Can I just have a really big moan 😭

[DelilahBucket]

I'm a retailer, online and a physical shop, and this year has been the hardest in 14 years. Customers have been particularly awful this year, complaining for ridiculous reasons, demanding of deliveries much earlier than advertised, rude, abusive, the list goes on. It's a bloody cushion, the world will not end if it doesn't arrive the day before you decided to order it. That is what I often want to say.

I get two whole days off work. I am exhausted, I've worked 12-15 hour days for weeks and weeks on end and I get two days off. Should be more but staff sickness has hit and of course the run down business owner has to pick up, regardless of how ill I feel.

I'm so stressed out my TMJ has flared up in my jaw and I'm in a lot of pain. I've struggled to even eat, let alone enjoy, Christmas food.

I can't stop bursting into tears.

And to top it all off, my arsehole neighbour has decided at 10:45pm they are having a fucking house party and I have to get up for work in the morning.

Thanks for reading if you got this far.

I’m really sorry @DelilahBucket. Independent retail must be so hard these days.

Thank you. It's very hard. I don't want to be self employed anymore. It isn't the amazing thing people think it is and the pay certainly isn't worth it. I've just done it for so long I'm unemployable.

Sending you a hug xx

That sounds utterly shit for you - people can be absolute a-holes at times. I'm really sorry you're going through this

That sounds miserable in so many respects. It won't help you but I try to be extra nice to retail staff at this time of year, I'm sorry you have had difficult and demanding customers.

I hope the situation improves very soon 💐🍷

Thank you for being nice to retail staff, we appreciate it

If you're bursting into tears, then you are stressed. Can you book a night or tow away over the weekend. Just some downtime and literally get away from it all Surround yourself with nature. No internet. Eat, walk until you're tired. Bed early.

I think it would do you the world of good.

that sounds rough. i hope things improve.
can you get a relative or friend to help out for a bit?
you sound exhausted.
hope the prick neighbour wraps up the party soon

Not at the moment. My supervisor had a bad injury this week and as a result is going to be off for a while. No other keyholders to run the shop. That's the worst bit, I was all set for a few days off in January.

Had a very long walk with DH today to get some air and exercise. Even managed some cleaning, which sounds like it isn't relaxing, but neither of us have been home to do it (DH self employed too), so a couple of hours blitzing the place together was quite therapeutic!

A friend is coming to help for an hour tomorrow as I'm two staff short and it just means I'm not alone while one has her lunch. It's a big shop. I do have amazing friends and DH, but he's holding the home fort and fending off my in-laws!

Prick neighbour moved in five years ago and we've wanted to move everything since. Absolutely no regard for anyone else who lives on the street in a lot of ways.

Cleaning is therapeutic as is decluttering. It makes the surroundings calmer, being busy with our hands means our minds are free to listen to podcasts or similar and its good to stand back at the end and see physical results.

Hope your idiot neighbour wraps it up soon.
Retail is a tough gig and although most of the public are ok there's a percentage of nutters that aren't ok.
You have my sympathies.

From an ex retail worker.

I am really sorry. I know how difficult it is - we own a restaurant with DH being the head chef (we both also have full time jobs on top too 🥴) and it’s been the most difficult year of our lives. I hope things improve for you soon.

You have my full sympathy I used to work in Sainsbury’s and the lead up to Xmas is awful. It is hard going physically but when you have people being horrible over Brussels or carrots it does get draining. Don’t think I could ever do retail again xx

@DelilahBucket i'm really sorry things are so tough for you

I'm also really sorry about the wankers that you have to deal with. Anyone who's done a public facing job will know what that's like, but I haven't done it for ages and I'm under the impression it's got worse. I always chat to any staff who seem like they want to chat, so that's where I get that impression.

if you decide to pack it in, you're definitely not unemployable.

I hope tomorrow is okay for you 💐

You're not unemployable though. You could work in retail.

Obviously a retail job is already stressful without all the other stuff, but you'll immediately lose all the stress of running your own business and all of the online stuff and it's work that you can do.

If you are feeling this burnt out, I would suggest that it’s time to consider closing for a couple of days so you can recover.

The world won’t stop turning. You can rest.

Then re-open when you are better.

I am self employed; I understand the pressure to
keep going. But I also have solid boundaries and understand that there are many many things that are more important than my business.

I don’t make as much money as I could if I didn’t think like this; so we work our family budget accordingly but I am happy and healthy and have a reasonable work life balance so it is possible.

I absolutely get what you are saying, but closing isn't an option. I won't go into why as it is specific to my business and very outing, but it isn't an option.

I could indeed go and work in retail, but I'm unlikely to earn what I do now, if I could even get a full time job as they are few and far between, as are management positions.

Thank you for the support everyone. I'm aware I'm probably stuck between a rock and a hard place mentally at the moment, and can't see a solution. Another online message this morning of "my item that I ordered three days before Christmas didn't arrive before Christmas" followed by a load of abuse because clearly it's my fault for not telling them it wouldn't arrive in time (I did). It is very wearing 😭. I'm tied into my shop lease for another two and a bit years so the reality is, it has to work, and at the moment I'm stuck with it.