Tips From a Cashier/Cashier Rant

slkehl

My tip:

Don't drag your friends who are high as a kite or so drunk they can't walk straight into the store. Just let them sleep in the car.

bregalad5

My tip:

Don't drag your friends who are high as a kite or so drunk they can't walk straight into the store. Just let them sleep in the car.

Especially if it's into a liquor store. I'm lucky that I work at a liquor store where we don't get as many drunk people as others in town, but we still get a lot of younger people who are high later at night. It gives me a chuckle. We have a regular that comes in intoxicated all the time. I've learned to just tell him, "next time I'm not selling to you, ok?"

-I work for the state (liquor stores in Virginia are state run). If I work 2 minutes over my allotted 28 hours in the week, I get in trouble. So, if you come in right as we're closing, decide to browse the entire store, and I have to stay late, I either have to clock out before I'm finished and stay late without being on the clock, or my a** is in trouble. Also, don't tell me "you're a state employee, you must get awesome benefits" as if I'm all entitled. I'm a part-time employee who gets no benefits.

-Don't b!tch at me and throw things at me if I'm following a procedure that annoys me as much as it annoys you. Like I said, I work for the state... go complain to them

-If I say hi, at least say hi back. We're required to say hi, sure, but it's kinda rude of you to ignore me. If my boss isn't there I could get away with not saying it, but hey, I'm trying to be friendly!

-Don't treat me as if I'm an uneducated idiot, and act surprised when I can do calculations in my head. I have three undergrad degrees, am in grad. school right now, and plan on getting a PhD. I'm working in retail, but that doesn't mean I'm not intelligent. It means I wanted a part-time job at the moment, and that's who would hire me.

impudentputz

I was a cashier as my first job and a few others down the road. It definitely helped to solidify my desire to get out of retail.

- Put your money in the cashier's hands. Cashiers don't make you scrape your change off the counter, so don't make them scrape your payment from there either.

THIS is my biggest pet peeve. You do this, you have no respect for me, therefore no respect for you. :flowerforyou:

^^^This, this happened to me so many times I eventually started doing it back to them. People would throw their cards at me... you know, the cards that they are supposed to swipe. Or dumping a handful of random money on the counter and expect me to sort / count it. So I got fed up and did it myself. Someone tossed his card at me...i slid it across the counter and it went to the floor cause he was too busy talking on the phone to realize that he was in the middle of a transaction.

2essie

Everyone should be made to work as a cashier for at least 12 months. Then people may be nicer to that person who has to serve them.

slkehl

-Don't treat me as if I'm an uneducated idiot, and act surprised when I can do calculations in my head. I have three undergrad degrees, am in grad. school right now, and plan on getting a PhD. I'm working in retail, but that doesn't mean I'm not intelligent. It means I wanted a part-time job at the moment, and that's who would hire me.

I agree. Customers can be very condescending.

Also, I can't stand when a customer is angry to the point of cursing at me. I'll ask if they want to speak with the manager, and they'll say no and go on humiliating me. Most of the time it's about something I had no part in, like how long their meal took to cook or our pricing.

Alatariel75

dakotababy

Working with the public was BRUTAL. I WOULD NEVER do customer service ever again. It really did make me bitter towards customers and people in general. Yes, there was the few fabulous customers - followed by a ton of idiotic/dumbf-ck ones.

Though, on a positive side - working in customer service inspired me to go to university so i would never have to work with customers again. Now, instead I have clients and no - they can not use me as a door mat. I just simply show them the door and tell them to never return with management support. Plus the pay is a 1000000000x more worth it.

Another thing - when I do go to a store, and I see a miserable cashier...regardless if they are mean to me, I am always pleasant. I know they probably just had to deal with one of those said customers...and usually after I make a joke or pleasant comment, i get the same in return

To all those who ever asked "are you open?" when the light is clearly on, the worker is standing there with a uniform on...I just want to say, the cashier is not standing there "just because". Get your head out of your *kitten* and use it.

be_patient

just a few things us cashiers are obliged to endure...POLITELY, may i add

-couponers-if they are legally allowed to use multiple coupons, that should be fine. Sure, it's annoying, but we shouldn't get mad at them. THey're just trying to save as much as they can. For all we know, they could be going through a financial crisis (although unlikely if they're buying 30 bottles of mayo)

-if someone asks you where the bathroom/rice/bread/milk is, we have to try our best to answer them with accuracy. If we don't know, just say that. Don't be rude about it.

