Learning to Fold

When you work on "the Impact team" its rare that you ever leave the back room which at the Abercrombie I was working at was the basement of the building. Theres no outdoor light obviously and when you walk down the stairs and over to where all of the back stock is stored it starts to feel a lot like walking into a cave.

In this cave on my very first day of work, I walked in with the impression that somehow I would make friends so quickly that everyone is so friendly in retail that all of the employees would automatically notice that I was new and introduce themselves and talk to me. That didn't happen.

Instead I was practically ignored no one talked to me unless they happened to notice that a shirt was folded the wrong way or a sensor was put on the wrong side. Then one of the guys (because where I worked only men worked on Impact) would pull the shirt or skirt out of the neatly layed out pile I had just made, tell me I did it wrong and say "it goes like this" and folded the item of clothing like it was origami --as if it was something they were taught when they were infants. Right after they learned to walk-- and then lay it back down on the counter. "the right stack" and my very "wrong stack."

My first day in retail and I couldnt fold clothes. Every item of clothing I folded was supposed to be folded a different way and I was just supposed to know. And my idea that I would make friends was very wrong. Infact, the only person that talked to me that day, that even attempted to start a conversation with me that day, told me he didn't get his job as a cop because "they found out he took speed by accident." I found out later that this person was a manager in training, but never found out-- or attempted to ask-- if this comment was a joke or not.

Needless to say my first official day in the retail world was terrifying and disarming on many levels. Although I learned how to fold clothes, which came as an amazing accomplishment, the lack of involvement with other employees and other strange events continued for many weeks.

Next time in Clothing Store Crisises: Keeping time down. Or up.