r/AskRetail

We have a cashier that keeps opening every single coin roll, even if we don’t need them opened (I counted $17 in quarters in one drawer this morning…).
It makes counting so much harder and makes it more difficult to exchange bills when fixing registers at night. We’ve asked this cashier multiple times to not do it, but it keeps happening, does anyone have any suggestions to stop this?
Do we just stop stocking coin rolls in registers and make the cashiers wait when they need more coins? I don’t want to have to do that because it’s a busy and understaffed store

The most profitable thing I did for my smallish home decor and furniture store was offer classes.

I did 2 things:

1. Offered a variety of topics from what I knew well like decorating, floral arrangements and holiday decor, to things I didn’t know well so I asked reps to come and talk about choosing a sofa (8 way, hand tied…) or choosing a rug (which they pre-ordered).

2. Other stores charged for the classes. I didn’t. I required a gift card purchase and they could use it to shop after the class (or whenever).

EVERY TIME, 90% of shoppers spent 3 to 4 times the gift card amount. Very few only spent the gift card amount while others spent $1k or more.

No matter the type of business, people want your expertise and they want something to do. Just make sure your classes lead to bigger purchases.

Things are pretty bad right and you need to try new things. Start now and OFFER CLASSES!

Went shopping the other day. Chip reader have an error, and the store didn't support tap to pay, so I had to swipe. Swiping is obviously pretty insecure and vulnerable to skimming, and I had a little anxiety after the fact. The payment went through and everything was good, but I ended up coming back and asking the manager to check if there was a skimmer on the self checkout lane I used just to calm my nerves. They got a device to insert that tests the unit, physically inspected it, and told me it was good and also assured me they inspect and test them every morning. They said the errors from the chip I was having just happen sometimes and they're still working out the kinks with this new units.

I then thanked them for checking and left to carry on about my day.

Was this weird or suspicious to do? This could just be more anxiety filling my mind, but like I didn't want to seem suspicious or like get on some kind of fraud list or have them call the cops after I left and have a warrant or something (obviously I didn't do anything illegal, I had a valid purchase and just asked management to check the unit afterwards). My mind was just envisioning some scenario where they suspect me of fraud and call the police long after I was gone and I get like a warrant or something even though that's incredibly unrealistic logically speaking

I’m a new MTL and new to the company (5 months) I got hired during peak holiday so my floorset training was odd and my store team lead went out on maternity leave. So it was a weird start, anyways this is my 4 floorset I’ve been leading and I just can never finish 100% by end of Tuesday. I go over with time expectations and build times with my crew, granted it’s usually me plus 2/3 others but never more than 4 including me.

I feel like I’m just not getting the hang of the floorset I can finish like 100% by end it the night Tuesday?

Do any other MTL have this problem and or advice

I’m a cashier at a grocery store and I work the self service area. And every time I’m up there, I always get 1 or 2 walk offs. Or at least it feels like every shift. And while 99% of them happen while I’m helping other customers and are accidental, I’m honestly starting to worry about getting fired. Im part of a union and I’ve been told it happens to everybody by my coworkers. I cant help but worry fired even if it’s partially outside my control.

Hi all. I’ve been applying for part time jobs just to hold me over until I land a full time role after graduating last summer and have found myself in a situation I’m not sure how to best navigate. Last week I went in a store to enquire about an advertised job. The manager asked me if I was fully flexible with availability as that’s all they were looking for in order to have holiday cover etc and I said yes. He then also said it’s a weekend role, but I’m not sure if it’s just weekends or weekdays too. I sent my cv and have been offered an interview.
The problem is that in between sending my cv and being offered an interview I started at a different job. I didn’t mention this role on my cv or when the manager asked as I hadn’t officially started yet, maybe I should’ve but people advised me not to mention it. I’m now wondering if I should mention it in this interview. It would be great if I could keep both jobs but I would be willing to quit the role I’ve just started in order to secure this position as it would be great experience to add to my cv for my desired future career. How should I navigate this during my interview? If it’s best to mention the fact that I’ve already secured a job, how would I go about this?

I work in a large retail hardware store and honest to God I've never encountered so many absolutely stupid people in my entire life. And the best part about it is they all feel entitled and special and for God's sake do not try to tell them anything because they know it all.

Customer and former retail worker here - Last week I was at Kohl's in the section where you can return Amazon items. As the employee finished up my return, he told me to let an employee know if I saw anything out of place. I looked confused and he was kind of stumbling over his words and said in a tone that seemed to suggest something serious, "You know what I mean, don't you?" It felt like he was hinting at something but I don't know what. Kohl's is a very big store with hardly any employees on the floor, and they are hard to find even when I do need something. Also, I don't work there, how would I know what goes where? Are customers now expected to make sure the store is organized?

I thought maybe he was accusing me of putting stuff where it doesn't belong, but I didn't do that. When I was in line I picked up a water bottle that was in a water bottle display and read the label, then decided not to get it and I put back exactly where I found it.

My main guess is he asked because they were understaffed and disorganized, and I'm sorry these companies don't staff you enough, but it's not my job to fix that?

Have others noticed this? Many online retailers are now quietly charging flat fees for mail-in returns, deducting the cost directly from your refund.

Also companies have steadily reduced their open-ended or 60-day return windows down to standard 30-day limits.

What are your thoughts. Should consumers pushback?

In five to ten years, I can see returns being shorter and shorter for many brands, capitalism at its finest. Or new conditions applying where it's buried in policies.

Lately, I've been finding myself, like, weirdly obsessed with how stores are set up, ya know, like the layout and stuff? It's kinda fascinating, actually. Just tiny tweaks, like maybe wider aisles or shifting shelves around a bit, can totally transform your whole shopping vibe. Who knew, right?