-customers don't know that we have to pack stuff a certain way. We can't expect them to divide their shopping by category if they don't know

On the other hand, customers, you should never ever ever do this:

-leave food (especially cold) on top of the gum packets! just give it to us!!!
-NEVER BE RUDE TO THE CASHIER. WE WILL STAB YOU.

slkehl

Another thing - when I do go to a store, and I see a miserable cashier...regardless if they are mean to me, I am always pleasant. I know they probably just had to deal with one of those said customers...and usually after I make a joke or pleasant comment, i get the same in return

Me too! Most customers just treat cashiers like robots. Which admittedly does lead us to act like robots after a few hours of the same routine. But a nice comment or warm smile will jolt us out of that and make us feel like a real human being so now when I go out shopping, I try to make conversation with the cashier to break the monotony and make them feel valued.

Also, we do notice when you say thank you

anemoneprose

I'm sympathetic to most of the things you mentioned, but I think some of the problems you're dealing with could be better handled by your store, and some by you.

*Don't ask me if I'm 'open'. I'm standing right here, my light is on, I'm looking at you, YES I'M OPEN.

More than once I've been in a line & all this has been true, and the cashier is not open. Or is busy with something essential and job related that I don't understand. Some people are trying to be polite by not interrupting. Or maybe something's wrong with their vision or they don't get whatever signalling system your store uses.

If people are not getting it, all you have to do is smile and wave them in.

*If you read a sign wrong, don't expect me to still mark down the item. First of all, it's not even for this item, second of all, It's not our fault you read just what you wanted to see instead of the whole sign.

The signage for pricing is very often wrong at the grocery store I shop at. Lots of room for confusion there too. If this happens a lot, the store's pricing person needs to get it together, the display & price need to make sense and clearly refer to the thing in question. I'm annoyed when I've spent an hour doing math in my head to find it's wrong. And sometimes, the fine print on sales is *really* fine. Like I can read it, but my elderly uncle can't. So if a store is going to label things inappropriately and use TINY-print tactics, the time it takes to explain things to people should be factored in.

*While unloading your products onto my conveyor belt, please let it make sense. Don't give me two things of cleaner than a long line of random food items followed by clothes, more cleaner and other random crap. We have to bag things a certain way, cold food with cold food, cans with cans, cleaners/non-food items separate, not to mention we're scored on our speed, the longer it takes you to unload your belt, the more likely it is I'll get 'talked to' about being to slow.

You need to take that up with your management, then. Because the order people put things in their carts follows the display and the paths designed by the store's marketing people. That's what shoppers follow. So the stuff in their cart reflects that, not your bagging priorities. Again, management should take that into account. I mean they could just take an average of times accounting for displays in place for the past month, and come up with some realistic targets for you guys.

Most customers are probably not aware that you are scored on your bagging speed. That sucks.

(fyi I am particular about how things get bagged, so I put them on the belt in what i think is a logical way. But I do not see a lot of other people interested in that. So 'making sense' is probably part of the job description too.)

*If I can't give you proper directions, don't get mad at me. I'm exhausted. Here's a map.

No one should get mad at you, that's awful. But as a representative of the company, you're expected to know where things are at least roughly. People aren't great at reading maps, maybe direct the customer to someone who does know. Don't let them frazzle you, just be confident "I think it's in aisle x, but I'm not sure -- here, Jen can help you better"

being a cashier changes you. It shows you how people really are, makes you bitter. =p

I can imagine, & am appreciative of how rough it must be. But that's not 'how people really are', that's people in a certain context, in a certain mood, etc. Eg mechanics and doctors see different sides of people than hairdressers do. Not everyone sucks (all the time), you just don't see the non-suck part, unfortunately. Try not to let it ruin your view of people.

BrainyBurro

Another thing - when I do go to a store, and I see a miserable cashier...regardless if they are mean to me, I am always pleasant. I know they probably just had to deal with one of those said customers...and usually after I make a joke or pleasant comment, i get the same in return

Me too! Most customers just treat cashiers like robots. Which admittedly does lead us to act like robots after a few hours of the same routine. But a nice comment or warm smile will jolt us out of that and make us feel like a real human being so now when I go out shopping, I try to make conversation with the cashier to break the monotony and make them feel valued.

