The Diversity of Seasonal Work

If you have been shopping recently at stores or the mall or the big box stores or even the grocery store and who hasn’t, have you noticed the change in the seasonal help? I like to call it diversity but really it may be a sign of the still struggling economy. Retired age people are baggers and boxers as well as greeters and cashiers. Jobs that usually went to college kids home on break appear to be employed by more mature people, and I love it!

Going through the line at Costco, the person packing my bags engages me in a conversation about recipes. The seasonal clerk at Nordstoms mentions a book reference to a hat I am buying for a gift and we have a great discussion about books. Even the cashier at Target and I end up talking about the compostability of unbleached coffee filters. Maybe it is just me with my gift of gab, and being the same age, but this seems different. I know all retailers are trying to improve their customer service and it appears to me to be working with the more mature seasonal workers on shoppers like me, the more mature.

I still can be invisible at a Starbucks or in the grocery check-out line; that almost goes with-out saying. How many of us will go through the line even if it has a bigger wait to have our favorite checker swipe our groceries? My favorite grocery store says they are the friendliest store in town. They are friendly, but often more yakking with each other than talking with customers. When stopping a person for help they are indeed friendly and helpful, but I am middle age and not multi-pierced or tattooed so obviously not very cool. Likes seek likes and that is why I am happy this year with the mature seasonal help.