For the past year I have worked as a cashier at my “super” job at a certain grocery store in Halifax. I’m sure everyone has their horror stories of cashiers bruising their bananas, or god forbid squishing their bread and I’d be willing to bet that you marched your asses up to customer service and complained over this simple mistake. I am a student, I work full time and have I think I am slowly starting to hate humanity because of this job. I recently put in my two weeks, so don’t even say it. I also know I am damn good at my job, so don’t go there either. I would just like to point out a few obvious things you can do that will make the underpaid, mistreated, disrespected, over-worked cashiers have a little bit better day. After keeping my mouth shut in numerous situations and trying to remain calm and be polite, I need to vent.
DO:
– Do: respond when we ask “Hi, how are you doing today?” Honestly, we probably don’t give a flying fuck how you are but we ask because it’s the polite thing to do, and the least you can do is mutter a “fine” and not stare at us like we have 5 heads.
– Do: wait patiently while we call for price checks. It is not our fault something was marked wrong on the shelf, it’s not our fault a price tag wasn’t put on in another department. We are calling and holding up the line so you get your extra 12 cents difference in the price. Just because the guy in the seafood department forgot to put a price on your fish doesn’t mean you should yell at us. Why should we be punished by cranky customers because of mistakes made in other departments. If you really care that much, go back and bitch at them, or call the manager. Go bitch to someone who made the mistake and could have prevented it.
– Do: recognize when it is insanely busy and understand that there are reasons why we don’t have every lane open. People call in sick, maybe the front end is short staffed. It’s hard to find people to work in such a shitty environment for such little money. The lanes aren’t closed just to piss you off so the people at customer service can point and laugh and be like ” oh wez so bad those people have to wait longer in line I’ll show them muahaha” No.
– Do: help bag if you have the chance. I understand that you bring in reusable bags because you want to save the environment. Sweet, I’m all for that. But we are timed, yes, that’s right. We are timed and evaluated based on how many items we ring through a minutes. Those bags really slow us down and although it is for a good cause, if you’re standing there doing nothing, please offer to help and not watch us struggle.
– Do: understand that 10 items or less means 10 ITEMS OR LESS. In certain situations, for example, if the store is dead and there is no one in express but long line ups on regular cash then most cashiers will offer to ring you through if you don’t have a $400 order. At least I know I will. But if you don’t ask, forget it. Don’t just expect to be rung through like you have some special privilege, you don’t. Wait in line like everyone else. If exp ress lines are long and it’s busy, go to a normal lane. Oh, and also, don’t use the whole ” o rly? like…this is express? oh I didn’t see the sign tehehe” You’re an idiot and I’ll still tell you to leave I don’t care
– Do: make an attempt to be nice. Yeah your car broke down on the way here and your kid got suspended from school and when you got to the grocery store they didn’t have what you wanted. You can be cranky, that’s okay I get that. I’ll ring you through as fast as possible and you can’t go hate life elsewhere but there is no fucking need for you to vent your anger on cashiers. Bite your tongue, we do.
– Do: Put the money in the cashier’s hand, not on the belt. That is disrespectful, my hands are clean you can drop your money in my hand, won’t get AIDS. Also if you don’t do this then you better not bitch when your twenty dollar bill gets sucked under the belt.
– Do – Say thank you. Sweet merciful fuck is it really too much to ask for a thanks?
– Do – Give compliments. You all seem to have no problem leaving complaints if you are pissed about something. Why don’t you try leaving a compliment if you are satisfied with the service you have recieved.
And now for the don’ts..
– Don’t- Leave your carts at the end of the lane. This pisses customers off and makes everything crowded, it’s not hard to drop it off on your way out.
– Don’t – Curse at the cashier, or customers, or at all for that matter.
– Don’t – Get in fist fights while waiting in line. I know, right? This should be common sense. But it’s not, it’s happened. Adults getting in fist fights while standing in line at a grocery store.
– Don’t – Put your basket up on the belt and expect us to empty it for you. I hate when people do this, it’s like you’re saying “I’m too good to empty this, it’s your job, and do it.”
– Don’t – Talk on your cell phone the whole time we ring you through. “Omggg girrrrl, last nite i had sao much fun at the dome. You too? Fuck yaw we’re going again tanite. I’m juzt ringing thru ma groceries , yk no y kno, sap witchu?!”
– Don’t let your cats piss on your reassemble bags and then expect me to pack then while they reek of piss. Nice. It’s really good to know your enjoy the aroma of urine with your bananas and apples. You must be very clean, awesome.
– Don’t – Throw things at cashiers. You know how tempted I am to follow you out in the parking lot and slap you across your face. It amazes me how people can be so crazy and rude.
