PSA to not be a dick to retail workers this holiday season (and all seasons!). Working retail during the holidays was some of my shittiest experiences. People become coupon-waving, red-faced monsters that deserve nothing but a trip into Krampus’ sack.
Here are a few things to remember:
1: They have literally no authority. Honestly, the cashier would love nothing more than to accept a stack of expired coupons to get some cranky-ass customer indignantly insisting that “at this point YOU owe ME money!” through the line. But they can’t. And no amount of screaming will change that. Oh, and the manager is bunkered safely in the back refusing to come out and will only troubleshoot through walkie.
2: If you’re nice (like basic human decency) they are more inclined to help you as much as they are able. Being kind and patient costs nothing and might actually pay off. You might even be able to coax out a skiddish manager that *sometimes* has the magic touch to get things accomplished.
3: Corporate overlords. Managers can do a lot but in the end, the retail world is run from corporate overlords through the machine sentries AKA registers. Welcome to Black Mirror, people. If the machine rejects your request then back to the matrix with you.
No one knows where it is or why it exsists, but some believe it is a realm of wonder, where magic lives and evil consumes every inch of its vast desert.
Painted as my final project for my Painting Environments course. I was super nervous about tackling this one, but learned a ton taking this course. I'm happy to move on to the next one. :-)
Ironwood Forest
Project parameters:
- Forest full of massive trees
- Implied path
- River rambling through tree roots
- Waterfall
Hello, my name is Serina Ward, 