Also, we do notice when you say thank you

this thread is tl;dr, but...

a few seconds of common courtesy is worth more than the effort expended. i always try to say "hi" and "thanks" and usually "have a good one" as i'm leaving. it's not that these small pleasantries will necessarily make somebody's day, but that it'll remind them that not everyone they deal with all day is a self-absorbed narcissist who is only concerned with how fast they can get through the line and to their car.

runlilyrun

"You don't mind change do you?" (I once took over £5 in 2ps for cigarettes, which the 'gent' threw on the counter at me and I had to count all of it, on a busy Saturday lunchtime. And it wouldn't fit in the till! :noway:


Working in retail makes you never want to work with people again! I think everyone should have to at some point though, it would make the world a nicer place. I am turbo nice to cashiers now, as I know full well what sort of day they are having!

I had to give £6 change entirely in 20p pieces yesterday as I'd run our of everything between that and £10 notes - I'd already called my shift manager over to get me more change, and when she saw the inside of my till and I told her what I'd and to do she burst out laughing.

runlilyrun

- Put your money in the cashier's hands. Cashiers don't make you scrape your change off the counter, so don't make them scrape your payment from there either.

I use to accidentally on purpose drop a few coins which makes them scramble to pick it up. Only if they put the money on the counter instead of in my waiting hand.

In some countries it's considered rude to hand someone money. You always put it on the counter, not in their hand. I bet a lot of customers who put their money on the counter are doing so for cultural reasons.

Or for hygiene reasons. At the moment I work in fast food and we get a lot of tradespeople with fairly mucky hands. Often they pay by card which means I don't even have to touch their money, which is good for the next half hour of customers' food health!

mio_amore

another crazy thing customers do is pay for cheap items with large bills. The other day someone ordered a tazo tea which came to 1.99 with tax and he handed me a hundred dollar bill *face palm*

impudentputz

-NEVER BE RUDE TO THE CASHIER. WE WILL STAB YOU.

I like your style

Alexandra289

I worked as a cashier for four years and every day I just bubbled with anger at rude customers. It's so easy to be polite but people treat you like an idiot. I think the things which annoyed me most were talking on the phone and people throwing rubbish on the checkout instead of politely asking me to throw it away.

runlilyrun

another crazy thing customers do is pay for cheap items with large bills. The other day someone ordered a tazo tea which came to 1.99 with tax and he handed me a hundred dollar bill *face palm*

Are you allowed to take hundred dollar bills? Where I work if we try to take a £50 note (around $80 maybe?) the system refuses and says we have to ask a manager... so we put in that we've been given £49.99 and just give an extra penny in change.

pinkraynedropjacki

*If you have a cold item that you get to the register and decide you don't want, PLEASE take it back to the freezer, if you don't, no matter how long you've had it out, we HAVE TO THROW IT AWAY. Such a waste of good food.

Not if you are one of the staff at my local supermarket. They don't care how long it's been out.... their way of temp checking is to feel how cold it is with their hand...if it "feels" like it's 4c then it can go back :noway: I've seen them take the 'temp' of fish & meat from the deli & then take it back AND PUT it back for sale..I've seen them take back milk AND PUT IT BACK FOR SALE.

I complained to not only manager (manager said it's ok as long as it feels cold) and to health dept..... nothing was done cause they still do it.

:noway: :sick:

mio_amore

another crazy thing customers do is pay for cheap items with large bills. The other day someone ordered a tazo tea which came to 1.99 with tax and he handed me a hundred dollar bill *face palm*

Are you allowed to take hundred dollar bills? Where I work if we try to take a £50 note (around $80 maybe?) the system refuses and says we have to ask a manager... so we put in that we've been given £49.99 and just give an extra penny in change.

Unfortunately where I work they do accept hundred dollar bills. I wish my system was like that but our registers are historically old and we have to take whats given.

IronSmasher

I hated the one time I was on a checkout, I hate going to a checkout.



TADA!

leebesstoad

*While unloading your products onto my conveyor belt, please let it make sense. Don't give me two things of cleaner than a long line of random food items followed by clothes, more cleaner and other random crap. We have to bag things a certain way, cold food with cold food, cans with cans, cleaners/non-food items separate, not to mention we're scored on our speed, the longer it takes you to unload your belt, the more likely it is I'll get 'talked to' about being to slow.

Thank you. I've never been a cashier, but I always do this. Try to group things together that should be grouped together. The cleaning products unloaded together. The produce. The colds, the deli stuff. Why is that so damned hard for people to do.

