Do you love being treated like a sub-par human being?  Do you want to make a competitive minimum wage salary?  Do you like convincing people to spend money on products they don’t need?  Do you want to experience all this while wearing an apron?  If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then high-end retail may be right for you.

I’m not one to use unnecessary hyperbole, but working at the affluent Westchester Mall might just be as treacherous as the ninth circle of hell.  I’m not exaggerating when I say if I had a choice between getting punched in the face or going to work, I would gladly take a swift right hook to the mouth.

For the past ten months I’ve been working at Teavana, a specialty loose-leaf tea store that was purchased by Starbucks last year for $620 million.  Teavana carries over 100 different varieties of loose-leaf tea, all with names that sound like they came straight out of a soap opera— Dragonfruit Devotion, Blueberry Bliss, Strawberry Blush Rosé, among others—a long with a bevy of merchandise that you can use to brew, store, and steep your tea in every conceivable way.  Teavana products are indeed a luxury good; as a sales associate, several hundred dollar transactions on cast iron teapots and pounds of tea are not at all uncommon.

High priced goods attract a certain type of customer. The one percent. The life ruiners. In my time working at the Westchester, I’ve noticed a particular trend that people who are spending large amounts of money feel that they’ve bought the rights to be as nasty and offensive as they please. I’ve been called “a disappointment to my parents,” after I told a customer I’m a student at Pace. Another customer berated me for being “too nice” when I asked if there was anything else he needed help with.  

I’ve been yelled at, insulted, and personally criticized by customers—and this is just while trying to help them get a teapot set.   One parent blamed me when their child smashed a teacup on the ground.  I’ve also gotten told off by more entitled eleven-year-olds than I care to acknowledge, after telling them they need a parent with them to try the tea samples. I could go on.  

Don’t get me wrong. I deal with a fair amount of lovely customers who are a pleasure to work with.  I got into retail because I truly enjoy interacting with and helping people.  I just have this radical idea that, even though the customer is always right, I still deserve to be treated like a human being and not just an emotional punching bag.

It upsets me that I dread going to work, not because of the job I have to do, or the sales scripts I have to memorize, or even the fact that mall employees are not exempt from the mall’s $9 parking fee (which is more than my hourly wage), but because I don’t enjoy being spoken down to while I’m trying to provide a service.  

If every customer could practice a little humility and respect, the lives of retail workers would improve by a ridiculous amount.  A little kindness goes a long way in every aspect of life, and shopping for luxury items should not be an exception.