Do customers overwhelm you?

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I do paid work in a small charity shop, and I love all the other workers there, and I love the location, and I love the work - except for one snag: the customers. Although it's only a small shop, sometimes we get a lot of customers come in at once and it becomes very overcrowded sometimes. I usually work in a little room in the back where I sort out all the donations, which I thoroughly enjoy, but when I go out on the shop floor to put some items on some shelves, I get so overwhelmed inside when there's too many customers in, and are just standing just where I need to put the items. I don't like to say ''excuse me'' and barge in front of them, because they are trying to look - that's what they come in for. But that still doesn't stop me from getting irritated inside with them.
Sometimes I'm up and down the stairs with bags, and when there are customers milling about at the bottom of the stairs, or the top, I get so annoyed. I say ''excuse me please'' and they never move, and yesterday somebody even pushed past me when I was coming down the stairs with 2 heavy bagfulls of rubbish. And because most charity shops are small and have narrow gangways, it's a job to walk through all the customers when it gets busy. Aspies say NTs have peripheral vision, but I'm starting to think they don't, because they never seem to know that they're standing in eachother's way, and they step back right on your toe all the time, as though they forget they're in public.

Lastly - kids. I HATE when people bring their kids into the charity shop, especially toddlers. There's no room for their pushchairs, they make one hell of a mess upstairs with the toys, and there are narrows stairs too, which could be a health and safety issue to small children. If a kid tripped up on the stairs the mother's will soon complain at us, and we feel like saying, ''don't bloody bring them in then, unless you really need to! Plenty of other shops to explore around in Essex!''

But anyway - this ain't a ''I don't have time for toddlers'' thread, so I won't go into all that. The main point of this thread is I just wonder if anyone else who works in retail feel the same way I do with too many customers. I get so overwhelmed with them, and when I'm trying to restock the shelves and someone comes along and stand right over me, I feel so annoyed because I can't get on when there's somebody lingering about in my way.
And we have a rule where when we restock shelves/rails we have to count how many items we put out or take off, and I really find it hard to concentrate when there are loads of customers surrounding me. I know it's a shop and there will be customers, but it's still always awkward when there are too many of them. I just like my own space when I'm working, unless I'm working with other workers. Sometimes I wait for a while until the customers are gone, but I can't keep doing that every time I want to put something out because things will end up piling up and we need to get stuff out quick, since we receive a lot of donations.

Does anyone who work in retail feel like this at times with customers?

I can only deal with one new person at a time. A roomful of strangers makes me sick with anxiety, if I'm expected to interact with them. Most people let their children run wild in public and its absolutely maddening. If I can walk away from it, fine, but if I'm stuck in the same room and can't leave, its an instant headache.

Yes, I am often overwhelmed by customers. Unfortunately, my job requires that I deal with them in person & also over the phone. Luckily I don't have to deal with many kids.

When I worked in retail, I never terribly minded the customers. They were temporary. It was the persistent coworkers I found troublesome.

I did retail work for a little while in college during semester breaks. It was awful! Having to deal with customers who were so rude and nasty. Bad breath, terrible attitudes, etc. So glad no more retail for me.

i have just got a job in mcdonalds, although at the moment i am training on the serving drive through window, which doesnt bother me as its one customer at one possible time, it gets so busy inside everyone is rushing around and it kinda makes me panic, i try to deal with it, but thats the job. but i do enjoy all the different types of people that come, (except those troublemakers

As a cashier in a busy chain drugstore, I can attest to being overwhelmed by customers. Especially when they protest that the price on the scanner is higher than what they claim to have seen on the shelf.

I have come home from a full day's work at this place and spend the rest of the evening sobbing, I was so strung out.