I am not unlike my fellow college colleagues. Many of the people my age balance school with work.

In Charleston, only so many options for employment exist. Students seem especially vulnerable to the limited employment options. We do not have several years of employment experience or degrees to make us desirable.

Thus, many of us work in the seemingly endless employment arena of fast food and retail in the community. This has both pros and cons.

It is a means of money and a way to meet people. I have made several friends at the job I’ve had for nearly two years. My list of skills has also grown.

However, working in the retail business is not a picnic.

I deal with customers on a regular basis. That is a part of the industry. Many of them do not take any outside anger out on us. Nor do they speak down to us.

A large number of the customers I deal with have the opposite reaction. I work in the photo department at one of the retailers in town. I take questions from customers about cameras several times a day.

By no means do I think that I know everything about the cameras in our department, or cameras in general.

I do work there, so I do know at least little bit. In the photo department, several questions come our way on a consistent basis. Our equipment, at no fault of our own, is also known for breaking down on a regular basis. I am told that the age of the equipment is to blame.

When these situations occur, we know how to reply to customers’ inquiries. If our equipment is down, it is not our fault. Many of our customers treat us as though it is. A common reply is ‘Why didn’t you tell me this when I left my pictures with you?’ This is where I bite my tongue, but I want to reply with ‘because I didn’t know our printer was going to malfunction.’

When I receive questions about products, it is not uncommon to get a glare in response. This glare is saying ‘you couldn’t possibly know the information you are telling me; you are making it up.’ It is, in the nicest of terms, frustrating.

In many respects, my coworkers and I are also expected to have all the answers. This is not the case in all situations. I, along with my coworkers, can only give you so much information about the two-day service. It is something done in Indiana, so we can only know so much.

I would like for customers to be more understanding. I am working hard at my job, as I am sure is done at the jobs my customers work. I have a lot of respect for people who work hard at whatever they do. I would like for our customers to treat us the way they would want to be treated. I can only guess, but I would imagine it would not be to speak down to them.