Tips From a Cashier/Cashier Rant

I think you said it all! I couldn’t stand when I have my hand out and they put the money on the counter and when they are talking on the phone when they are trying to check out.

*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.

I can't tell you how many times your light ISN'T on. I respect it and go wait in a longer line. There are people who pay NO attention to the light and walk right up and start putting their items on the belt. You (generic cashier you) are open but just never bothered to turn on the light. Bugs me when I follow the "rules" when no one else does.

So if you're gonna get snarky when I try to ask politely if you're open, I'm gonna give attitude, as well.

chances are they actually aren't open though. at my kmart, the registers take like 5 minutes to load because we got them secondhand from another store in the mid-90s. i don't want to show up to work, punch in, get my till, start to open the register and have some impatient jerk standing there yelling at me for 15 minutes because i have 20 screens to go through and then the computer froze so i had to restart it. just stay in another line. if we see that there are longer lines and we don't have anybody, we'll call you over (if we actually are open) or realize that our light's not on because the manager was screaming at us for no reason at all so we're a little flustered.

I don't think I've ever been rude to a cashier unless they treated me poorly to begin with. HOWEVER, I have talked back to that canned voice at the self checkout - she is totally rude and pushy!! LOL

This is me too! I never have a good experience with those things and a few stores around here don't have express lanes with a cashier anymore, only self checkout, so sometimes they are unavoidable. I've gotten belligerent quite a few times with the virtual cashier.

My biggest frustration is with bagging. I like to use reusable bags but don't always remember them. When I forget, why is it that I buy 10 things but walk out with 15 bags?

Blame other customers who yelled at the cashier for bagging the way she was taught. People are weird about their groceries and cashiers are afraid to put the wrong thing in a bag with something else or to make the bags "too heavy."

I have always been nice to cashiers etc. But about a year or two I read an article on how we are forgetting to say Please and Thank You to strangers for things like holding a door open or ringing up our groceries. Every since then I have tried to be even more conscious about it.

I don't think I would last very long in a customer service job like that. I did phone customer service and at least then I could make faces, roll my eyes or whatever while talking to someone that was annoying me. In person, you would be so much harder. I really do appreciate anyone in that position.

I laugh now because the guys who work the deli at our local grocery store are so nice to me and wait on me immediately. I know it's because I always say Please, Thank you very much, have a nice day, etc. There is no other reason .... I live in a town of college students and I don''t look anything like a hot college co-ed so it has to be because I'm nice to them! LOL

I've been both a cashier (at a box store and grocery store) and a customer---

And being a cashier sucks and being a customer who has to deal with a snarky nasty attitude "i hate my Job" cashier sucks too.

Oh well, that is why it is such a high turn over job.

A few points from a former cashier:

1st, about not asking the cashier where stuff is.. They ask you for a reason. More often than not, they couldn't find anyone on the floor. The least you could do is attempt, or call a floor person. It's not hard.

2nd: About putting things properly on the conveyor belt.. Not everyone got the same training you did. Not everyone knows that cans go with cans, etc. That's your job. That's what you're there for.

3rd: If someone puts the money on the counter instead of handing it to you.. Put their change on the counter in return. Don't be a *****. Don't drop their change. They might have a phobia and not only are you activating it, but you're also being rude.

4th: Yeah, couponers are hard to deal with.. But the store/manufacturer put out those coupons, and it's your job to stand there and ring them up. Deal with it.

Just a general.. If you're nice to the customer, they're generally nice to you. I've had *****y people, I've been treated like ****, I've had two women on Black Friday get into an arguement and calling eachother *****es and horrible parents AT my register. It comes with the territory. If you don't like the service industry, quit and get a different job.

Edit: And for some things that bad cashiers do:

1: Don't talk to your friends/coworkers while I'm at your register. Don't shout "AAAAAAASHLEEYYYYYYYYY!!!!" and wave when your friend walks in the store. It's obnoxious. It's unprofessional. You're working. Work.

2: I'm nice to you.. the least you could do is be nice to me. I know you're working and you're tired.. But when I'm chipper and smile and ask you how your day is.. don't grumble and shrug. Don't silently stuff my change into my hand and mumble your required "Thank you have a nice day". You get what you give.

Yeah yeah yeah I hate my job some days too.

*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.

I can't tell you how many times your light ISN'T on. I respect it and go wait in a longer line. There are people who pay NO attention to the light and walk right up and start putting their items on the belt. You (generic cashier you) are open but just never bothered to turn on the light. Bugs me when I follow the "rules" when no one else does.

