We had a sudden winter store right before, during, and after Valentine's Day.
I went bargain-hunting on Saturday, and most of the Valentine displays sat almost as pristine and untouched as when they were first put out. One of the employees explained that no one had gone out because of the storm, so they hardly sold anything.
I was deeply saddened by this, having worked in retail all my life, and knowing that the stores I enjoy going to are losing a ton of money because of things like this. It was great for a deal-hunter like me, but terrible for the places of business.
Now I know there's the sentiment that corporations make tons of money and are just doing the devil's work by worshiping it, but when I go into stores, I'm not thinking of the big corporations per say.
Rather, I'm thinking of these stores and the employees working there and how having to sell a ton of items (especially fresh things like flowers) at 50% and 75% off hurts everyone involved in the end. After all, if any of us was selling something, even something second-hand, who would want to have to sell something for $5 if we were asking for $20? Especially if we were relying on that money for groceries that week.
I think of the manager I used to work for who was telling me about his struggle to support his wife and their 5 children; I think about another woman I worked with who told me that she and her husband never see each other because she works days and he works nights, so the only time they see each other is in tag-team passing when they come home and switch off caring for their 4 kids. They couldn't afford daycare, so they had to make sure their work schedules never allowed them to be off at the same time, because someone always had to be there with the kids.
And I always feel a great sorrow that these jobs can't pay more so that people could spend more time with their families without them killing themselves with work.
While I was thrilled to get a couple of candles and some discounted favorite treats at rock-bottom prices, I couldn't help but think of and pray over how much money the store was losing and how it will eventually affect the hard-working people who work there.
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