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Retail has a way of turning grown adults into toddlers the second something doesn’t go their way.

That was the daily reality for one retail worker, who spent shift after shift explaining basic things, repeating simple instructions, and getting treated like an obstacle instead of a real person just trying to help.

The conflict was easy to see: customers wanted white-glove service while giving zero respect in return, and the worker was stuck absorbing all of it with a smile.

Card machines got blamed for user error. Simple conversations turned into five-minute standoffs. And somewhere in the middle of all that, the exhaustion started feeling like a good excuse to change careers entirely.

Keep reading for the full story.

Want to lose Your Faith in Humanity? Work Retail.

Working retail has a ton of issues, but I feel like personally my biggest issue is the fact that I feel like I’m constantly hand-holding adults that are literally incapable of thinking for themselves.

People are so untrusting, or so braindead, that they literally do not comprehend what they are doing in conversations.

This retail worker provides more detail.

I’m tired of people not listening to a single word I’m saying and needing to repeat myself a half dozen times in a simple conversation. I’m tired of having to read for people, and explain things that should be common sense.

I’m tired of being expected to have common courtesy 24/7 while simultaneously taking constant verbal abuse and contempt from people (doesn’t matter the age, teens to seniors are all alike in this behavior).

Even the smallest things seem to set the customer off.

I’m tired of grown men and women completely losing their minds when the tap on their card doesn’t work (typically because they didn’t tap properly), and making some snarky statement about how “your store has gotta get better terminals.”

You really can’t help people. I oscillate between feeling like I’m the only adult in the room with a bunch of toddlers, and feeling defeated that I’m surrounded by so much incompetence.

What bothers them the most is the complete lack of respect.

It is very rare that I am engaged with by a customer as an equal, or even as a human being. I am expected to be a subservient robot in most of my interactions, and I think I’m just done with it.

I think things are just getting to me and I need a place to vent.

They don’t understand why things have to be this way.

And look, I understand that people have their own lives going on, shopping isn’t supposed to be a stressful activity, and some people just want to quickly buy their stuff and get out. I don’t mind that.

I’m talking blatant disrespect in conversations and interactions.

They begin to contemplate the best exit strategy.

At what point did retail become customers expecting to be treated like royalty, while expecting the staff to take all manner of abuse?

I personally have been applying for jobs in an attempt to get out of retail, but no luck. Seriously feel like I’m losing my will to go through the motions each day.

A job like this is bound to drive anyone crazy.

What did Reddit make of all this?

This user thinks there’s a reason why certain people prey on retail workers.

It’s hard to even imagine what change would look like.

For some customers, following basic rules is too much to ask.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a restaurant employee who decided to put the staff over customers despite the official policy.

Other times, the boss is what makes the job the most unbearable.

At the end of the day, this worker really wasn’t asking for that much, just basic respect — but somehow that still felt like too big an ask.

When every shift becomes a small exercise in patience, it’s easy to get bogged down, especially with such thankless work.

The worst part is that retail doesn’t reward competence, it just systematically grinds it down.