Boxing Day Sale nightmares – sex broadcast over the tannoy and used tampons and pooey nappies in the changing rooms – the hell of being a Next shop worker
SHOPPERS drawing blood while fighting over marked down clothes, picking through discarded tampons and soiled nappies in the changing room, and bargain hunters stripping off in the middle of the store - these are just some of the realities of working in retail at Christmas.
Under pressure to keep up during the busiest time of the year, here three former Next retail assistants reveal what it’s like to work during their famous Boxing Day sales.
'A honeymooning couple had sex in the changing rooms'
Market researcher Rihan Ahmed, 38, single and lives in North London.
He said: "I worked for Next five years ago. During the sales it was crazy in the store. I usually manned the changing rooms. We had separate sections for men and women. One couple insisted on going in together. I said no.
They were from Italy on their honeymoon. He tried to convince me explaining they were just married and were trying on things to take home.
My instinct told me that they wanted to use the changing room for more than clothes shopping. Against my better judgement I let them go in to a cubicle together.
They were taking a while. So I radioed security to accompany me and see what was going on. My headset was connected to the in-store radio system and for reasons I still can’t fathom our conversation with the couple in the cubicle ended up being broadcast throughout the store on the public sound system.
Their grunting and groaning could be heard throughout the Central London shop. In the end we had to wait until they had finished. They didn’t even buy any clothes either.
All bets are off over the festive sales period. We had a work do during the sales and I walked into the manager‘s office to find him copping off with one of the Christmas temp staff. She got offered a permanent contract for her efforts.
Staff would act crazy. During our breaks you’d find photocopies of people’s bums lying around the staff room.
There was a homeless guy who I would see outside the store. Sometimes I’d give him a cup of tea and some toast on the way in to work. Once during the sales it was freezing outside so I invited him in to get warm.
With his beard and oversized clothes he had the hipster look going on. He was genuinely homeless but that didn’t stop shoppers haranguing him to help them find stock. They mistook him for staff. He did eventually get given a job too."
'One shopper left a soiled sanitary towel in the changing room'
Graphic designer Stephanie Coles, 33, lives in West London.
She says: "I worked at Next while at university in Sheffield from 2001-2003. I didn't work the first Christmas - you have to be prepped for the sales.
It was a great store to work for, apart from the Boxing Day sales. I had to arrive at the store by 4am to make sure the stock was in place and also to do a massive tidy up. We had two hours to prepare the sale stock. Even when I arrived people were already queuing round the block.
When it was time to open up, it was akin to animals pouring through the doors.
One colleague was visibly pregnant and yet shoppers still shoved her aside to get to the rails.
The queues were enormous for the changing rooms. Some women would get fed up of waiting or refuse to queue. Those were the ones who would just strip off and try clothes on in the middle of the shop floor.
Customers would get very stroppy about the changing rooms. They could only take eight items in - and would repeatedly moan about it.
One shopper even left a soiled sanitary towel on the floor of the changing cubicle. None of us would pick it up. Even though customers would exit the room and tell us. We left it there for the cleaners to deal with!
Fights did break out but I was 19 - I wasn't going to attempt to control women who were hell bent on shopping. We didn’t have a security guard to back us up. I just let it happen.
People would argue over anything and everything. Someone would grab a sleeve of a dress while someone else had picked up the item on the hanger at the same time.
It happened that often we’d just shrug our shoulders. You couldn't really get involved, as emotions were so high among customers.
'One woman used her stiletto as a weapon - there was blood'
Hannah Doyle, 42, a health writer, lives in West Sussex.
She says: "Next was posh when I worked for the company for two years. It was my first job at 16.
People who couldn’t afford to shop there got really excited about the sales.
Almost everything got marked down. One Christmas a lot of summer stock ended up reduced. There were pastel pink suits and dresses.
An argument broke out between two respectable-looking women - who then began fighting. My manager immediately asked me to keep kids and nosy bystanders out of the way.
One of the women even slipped her shoe off and began brandishing her stiletto as a weapon. We had a very enthusiastic security guard who fortunately intervened.
I had to clean up after the fight was over and to my surprise I even discovered blood splattered on a pale pink skirt suit!
Hygiene in the changing rooms left a lot to be desired. We discovered everything from used tampons to soiled nappies. It amazed me that people used the changing cubicles like lavatories.
Leading up to the sales, we would be pestered by customers wanting to know what was going to be marked down. It was pointless asking because we weren’t allowed to tell anyone.
Even so, the day before it started we had to put on special codes on the items. Customers were far from stupid. They’d spot us doing it and follow us around the store.
During the sale people would return full priced items in an attempt to switch it for the reduced price. They’d get annoyed at how cheap their clothing was now it had been marked down.
Everyone had to work during the sales. I remember missing family gatherings because I was in the shop on Boxing Day. It was all hands on deck.
I was allowed to make a phone call from my manager’s office at lunchtime to wish season’s greetings to my family.
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During the sales I’d prefer to work on the tills than on the shop floor - but shoppers would often argue while waiting in line to be served.
Then there were those who had nicked stuff and ‘return’ them to get a refund during the sales. You knew who they were but we were that busy we just had to get on with it.
During this time of year it was like a jumble sale – there were clothes chucked everywhere. My dad used to meet me after work and he’d complain that it was slave labour. My manger just said, 'tough!'"