– Don’t – Tell me to slow down. I’m not throwing your groceries okay? Again, we are timed. We have to go fast. I’m not going to dent your cans I know what I’m doing.
– Don’t – Say racist or any rude comment for that matter and expect me to laugh. Sorry, no. This is the one time I’m allowed to be rude and get YOU in trouble. So please try talking to the store manager after I call you out.
I’m sure I’ve forgotten things but hopefully you get the point. I’m not saying everyone is guilty of doing these things, but for the few people who are I hope you realize that one comment can completely ruin someone’s shift and If it wasn’t for all the nice people outnumbering the rude ones I would go insane. All that being said, Please remember this before you go to scream at your cashier next time. I have seen many customers make employees cry. Chances are, they don’t enjoy their job, they are there because they have no other option, and a compliment or even just a smile does go along way and makes our days better. I’m sure a lot of these things apply to people who have other retail jobs too, so try being nice, or not even nice, just not mean, to the next person who serves you. A lot of things that go wrong are honest mistakes, don’t freak out. To the people out there who do try and are respectful and friendly, thank you
This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2008.
You forgot: “don’t repack your shit. Most cashiers know how to pack your shit properly”Fuck that bugs me.I agree with a few things you’ve written here, OP, as I too work as a cashier for a store that’s “super”, but uh….all I can say is good thing you put in your notice because in my time as a cashier, I can honestly say I haven’t had much of a problem with shitty customers, and when I have I’ve brushed it off. What’s the worst that can happen? I really think you are/were in the WRONG profession because if all this shit bugs you SO much…well you have a problem.Maybe I’ve just been lucky with customers, or maybe I haven’t had a problem because I don’t take things personally, and I treat my customers with a little respect…and, expecting a “thank you” from your patrons is um…wtf? YOU should be thanking them — why should the customer thank the people they’re giving money to? That’s not to say I’m not thanked — I am quite often, actually. Just today I had three customers tell me how thoughtful I was for putting stickers on the top of their baguettes so the top folded over to prevent the rain from making their bread soggy.I mean SURE there ARE asshole customers out there, but I find if you just calm the fuck down, and just get the assholes in and out as quickly as possible, you don’t really have that much to complain about. It’s a shitty job, but it shouldn’t be pissing you off THAT much. Like I said, glad you’re moving on — you really NEED to from the sounds of it.Although it still bugs the fuck out of me when people don’t unpack their baskets and expect me to hand them their personal shit they leave in there…I tend to not touch their crap and just move the basket to the other side of the scanner and let them pick up their crap. And when their money gets sucked into the belt? well that’s their problem….anyway…
DO Treat hearing impaired customers with respect. DONT I dont like being laughed at when I say I have a hearing loss and could you please speak up.
Shopping for groceries shouldn’t be such a stressful event for anyone, on either side of the cash. I’m happy to be able to buy food – lucky, even. And I’d have a hard time respecting myself if I were that disrespectful to other people over some friggin’ groceries. Good luck with the new job, OP.
I always wonder about helping the cashier to pack my bags. I stand there watching, thinking maybe I should help, but then again maybe I would just get in the way. I usually figure, just let the cashier do her job. She knows what she’s doing. Maybe some other cashiers could weigh in, and let us know whether you want us to help, or stay out of your way.On the other hand, there seem to be a lot of cashiers who have no idea how to pack reusable bags efficiently. Don’t the stores train their staff in “bagging technique” any more? I know they used to get training on packing the regular plastic bags, but the reusable ones require a different method. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve left the cash, taken everything out of my bags, and repacked it. I do leave the store to do this. I don’t do it right in front of the cashier. That would be rude.
