No, I’m not going to say that I love being a cashier. Honestly, I prefer the days when I work in the back. That being said, though, I will say that there are some benefits.
1. Your communication skills outside of work improve.
I’m not the most antisocial person I know, but I do tend to dodge people when I’m out and about. At times, I’ve become super awkward and shy. Nowadays I’ve noticed that I’m quick to respond to people when I’m in public and I’m just generally nicer about it.
2. You treat cashiers in other stores even better.
I’ve always been pretty decent when I’m out getting food or buying something. If a cashier makes a mistake, I don’t tend to sweat it and try to reassure them. Now even more than ever, I will go out of my way to make sure I do not contribute to what could be very bad days for people. I think it’s easy for people to forget that cashiers are people and they tend to say whatever they want and insult quickly-even if the cashier is not at fault. I think that when you’ve had experience as a cashier, you just tend to be more sympathetic.
3.Counting money improves your basic math skills in general.
Doing a bit of basic math a few times a week for a prolonged period is certainly not a bad thing. I’ve always been pretty good with money and numbers, but I’ve noticed I’ve gotten faster at counting money and that it’s even easier to count a bundle of things within a few seconds. Train your brain!
4. You learn more about how people act.
Being obligated to be around people for so many hours a day can be annoying, but it helps you observe how people interact with each other. I’ve seen couples fight in cars, see how customers can treat me and others-- good or bad, see how families interact with each other, as well as much more. Not saying that I have every person in the world coming to my store, but it’s just interesting to see how other people work in different situations. Sure, you may be more comfortable locked in your room all day, but that won’t help you understand other people.
5. You get better at shutting down arguments and fights before they even begin.
This goes with some of the previous points, but it’s also a bit different. Once you’ve seen many people react in many different ways, you notice a pattern. You can see more clearly what emotions your customer is responding with and from there decide what would best improve the situation.
Be honest, a lot of times when you’re having a bad day, you see people in a bad light. This is true for a lot of people, so it’s natural that a customer that is having a bad day may treat people badly. If you see the bad mood beforehand, it’s normally not a bad idea to ask about their day. Thus, you’ve stopped a bad situation from happening.
