Thoughts on working as a sales assistant

Having the experience of working as a sales assistant, I know that working in retail industry is not my cup of tea.

First complaint I have is the need to work shifts, i.e AM: 9am - 6pm PM: 1.30pm - 10.30pm, and FULL: 9am - 10.30pm. I dislike PM / FULL shifts because by the time I wake up, my family members have all left the house for work and by the time I reach home from work, my family members are all already in their dreamland. This would mean that there would be less time for my interaction with my family which I treasure a lot. AM shift is the best for me but, of course, nobody can do only AM shifts. We would have to rotate to be fair, duh.

The monotony of the nature of work is something I can’t stand too. Doing the same thing over and over again every time you report for work really suck the life out of me. Clean the shelves and fixtures, tag the products and display them, count the number of items left in the store at the end of each month for stock-ageing report… These are the repetitive jobs one has to do as a sales assistant.

The kind of customers you encounter is another issue. Polite and reasonable customers do make your day a little easier but idiotic customers just make you further dislike the job that you’re in right now.

The kind of boss also has a great impact on how much you would feel about the job. If he is arrogant and unfriendly, you are likely to hate the job as you would feel the he is treating you as if you owe him a huge favour such that you have to work very hard to hit the sales target so that his business could generate more profit. In essence, you would feel that you are being treated as a lowly person destined to be controlled by him to survive in this life.

On the flip side, I think this kind of job is ideal for students having their holiday and want to earn extra money, especially if the pay is higher than the market rate or other job types such as admin. It’s an experience too to know how a shop functions and a chance to realise the importance of customer service in retail industry and this is where good communication skills can be learned and practised.

Undeniably, sales assistants are always needed and those who perform well surely would make the customers satisfied with the service rendered. However, the repetition and monotony of the working life of sales assistants shun me away from ever thinking of joining the retail industry.

Furthermore, it does not give me a sense of satisfaction working as a sales assistant because at the end of the day, it is the company that has reaped the most benefit of me working in the shop. Customers do benefit from my product knowledge but I think that it is just minimal and they can always check out on the internet and that makes me very dispensable.

In conclusion, I want to do something that can make a difference in people’s life or have a great impact on the society and the world. This would make me feel useful as I can contribute on a larger scale, and that gives me a sense of importance and satisfaction, instead of isolating myself in a small shop for a lifetime doing something only the boss would benefit.

Prep to Canada! :D

My current mission: Earn as much money as possible in this 2 months+ so that the burden in the future is less when I am in Canada.

I will be dancing, attending IPT and working, which requires at least 8 hours of standing, during this 2 months+. It's rather physically demanding but I know I can and must endure through this period because I will enjoy from 9 Aug till 4 Jan 2014! So I must stay strong and look forward to the National Day! Nothing shall beat me down, be it criticisms from customers or any unhappy incidents that I may encounter during this period. In short, just do what I am supposed to do and forget about ego.

My working hours are such that I would have less time to spend with family. Felt sad especially when I am not going to see them for 4 months since I will be in Canada (enjoying life) but there is nothing that can be done about it. Well, at least I have created a Skype account for my mummy :)

Another complaint I have is the price of the food at sentosa. Cheapest is $6 after staff discount within 3 minutes of walking. There is a cheaper one, though, $4, but is situated 10 minutes of walking distance away. Hope the new McDonald open soon so that I can just buy the cheapest meal.

Actually, greeting customers and smiling to strangers are not my 'style'. Okay, forget about ego and just do it.

The return air tickets and accommodation have been settled. Hope I'll be staying at a house-style instead of the apartment (which is the normal hdb style). Definitely looking forward to lead a new Western lifestyle and, of course, the snow! I will build a snowman myself!

Getting prepared for the cold weather is crucial. This makes me think of Yongseo couple from We Got Married. When Yonghwa and SeoHyun personally knitted scarves for each other, it must be so heart-warming and sweet :)

Going Canada next semester!

Yay! I managed to get myself to go Canada study next semester! So glad! Actually, getting a chance for an exchange is why I put in so much effort to study for the past 3 semesters! HAHA! Phew, my efforts didn't go to waste and I am happy not to leave regrets in my university life. I am so looking forward to the end of this semester so that I can earn extra cash during summer break and be more financially ready to embark on my exchange which I reckon gotta spend quite a lot during the time I am there.

So there's 9 more weeks before exams commence for this semester. I am taking 6 modules this semester, all graded. This would be my first time taking 6 graded modules. But 2 of them will be open-book, one of which is restricted though, a first time for me too.

The most difficult module would have to be Physical Chemistry with focus on Thermodynamics. But as the going gets tough, the tough gets going; I shall not fear the complexity and persevere and perform to the best of my ability.

After some rough calculation of the debt I will incur by the end of my undergraduate studies, it is estimated to be $47, 000?! Argh, gonna strive to be competent in whatever I may be doing and get decent enough pay to clear my debt.

Had a good time travelling Taipei last December with my colleague. Visited places which I hadn't been before 5 years ago, such as Wu Lai and Rao He Night Market. The cold weather really made me tremble while walking on streets. The rainy weather didn't help. My skin was so dry that it peeled! Nevertheless, it's always fun to go overseas! Taiwan ppl and their food is awesome!

A week later after I came back from Taipei, it's Bangkok time with secondary school clique! It's a shopping paradise! Everything is ridiculously cheap in our standard. A T-shirt for around $7, a pair of shorts for  around $9, Thai massage for $8. This kind of pricing is virtually impossible to find anywhere here in the country whose cost of living ranked 6 in the world. How can anyone not shop and then regret after that? Lol. In addition, the total cost of air ticket and 5D4N accommodation is only $276! Totally the best deal ever! Oh ya, the taxi fare is also really cheap. For a 15-min journey, the metered fare is around $3 only, with 6 passengers in one taxi! It's most likely I will be going back again for more awesome shopping experience! One thing to be cautious is to beware of pickpockets. Encountered one who nearly landed one of us as a victim. Since all of us were vigilant at all times, everything was fine which I was thankful for.

I need tuition assignments!