Have you ever wondered what it is like to work at Kohl’s retail store for Thanksgiving and Black Friday? It can be both rewarding and a complete nightmare. I was hired at Kohl’s over a month ago; this is my first job and this is my experience.

It’s 3 p.m. and I arrived for my shift at Kohl’s by the West Towne Mall. I had to cut my Thanksgiving dinner short and had to rush the time I was spending with my family. I was scheduled to work 3 hours before the store opened to help set up. Restocking pillows, cleaning up the many tables of clothes, and even putting balloons around the store to help the soon arriving customers find everything there is to purchase.

When we opened at 6 p.m., my managers opened the front doors, and we were flooded by rushing customers. People coming from both sides of the building hurrying their way to the many items they had set their minds on getting. Many of our items were gone within the first 30 minutes of opening.

There were a ton of people asking me where things were, if there is any more of an item, why we don’t have any more of a product, etc. With many of our “doorbuster deals,” we only have a small amount of the item. Along with many of our other products, we don’t have an unlimited supply in our stockroom.

We are there to direct people to the departments they are looking for and to help them find the items they want. We are also there to keep the departments in a good shape to help customers see our items with little trouble. What some of the shoppers may not know is, we do not decide what to put out on the shopping floor. We don’t say “let’s not put out size 10 in girls because it will be funny”. Sometimes the size you need is also what a lot of others need and they get to it first. We will sell out of a product because it was so popular, but there is no reason to yell at an employee for not holding one for you.

When the clock hit 12 a.m., my shift was over but a caffeinated drink had me so pumped up, which was a very bad idea because I was scheduled to be back at 8 a.m. If you are scheduled to work both Thanksgiving and Black Friday, take advantage of the little time you have in between for sleep because the next morning, you might be a little more refreshed for the many customers that will surely be testing the little patience you have.

I won’t completely trash working on Black Friday; it was a great experience. Working any job, not just in retail, there are going to be many unhappy customers. I had to hold back my snarky comments and keep my calm and answer the customers’ requests respectfully, although they weren’t the most respectful. I believe this is something everyone needs to experience, if we are to be a truly compassionate society, and working in retail is a great place to start.