The reusable ones are a pain in the ass, and they DO slow us down, especially the ones without a flat bottom, but whatever. What kinda bugs me is when customers put their bags at the end of their order and expect you to rebag their shit because they didn’t give you the bags. Usually I don’t. Anyway, as for helping to bag — I prefer if you didn’t, honestly. It’s A LOT quicker if you’re using plastic to just let me do it, given the set up of the cash. But if you have reusable bags, by all means :)And no they don’t really teach people how to bag plastic anymore let alone the reusable ones (besides telling us to put cold stuff together, etc…). Maybe if you’re a kid in HS you might not “get” how putting certain things together might not be so good (because your parents probably do the shopping), but it really is just common sense to bag boxes together, cold stuff together, to put meats in a separate bag (or a plastic one if you’re using reusable bags) so they don’t leak onto other foods, and to not put cleaning stuff with food, and don’t put bread with shit that can squish it for the love of god. Anyway, like I said before, being a cashier shouldn’t bring you THAT much angst, OP, so good luck with your new job — hopefully it won’t be as stressful for you 🙂
I usually hate the bitches that are all about telling people how to act in their workplaces, or complaining about tips and shit, but this one is pretty legit. I, too, have been a clerk at the “super”-est of grocery stores (before they offered a dicount-grrr…) all through high school, and most of these points frustrated me as well. for the first few months, i knew i was shaky, and i took the criticism with a grain of salt, but once i started to get really good at my job, it started to get under my skin. I’ve worked an quite a few different types of jobs, and I find that grocery cashiering is where i tok the most shit from people. I was a VERY sweet kid, too timid to have an attitude with anyone, but outgoing enough to provide good customer service. I had the misfortune of working in a bad neighborhood, so every third customer or so wanted to pick a fight. Maybe it’s about timing, im not sure, but there is a huge sample of people who are extremely frustrated with their lives and who are on a mission to make SOMEBODY feel worse than them. And who happens to be the first person you really interact with between work and home?? None other than your friendly neighborhood highschool part-timer who has just started a 6 hour shift after going to school for 8 hours, and has to complete said shift after being verbally assaulted by you.And the funniest part of that bitch is the “throwing things” part. i once had a lip bloodied after having a can thrown at my face because a woman saw that it was sitting under a sign with the wrong price, and thought she’d get it for free. I’ve never been in or a part of a fight in my life, and have never spoken harshly to anyone before (im very shy), and I was physically assaulted 3 times while on that job. Congrats to you, OP, for getting out while you can. At least you’re not one of the girls that gets the 20 year pin at this years x-mas party…
hahahahahahahahhaha- Miranda, i hope you’ve seen those bag training videos before. Comedy gold. we had bag training for 6 hours, every 2-3 months. just in case it didnt take the first 5 times. I asked a cashier once if they still do that and she looked at me like i was insane.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
Sorry to hear about your job stress. I thought these jobs were stressful but I didn’t know how stressful. ON a personal note I can understand people not responding when you say” how are you.” I hate small talk because I find it so fake and annoying but I don’t consider myself to be unfriendly. If people don’t respond, I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Must say your letter is a real eye- opener. good luck with the new job.
What the fuck, Krista! You posted your comment 22 times! Yes, I counted, 22!!!!!Was that necessary? Guess you didn’t know that it takes about a minute for comments to appear…
Krista — not responding when someone says hi and asks how you are is just fucking RUDE, and as much as I don’t let being a cashier and dealing with people bug me (and as much as I don’t plan on making it a career, I quite enjoy my job) there IS no way to not take it the wrong way when someone ignores you. Not wanting small talk? fine, but don’t expect to not be seen as anything but a huge bitch if you just ignore someone who’s attempting to be nice. A simple nod and a “hi” is enough — it that too much to ask for? In most situations that’s enough to tell us you don’t want to chat.
I too am a cashier at a “ready to snap” grocery store and I agree with everything you said and have a few pet peeves to add:Customers who bring their own bags and stand there watching you pack their groceries in plastic before telling you they have their own bags. Or they have their bags buried under their groceries and wait until you have $200 worth of food packed to tell you they have bags. What did you think I was doing with this stuff?!When I see you standing with your debit or credit card in your mouth before you pass it to me, I want to vomit! What is up with people’s hygiene in this city?! Seeing someone eating unwashed produce totally grosses me out. You don’t know who touched that and decided they didn’t want it before you. I saw a woman blow her nose and bury her Kleenex in a meat case once. Wash your food before you eat it!!!There is nothing that bugs me more than people who don’t empty their own baskets! I think this is so ignorant. You don’t see me emptying people’s carts. Although that’s another thing. Why don’t people know to park their carts at the end of the checkout to empty it? So many people pull up beside and try to lean over the handle to reach the stuff in the cart. Do you know how foolish you look? Back it up and do it right. And no you can not get $300 worth of food on the belt at once. Just because you get it all up there doesn’t mean I’m going to be done sooner. You’re making it more difficult because I can’t get at things that need to go in the same bag.And DO NOT throw things at me!!!! I had a huge block of cheese thrown at me once because my belt was dirty. It was busy and I hadn’t had a chance to do it. If it was that bad, you could’ve waited for me to clean it before you put your stuff on it .And cell phones. I don’t know about you, but I was taught it’s rude to talk to someone when they’re on the phone so I don’t speak to people when they’re on them although they’re the one being rude. I have yet to hear a conversation that was so important it couldn’t wait while you paid for your groceries. I was waiting on a guy once who was on his cell phone the whole time and he WHISTLED at me to get my attention then jabbed his finger at a coupon he had laid on top of an item that I hadn’t even gotten to yet. I got my revenge, though; the coupon was expired.Anyway, I’m sure there’re a lot more, but these are the major ones. I think if people still had common sense and courtesy, grocery shopping wouldn’t be the ordeal that it is.