And as a corollary and it drives me nuts because I always do it: If you've got a big order: Start bagging the groceries yourself. I was raised from an early age to help bag the groceries for the cashiers. First it helps them. But more importantly it helps me because I know where everything is when I get home to unload. Instead, most people just stand there with a stupid look on their face, like putting groceries into a bag is some sort of complex science project they couldn't possibly figure out. It's groceries and bags people. You open the bag and put them in. What in the hell is so damned hard about that. Especially if you organize how you put things on the belt. Once you see the cashier is getting near the end of your order, stop bagging so you can be ready to pay for things. Then if you have time, finish helping or get your stuff and leave. And let the next customer get in and be on their way. WTF is so damned hard about that concept?

mustang289

Nice way to resurrect a thread.
I was a cashier in the late 1970's when they first started using bar codes. We didn't have scanners yet and still had to punch in numbers by hand, and yes we were timed on the items-per-minute.

Some other points:

You're walking into the store anyway, bring a shopping cart or two along with you from the parking lot.
When you are done, either leave the cart in the little cart corral or take the extra 15 steps to bring it up to the door.

When you are standing at the checkout staring at the cashier ringing up your purchases it would be a good time to start rummaging through your purse for whatever hidden form of payment you will be using. Don't wait til they are finished and then act all surprised that its time to pay the piper.

When you are unloading your purchases on the conveyor belt, if you notice the bar code put your items on the belt with the barcode facing up. The cashier may have to turn it upside down for the scanner to read it, but at least they will see where the code is and not have to flip your item around 6 different times looking for the code to line it up with the scanner.

It you are too stupid to understand how to use the Self Service lanes please use the Full Service check-out. It should not take you 5 minutes to purchase 3 items.

Conversation between the cashier and the customer can be nice, but should be over when the last item is rung up. Don't stand around finishing your long story while there is a line of people behind you. Keep in mind most employers instruct their employees not to engage in conversations about politics, religion, etc. So keep your comments about the current administration to yourself.

Although its a current trend to loudly greet each customer the instant they step into your establishment, at least let us IN THE DOOR before you shout "Welcome to Subway!" Most times I can't hear you because my ears are still overcome by the parking lot noises until the door closes behind me. Feel free to wait until I'm up to the counter before addressing me.

goalss4nika

I was a cashier as my first job and a few others down the road. It definitely helped to solidify my desire to get out of retail.

- Put your money in the cashier's hands. Cashiers don't make you scrape your change off the counter, so don't make them scrape your payment from there either.

THIS is my biggest pet peeve. You do this, you have no respect for me, therefore no respect for you. :flowerforyou:

Yes! I agree w/ this.

chrisloveslife

I remember one time a guy got fried chicken and chocolate milk. As cashiers, we are specifically told not to bag hot and cold items together. He saw me putting them in different bags and YELLED at me when he could have just said "you can put them in the same bag." At this point I had been working for 7 hours since 6:00 AM and was exhausted.

