Toys R Us and the Nightmare before Christmas :: Personal Narrative Writing

Toys R Us and the Nightmare before Christmas When I tell people I worked at a toy store, they tend to respond with, â€Å"Ah, that’s so cool,† or â€Å"So, you got to play with toys all day.† I had been known to perfect my video game skills and snag action figures, but a toy store is not as fun as you may think. Children looked at me as though I was the epitome of fun and enjoyment as I offered assistance in my blue vest with a huge transfer of Geoffrey the Giraffe on the back. Parents came to me thinking I was an encyclopedia of dolls and board games. Though there was some truth to these assumptions, the three years I spent working in toys exhausted me, forced me to encounter some bizarre people, and exposed me to situations I could not have conceived would occur in a store for children. Most importantly it helped me gain an understanding of the diverse behavior exhibited by shoppers and allowed me to realize I have an incredibly high tolerance for ignorance. I officially became part of the â€Å"R Us family† when I started working for Toys R Us during the 1999 Christmas season. Prior to beginning my new job, I realized the difficulty in maintaining a smile and energy as hundreds of impatient, shop crazed parents destroyed isles of Legos and stuffed animals, while carting around crying infants, snotty toddlers and selfish adolescents. Regardless, I expected a personal reward in seeing children stand in awe of the mass amounts of toys the store kept in stock. Their happiness would bring me happiness. Plus, I would not have to get too involved with the children; they had parents that supervised them. I also felt a boost of Christmas spirit would be inspiring and much needed. How could I resist parents eager to buy Christmas gifts and children pointing out their favorite toys with smiles on their faces? Within the few weeks that composed the busiest shopping time of the year, customers were able to diminish my joy for the holiday season. My first anti-holiday experience occurred when I was learning how to run the registers. At this time, I was also learning that parents tend to feel a great need to please their children by purchasing the trendiest toys and by spending hundreds of dollars on Christmas presents. One such â€Å"guest,† as we are encouraged to refer to customers, a thin woman with fluffed brown hair, came through my lane with a cart full of toys.