Tips From a Cashier/Cashier Rant

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:

-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.

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

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

- 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.

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

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*

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.

*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.

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 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.

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.