One of my favorite toys I had growing up was my Barbie cash register. It had fake money, plastic groceries, and beauty products that people could "buy", AND it came with a portable scanner. I had an absolute ball with that thing. I loved having my own "store" and pretending that I was this hot shot store owner with a cool cash register and lots of money. It was so fun and easy, all of my customers were nice, and I had a successful business going. The world was my oyster! And then when I was 15 years old, I got a real job working as a cashier at Market Basket.
Here is where things took a turn for the worst. It was NOT as easy as Barbie made it seem. I guess you can compare my experience to Squidward at the Krusty Krab. It is one of the most boring and easy jobs, but at the same time, it is the most painfully annoying and difficult job.
Obviously, cashiering part time is meant for teenagers trying to make some extra money, or retired folks looking for something to do and a way to give back, but it can be exhausting. It's not the "physical labor" of picking up heavy items or bags, it's the customers, the technical difficulties, and little pains that make cashiering hard. Sure it seems easy, you just stand there, greet customers, scan the items, print the receipt and send the customer on their way. But can you imagine doing this and nothing else for a full work shift? It is one of the most boring jobs to do over and over again.
I am very grateful to have a job that is easy and allows me to get paid for doing as little work as possible. But it doesn't come without struggle and misery, like any job does at times. Here are a list of things that can make being a cashier very difficult.
1. Rude Customers
This is a given for any job, but I swear some customers make it their purpose in life to make a cashier as miserable as possible. They watch you like a hawk as you scan their items, waiting for a chance to humiliate you over a small mistake. Customers that take the time to make a cashier feel degraded and dumb are just terrible people in general. Please stop giving us a hard time for no reason, we are doing our best.
2. Working the express register
Working the 12 items or less register is a huge pain in the ass. Usually, the register is smaller since people should NOT have a lot of items, and it is also busier because people assume the service will be faster. Well, some people "forget" that it is an express lane and come through with a full cart of items. It can also be very overwhelming to see a long line of people just staring at you as you go from customer to customer. The pressure is on, and it so should not be.
3. Oversized items
There are a lot of stores nowadays that have item codes or portable scanners for oversized items like cases of water or huge bags of dog food. Customers don't have to lift a finger. How nice! Well, not all stores are up to date. Every day, people are asking if they need to take items out and groan every time I ask them. It's always the younger people that ask too. You are clearly able to take out that case of water, you're just trying to make my life more difficult.
4. When the price isn't right
It's always dreadful when an item doesn't ring up the same price it is on the shelf. It requires a lot of hassle to change a price, as we can't just rely on the customer's good word (because people lie to get cheaper stuff). By the time you call a manager, call another store department, go to the shelves to see if the price is actually there, and have the manager come back, you have a line full of irritated people. Most of the times, the price is between $0.50-$1.00 different. I'm all about saving money, but is it really worth all the hassle? Half the time the customer is wrong anyways, making the whole situation worse for all involved.
5. Any and all produce items
Those PLU codes will get you every time. Every piece of produce has a four numbered code that you have to type in, and usually there is a sticker or band on the item with the code on it. Unfortunately, stickers fall off, meaning the cashier has to MEMORIZE ALL THE CODES. Or we awkwardly have to look them up in our fancy code books. Some items have multiple different codes, like apples. Each type of apple has a different code and if you put in the code for red delicious instead of macintosh, the customer will have your head, as they are different prices per pound.
6. "Oh I forgot my wallet"
I'm sorry, you are heading out to go shopping. You are driving to a store, expecting to spend money and you FORGET ALL OF IT? I know it happens but come on people, double check before you leave the house.
7. Personal Pet Peeves
The following are things that get on my nerves personally, but feel free to agree with any of them.
When people throw their items on the belt.
When people hand me their money all crumpled up.
When people stand their with their card/cash in hand the entire time I am ringing their order.
When people comment on me not smiling or being obnoxiously happy.
When customers rest their arms on my cash register.
When customers harass me or my bagger about how we are bagging their items.
When customers ignore me when I greet them or ask questions.
When people are on the phone the entire time I am checking them out.
When people actually tell me how they would hate to have my job....
And that last one was said to me very very recently. I'm sure some of these pet peeves or struggles can apply to any job, not just cashiering. It's already a boring job, we do not need people to make it more difficult for us. It is also more work than people see. It takes a while to memorize codes or learn how to process different payment methods. It's also hard to learn how to serve customers well and be good at your job.
At the end of the day, we are all trying to do something productive with our time and make some extra cash. So next time you go to check out, try to think of what you can do to give back to the person working. All it takes is one great customer to come along to lift my mood for the rest of a shift. Happy workers=happy customers, so both ends have to meet halfway to make it happen.