So if you're gonna get snarky when I try to ask politely if you're open, I'm gonna give attitude, as well.

I think the OP wrote that her light WAS on

I worked in customer service along time ago and i am now the customer!!

-- I think all customers should be treated equally!! If you greet the older lady in front of me and tell her to have a great day you should do the same for me!! is it because Im younger that you feel you don't have to??

--Also, DO NOT ask me if I want my change (Happened in drive thru) i dont care if its a penny!! Its my money and where do you get the nerve to ask if I want my money!!!!!!!!

I've worked in customer service for 5+ years and am still in the job right now as I seek for employment in my field of study. I would say that my least favorite position was in fast food. The only thing that I didn't appreciate was getting shouted at all of the time by impatient people.

And, I try to sympathize with people, but I'm talking about being shouted at for no good reason. Their food isn't late, it's not cold, it's not undercooked, they just want to shout.

But generally, I like customer service. I'm in a sales job right now, and I love my customers (mostly). I try to connect with them on an individual level and it makes my job much more enjoyable rather than just seeing customers as customers.

But I understand your vent, believe me, I do. Just remember that those people are your paycheck and regardless if they're rude, snarky, or the best, they're the reason you have a job. And they're not every customer - a minority of people who had a bad day.

...
Still not as wild as the woman who told me her vagina hurts. I may never meet anyone that tops that. I do not work in an office that has anything to do w/vaginas.

I can't stop laughing!!!
:laugh:

I don't think I've ever been rude to a cashier unless they treated me poorly to begin with. HOWEVER, I have talked back to that canned voice at the self checkout - she is totally rude and pushy!! LOL

This is me too! I never have a good experience with those things and a few stores around here don't have express lanes with a cashier anymore, only self checkout, so sometimes they are unavoidable. I've gotten belligerent quite a few times with the virtual cashier.

My biggest frustration is with bagging. I like to use reusable bags but don't always remember them. When I forget, why is it that I buy 10 things but walk out with 15 bags?

Blame other customers who yelled at the cashier for bagging the way she was taught. People are weird about their groceries and cashiers are afraid to put the wrong thing in a bag with something else or to make the bags "too heavy."

I figure this must be the case even though I never see it. But even when I say, "it's okay, you can bag those together" then I get one item bagged and then that bag tossed in with the other or double bags when it's not needed. Usually I just don't say anything anymore, just accept them and then recycle them.

I work in a call center doing customer service....dear God, this job has made me lost faith in humanity. On a daily basis, I get yelled/screamed at, cussed out, hung up, threatened, etc. All because I happened to answer the phone and had to recite what they wanted was against company rules. I don't make the rules/set the prices, I just answer the phone, type some stuff into a computer, and move on to the next waiting jerk in line. I hung up on one girl because every other word out of her mouth was an F bomb. I've also been called idiot, dumb *kitten*, and other nice names because they didn't like what I was telling them.

I'm a former cashier & still an occasional cashier in a pharmacy. Worked several years of cashiering in grocery stores so I've had my share of experience.

My biggest pet peeve is when they throw their bills & change on the counter like you are scum and they can't imagine handing it to you. Oh and I really love this when my hand is outstretched waiting for it. I would love to throw it right back down on the counter but I never have. Ughhhh!!!

I don't think I've ever been rude to a cashier unless they treated me poorly to begin with. HOWEVER, I have talked back to that canned voice at the self checkout - she is totally rude and pushy!! LOL

This is me too! I never have a good experience with those things and a few stores around here don't have express lanes with a cashier anymore, only self checkout, so sometimes they are unavoidable. I've gotten belligerent quite a few times with the virtual cashier.

My biggest frustration is with bagging. I like to use reusable bags but don't always remember them. When I forget, why is it that I buy 10 things but walk out with 15 bags?

Blame other customers who yelled at the cashier for bagging the way she was taught. People are weird about their groceries and cashiers are afraid to put the wrong thing in a bag with something else or to make the bags "too heavy."

I figure this must be the case even though I never see it. But even when I say, "it's okay, you can bag those together" then I get one item bagged and then that bag tossed in with the other or double bags when it's not needed. Usually I just don't say anything anymore, just accept them and then recycle them.

Oh, what a PITA. Honestly, that isn't how I got trained when I worked that job. But I often noticed the people who got hired with me and had the same training did NOT bag correctly. I think some just get lazy.