I mean, who would've thought that messing with where the checkout counters are or even how high the shelves stand would make a store feel more, I don't know, comfy? Something so simple can be a game changer.

Oh, oh! Speaking of game changers, I'm super curious if anyone’s got any juicy stories about working in retail or designing stores. I’m talking about those subtle changes that ended up being way bigger than expected. You all must have some tales to tell.

Could be something like

1. That cool way you set up gondola shelving (is that what they call it?) Sounds like a boat term to me (LOL).

2. The checkout counter’s new spot that suddenly made things smoother.

3. How those endcap displays (like the ones that tempt me with chocolate bars) somehow boosted sales.

4. Lowering shelf heights so even shorties like me can reach the good stuff.

5. Or any wild changes that had customers giving thumbs-ups.

Just genuinely curious, does anyone in the industry have stories to share? I'd love to hear, like, real experiences!

Hey r/retail
I've been helping manage inventory and in-store displays for a few different product lines (snacks, household goods, some seasonal stuff), and dump bins have become one of our go-to solutions for moving volume and creating those "grab and go" impulse buys. They're cheap to set up compared to fancy endcaps, take up floor space well, and customers actually dig through them.That said, not all bins are created equal. We've had some collapse after a week when overloaded, others that print terribly and look cheap under store lighting, or ones that are a pain to assemble on-site. Key things I'm looking for now:

• Good structural strength (double-wall corrugated or smart reinforcements)
• Easy flat-pack shipping and quick assembly
• Solid full-color printing that doesn't fade or smear
• Custom sizes/shapes that fit our product mix without wasting space
• Something that still looks decent after a couple weeks of customer rummaging

Anyone have success stories or horror stories with dump bin suppliers? What features make the biggest difference in real stores? Especially interested in options that balance cost with durability for smaller runs (not ordering thousands at a time).Appreciate any recommendations! (If anyone's in the space and has good solutions, feel free to DM too.) Thanks!

i’m a keyholder, still fairly new (4 months tomorrow). one issue we’re having is people on their phones. the next step if leaving it in your locker, which is technically the company rule. store rule is in your pocket (which everyone does), out of sight. now we’re supposed to tell them “put it away, this is your first and only verbal warning, next time it’s a write up.” how do i get the courage to say something? they’re even doing it in my face. i’m about to snap, actually.

For those who’ve worked in retail, what was the best retail job you’ve had?

I started working at a relatively big retail company this week. I have a lot of retail experience and they never gave me a proper interview, just had me come in store and basically showed me around. They asked at this point if I had any holidays and I had mentioned I would need one day off in June for my friends engagement party. Later that day, they gave me a job offer and this week has been my first week at the company. On my first shift they asked again about any holidays, and showed me how to put through a holiday request which I did. I’ve just received an email that this request has been rejected. I was fairly sure they couldn’t reject any preplanned holidays I had made them aware of before being hired? Not really sure how to go about this and I don’t want to make a scene this early on, but I need to travel for my friends engagement party. Any advice on how to bring this up to management would be great, I’m just a bit worried as I don’t have anything in writing to prove that this was brought up already.

So having trouble with staying awake during work and sometimes it feels like everything is moving in slow motion; I already tried energy drinks but it doesnt work. Is there anything that is stronger than energy drinks.

So basically i work for a luxury brand since late 2023 and i’ve been sent to the flagship at the very end of 2023. On 2024 & 2025 i performed pretty well (being 2nd and 3rd best seller in the whole Europe with a good clienteling list) but this year feels like a total flop. All of my colleagues (old and new ones) are performing really well i am the only one super late and im actually the very last one with a very weak clienteling list compared to my previous years.

I dont understand where it comes from since i don’t feel like i am a bad seller but obviously i cant go to every monthly one to one and saying to my managers well i don’t have luck this year when everyone is very well performing. Like for exemple this month im 30K euros behind my colleagues. this never happened in my whole career before!

I know that im exhausted with this retail job and my only dream is to leave this place as soon as possible but im trying to still perform my best and to give the best experience to every client i have so it doesn’t seems like i have a poor client experience compared to before because even though i try to lock in i still fail to get great sales compared to my colleagues. Also we kind of all have this pressure of if you don’t perform well you’re gonna get transferred to any other place than the flagship (department store)

anyone has this thing happened to them before ? how to overcome it and came back to when i was still really good performing (at least until i find a greater job)?

We pushed a firmware update to our ESL network (~18,000 labels across 9 stores), and since then some labels have been randomly freezing and stopping updates. Affected labels still show the last price and battery status, but do not respond to forced refresh commands. They only recover after a manual reset or battery reseat. Setup includes mixed label sizes (2.13”, 2.9”, 4.2”), a cloud-managed system, and a 48-hour automatic firmware rollout. We’ve tried rolling back firmware on a test group, re-sending refresh packets, and checking base station logs, but no clear errors show up. Could this be a firmware memory leak, corrupted OTA packets, or incompatible hardware revision?

I've been getting kess hours since about two weeks ago. I usually get 26 hours a week but now I've been getting fifteen and sometimes even less than that. I've been here for about two months now and have a copen availability. What could be causing this?

Last month, I asked ChatGPT for skincare recommendations and got a mix of big brands plus some smaller ones I'd never heard of. The suggestions were helpful because of the details available, including the cons of some of the products. They were thoughtful and specific to my concerns. It made me wonder ( as someone in the retail business) what these brands are doing differently to show up in such responses.

What have you done for your retail products to appear in ChatGPT or any other LLMs?

Does your store allow customers to punch in their card numbers and pin? What is the company policy? Thank you for the intel. Researching something for an ongoing investigation involving manual entry of EBT card numbers.