The first thing someone will notice upon entering the Rite Aid in Stratford, NJ is the welcoming cool air compared to the outside. Give it about ten minutes, because the cool air will be gone and replaced with the heat. The cashiers will easily tell you how hot it is, fanning themselves and trying to keep cool with water bottles and keeping their hair up in ponytails. They’re all wearing blue polo shirts and khaki pants, and each employee has a nametag with their first name on it. One of the managers, Sam Albany, will tell you that she’s actually cold, but she’s always cold and wears a hoodie on some occasions to work.
Straight ahead would be the other aisles, some hiding behind others. These aisles include the grocery aisle, the candy aisle, the pet aisle, the cleaning aisle, and the seasonal aisles. In the seasonal aisles, you can find things pertaining to the time of year. The aisles this time are decorated to the theme of summer fun, and customers can find ceramics, beach umbrellas, sunscreens, yard furniture, and snack foods.
Behind these aisles are where you can find the cold items like milk and eggs. They’re found in fridges, and there are also single-serve candy bars placed on the inside of the door for a cold, chocolatey treat. The fridges also hold Vitamin Water, water bottles, and different kinds of juices and single-serve soda bottles.
Looking to the right, one can find the first few aisles which are made up of make-up, nail care, hair care, feminine care, and a selection of items for men such as razors and cologne. Behind them, if someone looks further, will be the aisles that house different over-the-counter medicines like Advil and Zertec Allergy pills. Things like pregnancy tests and first aid can be found back here as well. Behind these aisles is the pharmacy, where customers can purchase and obtain prescription medications.
To the left are the cash registers. The cashier at the first register today is an older woman named Helen, and she can be found playing Candy Crush on her phone when she’s not ringing up customers. The other cash register next to her is empty, but someone can hop on it in case of an emergency. Any time a line gets over three people, Helen has to pick up the phone on the wall between both cash registers and call another cashier to the front. Someone on the floor will come to the second register.
 |
Rite Aid Pharmacy in Stratford, NJ
Source: www.indianlakearea.com
|
If someone looks beyond the registers, they’ll find the celebrations aisles. These aisles are full of greeting cards, wrapping paper, and bows all around. The cards are arranged by occasion, and nearly every occasion is there from birthdays to wedding congratulations. Behind the counter, the wall of tobacco can be found. To the left of this wall are made up entirely of cigarettes. The smaller half to the right has the cigars and rolling paper, though there is a section of products that will help quit smoking, like nicotine patches.
Further to the right, past the tobacco and before the wrapping papers and gift bags begin, there is a section for electronic devices. There’s a tiny laptop, a couple music players, an army of blank CDs and blank DVDs, and another army of earbuds. Many of the bigger items are out of date, but the CDs and earbuds are quite handy.
On the floor, you can find up to two people on any given day, one of which being a manager. A devoted mother of two by the name of Donna can almost always be found in the store. She has worked there for years, and everyone knows her. Edna, a co-worker who only works on Sundays, says that Donna is the “fairy godmother” of the store, helping others with anything they need at the drop of a dime.
As one walks around the store, music from the past couple of decades can be heard. Before the recent radio upgrade, Rite Aid used to be the place where music went to die. Now with modern artists like Owl City and Bruno Mars, the younger customers can enjoy the music (and so can the two teenage cashiers when they’re working). Among the tunes, bouts of “Do you have your Wellness+ card today?” and “I can take you over here!” can be heard. Every now and then the music will stop altogether, and one of the few annoying Rite Aid commercials will play. The most frequent is one about the awareness of infertility.
Throughout the day, customers file in and roam the store like lost dogs searching for food. They scan the shelves and pick out what they want, though no two customers are alike. From the registers, you can see most of the aisles and who’s in them. A couple with tattoos and bandanas looks at the perfume in aisle one. An old woman’s grocery shopping in aisle twelve. Middle school boys are in the back of the store grabbing Arizona Iced Tea cans and candy. Women in bathing suits with their children are getting ready to go to the swim club, purchasing sun screen.
Cashiers chat with some of the customers like old friends, and it makes working there and waiting in line much less irritating. Nearly every customer can be addressed by name when speaking to at least one of the Rite Aid ladies. They share stories, and befriended customers always come back to buy from the store again.
