10 QUESTIONS PEOPLE WHO WORK AT SNEAKER STORES HATE HEARING

Working retail is an art. Not everyone is cut to deal with customer service and have to cater to people. For me, working at a sneaker store came like second nature. I worked at multiple retail stores prior to my first sneaker store job at the Nike outlet in Orlando, FL. Working at a busy outlet mall is no easy task either. Tourist really tear up a store in the matter of a few seconds. But that's not the focus of this post.

This post is dedicated to the top 10 questions that make people who work in sneaker stores cringe. Lets jump right into it:

#10- "Can you hold "insert new sneaker release here" for me?" Which is usually followed by a subtle yet extremely pushy guilt trip about a childhood memory of this person & the shoe mentioned. The worst part is when you tell them you're not allowed too, & it could potentially put your job at risk and all the keep saying is that "they won't tell anyone."

#9- "Are the sneakers here official?" I don't understand why anyone would shop somewhere that is displaying questionable product. But other than that, if I was pushing fake sneakers & told you that they were real... would you believe me?

#8- "Y'all sold out already?!" Followed by "But they dropped today, how they sell out so fast?" Which is then followed by "So you sold out of ALL sizes?" and then depending if the person is extra pushy they'll try one last time and hit you with the "you sure you don't have my size in the back?" Let me just say my job is to sell sneakers, if I was hiding shoes in the back then my boss would be upset and I would no longer have this job. So nope, your size is NOT in the back.

#7- "Ya'll still got these?" Well judging by the shoe that you're now holding in your hand, and the other 2 sizes in front of you.... yes, yes we still got these.

#6- "You don't have this smaller?" I guess this falls into that phrase they say "common sense isn't so common." Most people automatically know that if there is a size 14 on display that it is the last pair. But you'd be surprised how many times people get amazed there is nothing smaller left.

#5- "Can I use your discount?" The first couple of times I heard this, I was amazed at the courage people had to ask a complete stranger for their employee discount. Especially in a small store like the one I work in, this type of thing doesn't even exist so no you may not use my discount.

#4- "Y'all don't got them new Jordan's anymore?" Which isn't as descriptive as it used to be because now Jordan is dropping 2/3 sneakers each weekend. So then that question is often followed up with "You know, them Black and Red joints".... which could be an endless options. Or another twist to this could be when they ask for a shoe with a made up name such as "Pepto Bismol Foamposites" or "G Fazo's" - I could literally keep this going forever.

#3- "My kid is 3, what size does he wear?" I wish there was an universal size/age guide, but unfortunately no human is alike to such extremes. This means, your child's age has absolutely nothing to do with the size of their foot. Even more, if I don't know how big or small your child is then how do you expect me to just guess a size for you? :(

#2- "Do y'all have my size?" Just like the annoying question above, chances are, I don't know you or your size. I could probably take a guess, & I might be able to be spot on.... but why don't you just ask for it from jump instead of playing the guessing game!

#1- "You buy everything just because you work here, right?!" I can't even begin to explain how much this one grinds my gears. But no, I don't buy everything nor am I allowed to buy everything just because I work here. Hopefully, you can sleep sound tonight.