my part-time past #2
I started working at The Limited in 1991. the only reason i can think of why i would work there is because one of my friends was working there and told me to apply. so i did. this was in the day of the black lacquer and gold Limited. the old lady catsuits and silk button-down shirts. basically, cougars shopped there. it was after Outback Red but it was before Limited Too and Structure.
i hated to sell, which wasn't a big deal because we didn't work on commission there. but they did check sales regularly. the key was to sell three things for a $50 sale. socks. always add socks. accessories. some people were really good at it. but i, who could barely dress myself, really didn't understand why i should force people to buy crap they wouldn't want. and i hated it when people bugged me in the dressing room every 5 minutes. "hey, this shirt would look great with those pants!" yeah, if i wanted that shirt, i would have grabbed it. sometimes i lucked out and got some kid shopping for school clothes.
my friend didn't stay on too long, but i soldiered on. i got better at the longer i stayed there. i got the feel for people who really needed help and those who just didn't want to be bothered. one time i sold clothes to a blind woman. i kid you not. i also got to work through a remodel, which was interesting. i also developed my first work crush on Kris, one of the stock boys. i would find any reason to go back there. i would watch him as he brought out racks of clothes, swept the floor, cleaned windows. he worked in the back with his friend, mike. both of those boys were insufferable flirts, kris more of the silent type, mike more of the gushing type. i vaguely remember some of my coworkers. kelly, who only worked register. helena who was a manager. terri brennan, who was a display manager. i actually saw her in joann fabrics a few months ago. that was wild. natalie, who was also a manager. she used to be a regular at my starbucks in lincoln park 5 years ago. she had seen Skinny Puppy in concert and i was jealous. liz, whom i think had a kidney transplant, but was too embarrassed to tell anyone. she was hyper-sensitive to anything that might separate her from being popular, but no one really liked her. she was really nice, tho. she gave me a gift of a stuffed rabbit as a going away present before i went to college. pat and dave poncher, both stock boys, whom i think were never not high when they were at work. tom, another stock boy.
it was at this point in my life i was really developing my musical tastes. mike and kris had a lot of influence on me in that department. PWEI, James, KMFDM, NIN, Utah Saints, New Order, Prodigy. i used to go to the back room just to hear what music they would be playing. i ended up hanging out with mike and pat and dave outside of work several times. mike took me under his wing after kris broke my heart and moved away. he introduced to me his circle of friends, including cancer dave. but that's my next job.
i worked at The Limited for a long time. i went to college and worked at The Limited at Briarwood in Ann Arbor. They had such a small store that it wasn't really like working at all. the only pisser is that i had to take a bus to work everyday. i came back home for the summer after freshman year and tried to get a "real job." once i crashed my dad's car going to the first day of my ad solicitation job, i went crawling back to The Limited. i worked stock and register only, but i could sell pretty well. i did everything and knew everything, so it was just an easy gig. that's when i met pat and dave and tom. i kicked ass in the stock room, too.
eventually left when i went back to college for my sophomore year. but that wasn't the only job i had that summer.
up next: pizza delivery girl.
i hated to sell, which wasn't a big deal because we didn't work on commission there. but they did check sales regularly. the key was to sell three things for a $50 sale. socks. always add socks. accessories. some people were really good at it. but i, who could barely dress myself, really didn't understand why i should force people to buy crap they wouldn't want. and i hated it when people bugged me in the dressing room every 5 minutes. "hey, this shirt would look great with those pants!" yeah, if i wanted that shirt, i would have grabbed it. sometimes i lucked out and got some kid shopping for school clothes.
my friend didn't stay on too long, but i soldiered on. i got better at the longer i stayed there. i got the feel for people who really needed help and those who just didn't want to be bothered. one time i sold clothes to a blind woman. i kid you not. i also got to work through a remodel, which was interesting. i also developed my first work crush on Kris, one of the stock boys. i would find any reason to go back there. i would watch him as he brought out racks of clothes, swept the floor, cleaned windows. he worked in the back with his friend, mike. both of those boys were insufferable flirts, kris more of the silent type, mike more of the gushing type. i vaguely remember some of my coworkers. kelly, who only worked register. helena who was a manager. terri brennan, who was a display manager. i actually saw her in joann fabrics a few months ago. that was wild. natalie, who was also a manager. she used to be a regular at my starbucks in lincoln park 5 years ago. she had seen Skinny Puppy in concert and i was jealous. liz, whom i think had a kidney transplant, but was too embarrassed to tell anyone. she was hyper-sensitive to anything that might separate her from being popular, but no one really liked her. she was really nice, tho. she gave me a gift of a stuffed rabbit as a going away present before i went to college. pat and dave poncher, both stock boys, whom i think were never not high when they were at work. tom, another stock boy.
it was at this point in my life i was really developing my musical tastes. mike and kris had a lot of influence on me in that department. PWEI, James, KMFDM, NIN, Utah Saints, New Order, Prodigy. i used to go to the back room just to hear what music they would be playing. i ended up hanging out with mike and pat and dave outside of work several times. mike took me under his wing after kris broke my heart and moved away. he introduced to me his circle of friends, including cancer dave. but that's my next job.
i worked at The Limited for a long time. i went to college and worked at The Limited at Briarwood in Ann Arbor. They had such a small store that it wasn't really like working at all. the only pisser is that i had to take a bus to work everyday. i came back home for the summer after freshman year and tried to get a "real job." once i crashed my dad's car going to the first day of my ad solicitation job, i went crawling back to The Limited. i worked stock and register only, but i could sell pretty well. i did everything and knew everything, so it was just an easy gig. that's when i met pat and dave and tom. i kicked ass in the stock room, too.
eventually left when i went back to college for my sophomore year. but that wasn't the only job i had that summer.
up next: pizza delivery girl.
posted by mikraas at 8:49 PM
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