Standing Torture!

Standing all day...........

My legs are blazing with pain. I look for a chair. And to my intense irritation, it’s only a few feet away from me. I want to limp towards it and sit.

But No! I can’t. The CCTV, like a monster, is watching each nook and corner. A day of standing has worn out all my energy.

Now, I see a customer approaching towards me. Darn it! Not now! So not now!

A beautiful lady, draped in blue sari, approaches. She walks towards me and points her hands towards the rack of clothes above me.

“The yellow one, towards the top, take it” she commands without even passing me a smile.

My head’s spinning. Everything is in a blur. Yet, as a dutiful sales woman, I turn around and grope about in the rack for a yellow sari.

There are so many yellow ones.

“Which one, ma’am?” I ask meekly.

“Towards the top” she is snappy.

I drag out the sari she wanted.

 “It suits you madam” a clichéd sales trick follows.

She examines the sari like a preying vulture. She finds many faults in its design and print. She is not satisfied.

She asks for a red sari, then an orange one and then the list goes on. She is not satisfied with anything.

I can’t take this any longer. I am sure I will faint. My hands search for a support and I press upon my customer’s hand.

She jerks it away like I am some kind of stray dog. As I faint, the last lines I hear are:

              “Useless! She just has to stand and is not even good at that!”

Author's Note

I came across a news report that sales women are not allowed to sit.
This is an extreme human rights violation.
Serving customers shouldn't demand standing workers.
Employers have to empathize with their workers and come up with humane measures.
I wrote this short story with the hope that sales workers will be treated more humane-like by the customers.
Without their assistance, forget quality shopping!

Reviews

[Anjali]

Your story reminded me again "Pen is mightier than sword". Err well pen can be keyboard!

I highly appreciate you for choosing this topic- very few people would think or dare to write on everyday issues faced by sales workers. And also the different types of customers they meet. "Kindness is expensive & you can't expect it from cheap people."

Wonderful storytelling- way to go Neetha.

[writ rajat]

Great pictures of humanity I get enthralled in until the story ends

[Zephyr]

Thank you so much Rajat:)
Glad to read from you!!

[writ rajat]

Learning from you the art of storytelling can you examine my story

[Zephyr]

I am glad to Rajat!:)

[Carol Cashes]

Never mind the "not allowed to sit" premise. The outrageously rude consumer is the point and they only act that way when they're pretty sure they won't get called out. I liked this piece: both the descriptions and the brevity. Good job.

[Zephyr]

Thank you so much Carol:)

[matrixmark]

You write a good piece. Very cleanly written and easy to get a clear first person view of what a salesperson has to go through. It certainly has made me think about their positions from a different point of view. The piece had good structure to it and each sentence was pieced nicely together from one word to the next.

Mark.

[Zephyr]

I am glad to read that Mark:)

[heartspeaks]

Hats off...not all people have the ability to present social topics...Bold choice and presented with such grace and beauty....Surely i could feel the anger as that lady daunted upon the sales girl ..surely they deserve equal respect and empathy...Well done. Surely looking forward for more Neetha...Your work has actually inspired me.I used to write on social topics as well and then i changed my flow...Thanks for making me realise how badly i miss writing those. Sureky going to write one soon..

[Zephyr]

Glad to read that Heart:)

[Abhishek Asthana]

you have taught a lot from this shorter one... i would say smart, sincere and straight forward write... these are the things we ignore in our daily lives... even the sales authorities should look into it to provide enough break or reduce shift hours...
superb work indeed !! :)

[Zephyr]

Authorities should.....
I am glad to read your words:)

[Psychotic Lily]

Wow this is really good actually. I like how you executed the customer because to me she felt really annoying and I felt sorry for the saleslady.

But you can't serve your customers if you won't stand. But there should be shift and breaks for them. And people should be nicer!

[Zephyr]

Yes they should be:)
Thank you so much Lily:)

[Richard Charles]

Thanks for sharing this. An interesting introspective into a world not many (read me) think about often. Your story path moves very well and even in this short trip you made me feel empathy. Strong writing. Thanks again.

[Zephyr]

Thank you so much Richard:)
I am glad to read your words!

[Bear]

I can appreciate this more so now that I am old and have arthritis in my knees, hips and shoulders. Had I a job that required me to stand 8 hours I day I would be in even worse shape, the suffrage inflicted on the human body should be considered in compensation for salary and retirement. I never thought about it when I was working as a welder, a blacksmith, or a horticulturist and all those jobs required lifting and getting down and working from my knees. Yes I had many different jobs over the years I liked to learn new things and the best way is still to learn by doing, I worked as a palm reader for 6 months and that helped me right my palmistry poem :~) Sorry, your story just hit close to home and I related so well it felt it was me and that was fantastic writing on your part. When you can draw a reader into your work like that it speaks of how good a job you did, Bravo! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! heck that was worth and extra Clap! :~)

[Zephyr]

I am so humbled by your words:)
I am glad to know you enjoyed reading this!
I really loved reading your review:)
Thank you so much!

[bluessadmood]

That was nice..you told a story in a lovely way..
Really loved the technique..it flowed well..and yes sometimes work will look like torture..
I loved this

[Zephyr]

Thank you so much:)
I agree with you!