Every time my family and I went to the mall, we used to visit our friend Penelope* at the clothing store where she worked. Though she no longer works at this store, she has fond memories from working there. Here she shares some thoughts about the sales industry.

What was an average day like for you?

Usually, when I got there, if there was an item you had to push or was your topic item—each person had their own—you had to suggest it to customers. If someone would buy shorts, you’d suggest a shirt. It was pretty much suggesting items and straightening up whatever section you were in charge of. You had to make it look like it looked in the book, as nice and neat as you could and that was it. Then I’d take a break!

What was the hardest part of your job?

It wasn’t hard. (Laughs.) Every day we had a sale… Last year, whatever the sales were, we had to beat them, so if it was a big sale it was hard to beat the year before. Also, the hardest part was keeping it as nice and neat as you could after a busy rush—especially the day after Thanksgiving. It was so hard to keep the whole area straightened. Also, at the same time, watching for theft and trying to suggest sales. Doing all of these at the same time was hard sometimes. There were lots of people sometimes with a lot to clean up and you had to watch for a lot of theft.

Did theft happen a lot at your store?

While I worked there, two people were caught stealing. It wasn’t very often, but I’m sure there were a lot more than I saw or that we caught. We tried to prevent it as much as we could by taking items out of customer hands as they went to the sitting room, counting their items, and having someone in the sitting room at all times—but you can’t always prevent it. It probably happened a lot more than we knew.

What was your favorite part of the job?

The employee discount! (Laughs.) That was pretty much it. I made one friend there, but we never were close.

Did you learn anything from working in sales?

No, not really.

What advice would you give to other people wanting to pursue this career?

Not to do it. (Laughs.)

*Names have been changed to provide anonymity.