The 'best' job ever

I am a bra fitter.
And it's not such a cool job as everyone thinks. Especially guys. Whenever I say what I do for living, their first responses are (in this order): 1. jaw dropped 2. woooow 3. “So you get to touch boobs everyday? Cool!” .

The problem is that everyone forgets to actually picture big boobs; it's not like in porn where women are skinny, just came out of the shower, with lot of  make up on. No. Big breasts usually means a bigger lady. Thus more sweating, and more smelling. They often don't shave their under-armpits, their hair smells. Sometimes they put powder underneath their boobs to reduce the sweating. Mums who are breastfeeding have old, dried milk in their bra and that smells a lot! Sometimes they come directly from the beach, their skin is filled with salt and tan lotion. Or from the lunch, shamelessly acknowledging the fact that they might smell a bit after a great roast with garlic, oh and that terrific wine we had in the middle of the day! Yes, I can smell all of these, ma’am! We are in an enclosed, small fitting room from which is no escape.
And sometimes they are heavy smokers and the fitting room is quickly filled with a strong odour which makes me want to vomit. Their bras might be so disgusting; almost black from all the wearing, or wet from the sweat and I do have to undo the hooks! Regarding the breasts itself, they are never like from the movie. They are saggy, one breast much larger than the other one, nipples too big, or too black. The amount of times I got a beautiful pair of boobs could be counted on one hand. Maybe two, but that doesn't necessarily mean the girl 'wearing' them was any pretty or young.

So we got all this shit to deal with and if this is not enough, the fitter must put up with women's attitude too. Most of the times they are nice (or I just don't pay attention anymore...) but sometimes they are cranky, hormonal, in a hurry, don't want to listen to you, think they are the best in the world therefore they know better! They can be intimidating, offensive and rude. And you have to put up with it, because it is your job. In many instances the customers were even racist, or question my ability to be a good fitter because I'm not Englisher.
I often feel like a psychologist who needs to sort out not only the customer's breasts, but also her mind. If I would be paid 300 pounds an hour, I don't mind her crying in front of me and oh please, I would even be your best friend! But not for the money I get, and not while my job description is a fitter, not a shrink.
And then one day I got a fitting with a customer who took away all my confidence and all the believe that people can be good. The way she talked to me made me cry. Basically, the issue was that she didn't listen to what I had to say and probably misinterpreted it. So she snapped at me accusing me of turning the discussion into an argument. I apologized and in the best intention I tried to explain myself. She again felt like I'm arguing with her, raised her voice and was very rude. I gave up. At this point I gave up any hope that I can like my job again. She took all of my energy, she drained every last piece of positiveness left in my soul.
I do want to forgive her because any hatred I might feel towards her will only harm me, and not her but me. We all are just human beings and make mistakes. I am sure she didn't mean to hurt me.

I would therefore suggest a different approach... Seriously, if we go shopping we don't actually realize how bitchy we can be. I have to admit, sometimes I stop myself and have to think about how I treat the people working in the shop, in the hospital, or in the office. But I never come to the store with my bag of problems, opening it in front of the employees. Why on earth would I do that? I might have a bad day, but it is not their fault. There might be something wrong with the product I purchased, but most of the time that is also not their fault and they are trying to help me. I can always achieve so much more when I'm smiling and trying to connect with the person working there. So please, if you ever come to 'my' shop, leave the bag of your problems outside, I promise you that you can pick it up later, no one is going to touch it.

So no, being a bra fitter is not such a cool job.