Write a short story about someone in the middle of a very long and busy retail shift.

Posted in Funny on Mar 30, 2021

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✍️ 41 stories

“What the Christ... Mass” by Yoomi Ari

Submitted to Contest #19

That’ll be £5.99 please, Mrs Wane,” I grunted, as my eyes were drowning in a tedious liquid that could only be seen accommodated in my body during the Chr... Christmas... Christmas period.I could hardly even say the word Chris... oh forget it; it was a word that would captivate my vocal cords. My whole body would spasm or shudder at the sudden thought or even saying the simple 9 letter word.Frustrated, Mrs Wane clinked the pounds (in her hand) and the abundant amount of pennies deliberately; she loved making the staff here suffer with her pe...

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“Almost an Override” by Keri Dyck

Submitted to Contest #19

“I’d like to price match, those, please.” The woman in front of me pointed at the butter I had just scanned through. I stopped mid-scan on a loaf of bread. It scanned twice. I flinched, hit the void button and scanned it again. Repeated with the butter. Tried the price match, which of course did not go through. Called for an override via the speakers. Accidentally said “Override to lane three, please. Love you bye.” Blushed like mad. Laughed it off to the customer who was impatiently waiting. Explained the delay. Another day in t...

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“And the clock read ten” by Chris Richter

Submitted to Contest #19

The clock read 9:26. Thirty-four minutes until closing time. Eloise looked awkward at the register. She was leaning on the edge of her stall, built too low to be leant upon comfortably, propping her head up with her hand. When her manager had threatened a lottery on Christmas Eve duties, Eloise had raised her hand to volunteer. She preferred the serenity of a late-night shift to the concocted merriment of the holidays. It was her family’s turn to host the entirety of the Pennywise clan. Uncles, aunts, and cousins descending atop a tide of ch...

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“Customer Chaos at Christmas ” by Kaysie Davis

Submitted to Contest #19

‘Damn this store, damn this sale and damn these people!’ I thought to myself as I carried a large television through a tight knot of people. “Pardon me!” I called trying to make a gap in the crowd. A few people glanced in my direction but no one bothered to try and move out of the way. Finally, I was forced to attempt to squeeze through the tiny openings that appeared in the herd. I apologized to the people that I bumped into while swearing at them in my mind. At last, I managed to bring my customer and the television up to my re...

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“Gifts for One” by Debbie Rae

Submitted to Contest #19

‘Ah, hello there,’ said a voice from above her. ‘This is Madame’s, yes?’Of course. It made sense. A customer would see the neon sign in front of the shop that announced that yes, this was indeed Madame’s, but would step inside and ask the question anyway. Why stop there? Why not make Isabel spell it out? Isabel kneaded the back of her neck for two more seconds and looked up, less to help, more to match the smell to its owner. Her hand flew to grip the end of the counter, and she managed to stay on her feet. The woman was bathed in an as...

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“Night Shift” by Terry R Barca

Submitted to Contest #19

I was lucky to get this job.Not because these kinds of jobs are hard to get but because this is exactly the kind of job that suits my mood.It’s not that I don’t like people, there are one or two that I wouldn’t set fire to if I had the tools. It’s just that people get me down. They seem to be comfortable in this world; I’m not. They rush around, and they seem to know stuff; stuff I don’t know.I’m not dumb, on the contrary, I have a good education bought and paid for by loving parents. Much and all as I’d like to, I can’t ...

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“The Encounter” by Michele Duess

Submitted to Contest #19

Bah damn blasted humbug, thought Susan. She was deep into an early December shift and she was heartbroken. It was the people. These desperate people. She was heartsick from their constant demands for toys. Their anger when she was out of an item. The last woman had literally cried over a flipping doll. Then she swore. It wasn’t at Susan but it hurt all the same. Yeah, she thought, brilliant idea having these brick locations where the cyberbullies could now yell at her in person instead of the online virtual assistant. S...

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“I don't get paid enough for this...” by Spicy Ghost

Submitted to Contest #19

I don't get paid enough for this. Those seven words always seem to dance around my head this time of year. Of course, everyone says it's the most wonderful time of the year, but do they mean it? Really? Do they mean it? Everyone is like: 'Why are you so sad? Cheer up! It's Christmas!' and I play along until THIS happens. By this, I mean the craziness that is Christmas shopping. I am currently standing behind a register and watching people beat each other up to buy a pen. A PEN! What is wrong with you people!? Can't we just act like civilized...