rml_16

This is regarding customers. I have worked as a grocery store cashier for 4 years. Please spread the word about what goes on because i have experience just about everything. If you are a customer:
(1) Do not take an item(s) out a cashier's hand after you ask him or her if they are done. Only ask the cashier something if you want it, but i only allow this if its one or a few items--not a dozen or more items. So even if you ask politely if you can have a dozen or more items i will not allow you to take a dozen or more items out of my hands after i immediately scan them. When a customer asks a cashier "Are you done" and the cashier says they are done, it means that I am done scanning the items, but it doesn't mean I am done bagging your groceries. And just because i say yes to your done doesnt give you the right to take many items out of my hands one by one. And what exactly do you mean when you ask are you done? Yes i am done scanning but it doesnt mean im done bagging your groceries. If you would like me to give you an item or even a few items okay. But do not stand up there taking an item out of my hand a dozen times or more. How would you like if i kept doing that 15-20 times. If you want to bag the groceries yourself i will let you do that. But please wait until i put the items in the back or some place in order for you to do what you want to do with them. And do not put reach across and or put your hands in the scanning area and take items from off the scanning area. That is the job of the cashier not a customer. And if you do this customers, it should not be something where you are doing this throughout half of the transaction.
(2) Do not ask me to put an item into a certain bag after i already put in one unless there is good reason to do so. For example, if i had put something where it didnt belong then ok, but most of the time if not all of the time people dont have good enough reasons for telling me to put an item into a certain bag.
(3) Please do not take the bags from off the hooks while my hands are still on the plastic bags and they are in the process of coming off the hooks. If you want to take the plastic bags from off the hooks, why not simply ask me or take them off the hooks when my hands and fingers are not on the plastic bag. Also, why would you feel the need to take the plastic bags from off the hooks exactly at the same time i am removing the plastic bags from off the hooks. (Because alot of plastic bags are filled with items, a cashier cannot remove the plastic bags from off the hooks fast enough before customer takes the plastic bag from off the hooks.) But the problem is customer is removing the plastic bag at the same time cashier is removing the plastic bag from off the hooks.
(4) If you say you forget to give me a coupon, i find it odd how you will have a closed fist with a coupon in your hand and how convenient that you all of a sudden just remembered to give me that coupon that came out of the hand that you made a closed fist with. Its strange that when I immediately after i press the button how some of you feel the need to give me a coupon the split second after i hit the button. Its always strange how they never give me a coupon like 10 seconds or more after i hit the button but immediately after i hit the button. Keep in mind i am referring to customers who have given me at least several coupons and then decide to give me the very very last coupon immediately after i press the button.
(5) Yes, i agree with a lot of other people on this board. I have had the same problems with customers wanting me to take change out of their hands, mainly its the senior citizens that i have found do this to me while I have also experienced some younger customers to have done this as well.
(6) Yes, I also have the same problem of many many customers putting mostly food items on top of magazine racks along my line.
(7) Don't tell me that this is your first time shopping in this grocery store or supermarket when i have seen you before in other lines where the cashier has checked you out before. Dont pretend to not know what button you have to press if you want to use debit or credit. I have seen you many many times before in other lanes being checked out. Dont tell me that this is your first time you are using debit or credit when you came in my line.
(8) Also, Dont tell me there is something wrong with the pen just because you pretend to not know how to use it.
(9) Do not tell me that you forgot to bring your debit or credit card with you and ask me if you could go out there to the parking lot and get it from out of your car. Some of you wont even have the decency to ask me if it would be ok. You just say things like Ohh, i left my debit or credit card in the car. Wait here. No, i will not wait. No cashier should have to put up with a customer who not only walks out of the cashier's line but walks out of the store to get their debit or credit card. I dont care when you say to me "ohh, it'll only be a minute its right around the corner, ill hurry up and be fast. It wouldnt be so bad if you came back fast. But some of you it takes 10 minutes to come back. ridiculous.

...

TheBeerRunner

I cashiered at a grocery store during my high school years... The number one thing that I always do is bag your meat products. C'mon, did you not notice the giant package of chicken has been dripping nasty chicken juice everywhere? I don't want to touch that and now I have to clean my belt before the next customer can put their groceries down unless they want to have their food covered in a salmonella bath.

rml_16

You need to take that up with your management, then. Because the order people put things in their carts follows the display and the paths designed by the store's marketing people. That's what shoppers follow. So the stuff in their cart reflects that, not your bagging priorities.

Most cashiers bag wrong, anyway. I put things on the belt in the order I want them bagged, dry, unrefrigerated items together, cold together, cleaning stuff, etc. Yet, maybe 10% of cashiers bag in the order I put things up. I was a cashier and I know how they're taught to bag.

However, I usually bring reusable bags now and bag them myself. So I REALLY want things rung in the order they're on the belt. I cannot even tell you how many times cashiers will reach WAY over the bigger or heavier items that need to be on the bottom to give me the small, crushable items first. Or they give me a few unrefrigerated things, then reach over the rest to give me cold things.

And then there are the cahiers who will tell me I'm bagging my own groceries wrong and give me a hard time for putting a loaf of bread on top of eggs like it's actually going to crush the eggs.

It's a thankless, difficult job, but a lot of people doing it seem to have no common sense.

Juliejustsaying

hahaha...I cashiered at a fabric store for a bit...but I've been a receptionist and an administrative assistant for years and years....it takes all kinds of bull. Pursuing my RN now..so I can hardly wait for the angry/scared relatives...But it is always easier for me to deal with that genre of people than just the aholes who are rude because they can be.

skcardiog

Bump . . .

PBsMommy

After working in governmental payroll and accounting for three years, I would be almost tempted to happily return to being a cashier at Wal-mart if it wasn't for the pay cut.

All my once upon a horror stories from Wal-Mart are now so friggin hilarious compared to what I usually have to deal with these days.

Shoot I would go back to working in the drive-thru window at Long John Silvers some days.

True story, I had a man throw groceries at me and flinging them in his buggy with so much force they were bouncing back out, because I kindly told him that I was waiting on a price check, that his wait might be a little delayed and that register 7 behind me didn't have anyone in it. I laugh so hard about that one now.