As the new year, and the new semester, progress, many people become so caught up in that idea itself. It’s a new year, and with a new year comes new opportunity, and one shouldn’t dwell on the past. Things we all commonly hear are, “It’s a new year, I’ve made my resolutions and I’m sticking to them,” or “Seize the day,” and all that jazz.

Well, I’m going to break that trend and dwell on the past for a few minutes (probably because I’m not really one to buy into all that “seize the day” stuff most of the time). But when I say I’m going to dwell on the past, don’t worry. I won’t go back too far. Just the last couple of months or so, to everyone’s favorite time of the year: the holiday season.

Back in August, I got the chance to start a new job in the ever-so-popular retail industry at Jordan Creek Town Center. Let me start by saying this: my job is pretty sweet. Nothing I do is extremely hard, and let’s face it, a lot of times I tell my friends, “Well, it’s time to go fold clothes for a few hours.” And I do just that.

It probably sounds a little boring, but the people I work with are pretty amazing. We joke around with each other all the time, so the work environment is pretty fun. And to top it all off, I get a pretty sweet discount, which can be a bad things sometimes. It seems like the majority of my pay goes back into the store.

Anyway, I’ll get to my point. I’ve noticed some things since beginning work at Jordan Creek about shoppers and some of the things they do. You could maybe even say some of them are pet peeves. But hopefully they’ll make your next shopping experience a little more pleasant, not only for you, but for the store employees as well.

1. Know your size when you walk into a clothing store, or at least have a good general idea. Don’t take one of every size to the fitting rooms hoping you’ll find one that fits. It’s a lot more for you to carry, and a lot more for the store employees to clean up at the end of the night.

2. Don’t unfold an entire stack of clothing to find your size just to look at the design and decide you don’t like it. Trust me, the designs are printed the same on every size, and a lot of work goes into making a store look the way it does. Nothing irritates employees more than having to refold entire tables of garments like that. If you need help finding your size, ask for it.

3. This one’s really important. Keep your receipt, and know the return policy! That policy is printed on the back of every receipt, and often times it’s posted at each register. So please, don’t get angry with a cashier that can’t give you cash back for a return when you originally paid with a debit card. It’s the way the policy is written by the corporate office, and most times the management can’t deviate from that policy.

4. Read the back of your coupons. This one also seems to cause a lot of stress for customers. Most of the time, you can only use a coupon once, and you can’t use it in conjunction with another coupon. And you DEFINITELY can’t use discounts to buy gift cards! It just doesn’t work that way. You can’t pay $40 for a $50 gift card.

5. This one is also really important. It’s probably top two in importance. When a cashier or other store employee asks if you’d like a discount for applying for a store credit card, don’t get nasty with them. If you don’t want it, politely say no and move on. The cashier is only doing his or her job by trying to get you the best deal possible.

Take these for what you will. Hopefully they’ll help you and the store in which you’re shopping out just a little bit the next time you decide to go on a shopping spree.