I actually have a couple of friends who have been in retail hell for about 8 years now, and it's pretty interesting because one of them has worked their way up the ladder into a managerial role, and he's really turned into a company man that derives a ton of pride from the company, whereas the other one has remained a sales assistant and absolutely hates his job and everything about his company.
I offered the sales assistant friend a job with me, and already he seems happier just knowing he's working for a smaller company where he has input, even though the pay is probably a little lower starting out.
The manager friend is wholly against the idea trying to make points as to why the company is more worthwhile and can't understand why anyone would leave it.