Piece Comment

Review of Teen Retail Psychology: Playing the Popularity Game at Work


These days, it seems that when shopping, you make a lot of new friends--the salespeople. At shops aimed towards teens, the ever-present, ever-perky salesgirl or boy is always there to tell you just how cute you look.

This piece is a fascinating yet disturbing look at the tactics of young employees at trendy shops. The vox from these teens was really interesting--I couldn't believe it when one of the young women was talking about the certain kinds of fashionable clothes she had to wear to work!

I also really liked the vox from the teacher at UC Berkeley. He brought a more formal, academic view to this piece that was really smooth. Hearing him toss about phrases like "emotional labor", "walking advertisements", "instant friendships" and "brand representatives" was sickening and hopefully served as a wake-up call to listeners!

All in all, this piece is a really nice look at the world of retail. It would have been great to hear a little more, but at 3:07, it's a smooth, tight piece for radio. Kudos to Sophie Simon-Ortiz for exposing this!