Being a cashier in retail can be a job that is highly criticized. Most people view these cashiers as lazy workers who do not have many skills. What they don't realize is how much they have to deal with on a daily basis. Being a cashier in a grocery store can bring you some great work experience, but it definitely has its downfalls within the job. If you have worked in a grocery store or any retail job, you can probably relate to at least a few of these.
1. When you get mad at us for checking a big bill
Don't be mad at us for taking the extra minute to make sure it is real. Do you think we WANT to check every single 50 or 100? No, but it is part of our job to do so.
2. Use the divider in between your items
One of my worst pet peeves is when people don’t use the divider in between each transaction. When you don’t leave any space between your stuff and the person’s in front of you, how am I supposed to know they are separate? Then, don’t get mad at me when I accidentally ring up one of your items in the first customers order. If you had used a divider, this issue would not exist.
3. Don’t argue about a price when the sticker clearly labels it
When I go and physically find the price on the sticker and realize you have the wrong brand, don’t get mad at me. It’s not my fault you couldn’t read the description on the price tag.
4. Check the lights to see if I am closed
When my light is off and my drawer is out, I am obviously closed. Just use your common sense for this one.
5. When my light is on and I am standing there, doing nothing, waiting for a customer, don’t ask me if I am open
No, i just like to stand around doing nothing for no reason.
6. Don’t come on an express line of 10 or under with 30 things
Just don’t do it. I will probably hate you forever and so will every other customer with only 1 or 2 items. I don’t care that I have nobody on my line right now. As soon as you start unloading your cart, somebody with the correct amount of items will come up. It is not fair for them to wait when you could have gone to a regular line like you were supposed to.
7. Don't complain to me about how dirty the store is or how expensive it is
I have the lowest power as a cashier. I can not do anything to fix those problems. Bring them up with the managers and they will take your concerns more seriously.
8. Don't hit on us
When I am a 17-18 year old girl, I never want to deal with 50 year old men hitting on me. It’s not cool. It's not okay. It's actually repulsive. There is a fine line between being friendly and being flirty. I hope you realize how uncomfortable it truly makes us.
9. Don't come into the store 10 minutes before closing with a cart
Your grocery list can wait until tomorrow morning. I highly doubt that you will use all 50 items in your cart before we open again in 8 hours. If you're that desperate, go to a store that is open 24 hours. We don’t want to sit here all night waiting for you to finish your shopping. It may not seem like it, but we do have a life outside of this place.
10. Just be a decent human being
We appreciate those nice customers more than you could ever imagine. It makes our day so much better when we get a person that actually respects us and our job. Being nice even has its benefits... if I can give you a discount, I probably will.
