Spare A Thought For Those Working At Christmas.

At Christmas time spare a thought for those working. I have spent an awful lot of Christmases working and having very limited time with my family. This year I am grateful for the fact I get a week off commencing Christmas Eve. I know how lucky I am to have this. Many of my friends and family do not get this luxury and believe me, it is a luxury.
The people working this Christmas are the reason you can enjoy yourself, spend loads of money on shit you don’t need and make sure you’re safe. If they didn’t do this just think how different your Christmas would be.

Here is another thing to remember, not everyone drinks to get drunk and you don’t need to either. People working at Christmas time don’t want to be there, they want to be with friends and family or enjoying it far away from work. They are not there to be your servants, they are there to earn money, it’s that simple. I have witnessed it far too many times, consumers acting like absolute savages just because it’s Christmas. The same goes for the workers who have to be at Next at 4am on Boxing Day so that you can buy a heap of stuff that you actually don’t need or even really want.
I have worked a fair few Christmases. The fact I have worked 11 of the last 12 Christmases means I have a bit of dislike (read: hate) for the festive period. Watching people debase themselves in such a manner is truly horrifying. I am not saying that these people are bad people, it’s just that Christmas can cause good people to do shitty things. Here are a few examples I have witnessed first hand: 1) While working at a very popular fruit store I had someone scream in my face and point their finger an inch from my nose demanding that I repair her phone ahead of everyone in the queue (about 14 people who had been waiting patiently). She was a headmistress so obviously she was very important and powerful. I should’ve bitten her finger clean off, instead we killed her … with kindness. 2) Witnessing someone spill the entire contents of their stomach across the bar and into the speed rail and ice well. This was truly horrifying and for someone like myself who can’t handle seeing vomit it was utterly demoralising. Thankfully a few great people took care of that. 3) I had a guy pick up his broken TV and smash it on the ground in front of me because I couldn’t find his receipt on the system. After he had stormed out his wife who was quite a meek person came up to me and asked if we could still repair it under the warranty. 4) One of the funniest had to be when working at an electrical store on Christmas Eve and two drunken guys walk in as we are closing. One of them is here for a washing machine for a present for his wife. He picked the one he wanted but we had no stock. He was so adamant which one he wanted and proceeded to pull it off display. Instead of argue with him we just took his money and watched him and his mate drag a washing machine home. I would’ve loved to see the look on the wife’s face when they got the machine home. It is not all bad at Christmas.

So funny stories aside, the next time you find yourself screaming at someone for ruining your Christmas by not reminding you to buy batteries for a present that your kid will play with 3 times, just don’t. If you find yourself berating the bartender because you thought you were next to be served, just don’t. Just be thankful, remember your manners and show a little love to the people who make sure you have a good Christmas.

Thanks for reading,

Andy