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“Night Shift ” by Colleen Pinner

Submitted to Contest #19

Sally took a quick look at her watch. She couldn’t remember why she had volunteered to take this extra shift. Right now, she felt like she had been standing here behind her register for an eternity. The conveyor belt was relentless in its demand of her time and energy. Ring it up, bag it up, take the money, made the change, hand off the receipt, then do it all again. It was hard to keep smiling. Her back hurt, her feet hurt, her head hurt, but with Christmas so close, this would go on for hours, days, maybe forever.Children were tired and cr...

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“Classic Face and their nutcrackers ” by Andrea Zimerer

Submitted to Contest #19

It was thanksgiving day and the team at Classic Face Clothing Store was having a meeting to prep them for the next few hours of their shifts. “We’re all aware of how stressful it is to work during this time of the year, but I believe we should go over a few basic regulations,” spoke the manager. As a result, Gerald an employee started patting down some of his forehead sweat. “I do trust you all to be on your utmost behavior, but I want to remind you that you are responsible to keep a productive but safe environment for both employees an...

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“A Sisyphean Shift” by Megan Charlie

Submitted to Contest #19

‘Barb’ pinned the name tag she’d been forced to borrow after forgetting hers at home onto the poorly designed maroon and lime polyester shirt. One last tug to ensure the hairnet properly contained everything and she was ready for her shift. As ready as she ever was. Only twenty minutes after clocking in, she was cornered by the shift manager, Larry. He invaded her space until she was sandwiched between his clipboard and the industrial meat slicer she had been cleaning. “Hey-” his eyes darted to her name tag “-Barb. You’re ...

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“A Hero” by Alexandra Spivot

Submitted to Contest #19

Hadashi had been sitting in his parents’ booth at the black market for what seemed like a decade, but in reality, it had only been 7 hours. Christmas was always great for the Kei family’s business, “Tree Bombs and the Sort”. They sold anything from exploding evergreens to machetes. This time of year, everybody wanted to kill somebody, and the Keis always had just the thing for the job. Hadashi had been in the booth all day and itching to do anything other than attend to all the yelling customers. Today had been pretty normal. Aft...

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“Tis The Season?!” by Deanna West

Submitted to Contest #19

Uhmm excuse me, can we move it along here? I have less than 15mins before I have to get back to workCashier: I'm so sorry everyone for the inconvenience, one of the cashier's got sick and the now who is supposed to be in for 2nd shift is running late. I'm deeply sorry.Older woman: oh honey, just as long as I'm getting good customer service I'm good. I'm sure she'll be here soon...(I softy taps the older lady on the shoulder)Amanda: hi (generously extends my hand to the older lady)Older woman: (turns around) oh well hello there sweethea...

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“Hard Work Has Its Perks.” by Rima ElBoustani

Submitted to Contest #19

Work is hard. That’s what Dad always said. He wasn’t wrong. Work is hard. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t get to benefit. The benefits are what I like most. Right now, I work the aisles at your local Supermarket. Right around Christmas, there is so much Christmas cheer here, it’s catching, like some kind of addled insect you just can’t shake. I don’t know why I’m happy at Christmas. I just am. Located all over the supermarket are Christmas decorations, Christmas chocolates, Christmas food. Anything you can think of, they had it. It was my...

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“The End of the Shift” by Helen Kingkade

Submitted to Contest #19

Time passes much quicker when you have a lot of customers. That’s what the manager told us and most of the time it seemed true. Today time must have been going at warp speed because there was a line of customers that snaked around the racks of clothes past the Thomas the Train display all the way to the door. Put on a happy face. That was another one of her pearls of wisdom. Holiday music was playing and most of it was pleasant so smiling wasn’t that hard to do. Michael Buble was dreaming of a White Christmas. But i...

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Write a short story about someone in the middle of a very long and busy retail shift.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 41 stories

“What the Christ... Mass” by Yoomi Ari

“Almost an Override” by Keri Dyck

“And the clock read ten” by Chris Richter

“Customer Chaos at Christmas ” by Kaysie Davis

“Gifts for One” by Debbie Rae

“Night Shift” by Terry R Barca

“The Encounter” by Michele Duess

“I don't get paid enough for this...” by Spicy Ghost

“Night Shift ” by Colleen Pinner

“Classic Face and their nutcrackers ” by Andrea Zimerer

“A Sisyphean Shift” by Megan Charlie

“A Hero” by Alexandra Spivot

“Tis The Season?!” by Deanna West

“Hard Work Has Its Perks.” by Rima ElBoustani

“The End of the Shift” by Helen Kingkade

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a short story about someone searching for the perfect gift for their partner.

Write a short story about someone watching a convincing infomercial.

Write a short story about a shop that takes place over a span of years.

Write a short story about someone based on their shopping list.

Contest #19

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

211

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: