I have a long history of working in retail. I’ve worked at JC Penney’s, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Sears and Roebuck, Burlington and a few other retail outlets.

I’ve held multiple positions within the stores and one thing I found appalling was when it came to people trying on shoes and clothing.

I’ve worked in fitting rooms, the shoe department, the storage rooms, on the sales floors, central wrap/packaging and shipping, and so on.

I use to see people come in trying on underwear and swimsuits that would be placed back on shelves and racks for others to try on or to purchase.

Other apparel such as pants, dresses, and shirts would be tried on while people were sweaty and smelly then placed back onto racks to be sold. They would even leave behind deodorant stains. Not to mention how many items of clothing ended up piled upon the store floors from day to day, and night to night, just to eventually be sold and taken home by some unsuspecting individual who had no idea what the clothing had been through.

Apparel and underwear are usually turned inside out, stepped on, dragged, thrown down, and mishandled only to be recovered and neatly replenished back onto the sales floor shelves and racks as if nothing ever happened.

Handbags and accessories would also be disheveled and scattered about.

People would try on shoes with dirty and smelly feet, the inside of the shoe department storage room often reeked of funky feet because the loud odor from numerous people’s feet lingered behind.

I personally don’t want to put on and purchase a bra or panty that someone else has tried on the idea is disgusting, and such a turn off. When I was coming up stores didn’t allow this to be done.

My bra and underwear always came inside sealed boxes and packages I never bought loose underwear that were on hangers or piled onto shelves.

Working at these stores, I had access to the brand new items of merchandise since I handled unopened boxes that were shipped in daily for me to stock and to place out upon the sales floors so I made sure to get my hands on items that had never been touched or worn by anyone If I planned on buying anything inside the store.

The experience also inspired me to be extra cautious at how I purchase at stores from then on, knowing how careless many establishments operate.

It’s a shame these stores fail to incorporate higher standards of conduct within reinforcing a proper rule and responsibility of maintenance among and toward customers, store associates, and the goings on behind the scenes.