My Best Summer Job

by Angela
(Bay Shore, NY)

My best summer job was in retail. I started when I was 16 years old. I worked three summers as an associate for JC Penney in West Virginia. When I was hired, my starting hourly wage was $5.25 per hour. I was assigned to the children's department the first summer, and worked under a couple older ladies who had been there a long time. I was trained to run the cash register and ring up purchases.

Retail is pretty boring work, because it involves a lot of standing around during slow times. This gives you a chance to get to know the people you are working with better. There were plenty of other things to do when there were no customers in your department. We had to vacuum out the dressing rooms regularly, which was okay because it helped pass the time. We also had to put little size "doughnuts" on all the hangers of the clothes.

The best part about working a summer job in retail is that you get some sort of store discount. The first summer that I worked for JC Penney I got a 40% discount on any clothing item that I could wear to work (dresses and skirts only; we weren't allowed to wear pants.) We also got a 15% discount on any other merchandise in the store, which was great. By the third summer, I was promoted to a CSM (Customer Service Manager) in the women’s and jewelry department. I had to wear a beeper, and deal with customer complaints when they returned items. I was in charge of a few people also, which resulted in my hourly wage being bumped up to $6.25 per hour.