here for two years, you can identify who needs help and who doesn’t. The hard part of the job is obtaining 500 employee points to enjoy exciting benefits the company offers. Accordingly, these employee points allow employees to obtain discounts and gain higher wages, only if, th...

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... to give her my discount, as an employee and I wondered. How did she think of this, what was her goal? Every single item was on sale, and disposing my employee benefits was not an option. That was not going to occur. Her looks were deceiving; she was gorgeous and had a lovely accent. The worst part was that, I wanted to help, but I could not because I was respecting the rules. Most customers have a plan on what to buy, but her plan was opposite. She had the nerve to re-ask me for a discount and when I said “no” and kept enduring me constantly, you must help the customer. She then made a complaint about my behavior, and reported me to my manager, Mr. Paul. Consequently, he tells me “Don’t worry, Black Friday brings out the worst and best customers”. Nevertheless, I’m lucky that my manager understood the situation I was in and did not think twice about firing me today.

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