I’m an exceptionally helpful, polite cashier to people who treat me kindly, and with respect. This means…
1) Greet me when I greet you. Turn off your iPod, and hang up your phone call. Look me in the eye and ask me how I’m doing when I do the same to you. If you ignore me, or if you respond in grunts, I have methods of revenge. Expect poorly packed bags and irritatingly coin-heavy change.
2) Have your money ready. Put it in my outstretched hand; don’t you dare throw it on the counter. This isn’t the Macdonald bridge. If there’s a big queue, don’t spend an hour trying to get rid of your pennies. This is what banks are for.
3) The debit machine isn’t broken, you’re just using it wrong. If you want cash-back, tell me up front. No, you can’t pay with a cheque, nor can you pay in Euros. On that note, if you pay in American money, it is unreasonable of you to expect your change to be in American dollars.
4) Lottery fiends, stop wasting my time. I don’t want to help you fill out a 6/49 card, bring your damn glasses and learn how to do it properly. I have other people to serve, I don’t have that much time to commit to you. If you want a scratch card, don’t demand I “dig deeper” for the “luckier” one – aren’t you embarrassed? This is ANNOYING and it wastes my time.
5) Teach your obnoxious children some manners.
6) Stop showing me the receipt for a product you bought in the adjacent store. I don’t care. You aren’t going to get tackled by security guards. Hell, we don’t even sell those things.
7) If it’s not on the shelf, it’s not in the store. Don’t say, “can’t you look out back?” Believe me when I say we don’t have any. I don’t know when it’ll be in, I’m the fucking cashier. Go find the receiver.
8) Don’t complain to me about the prices. I have nothing to do with it. I make minimum wage for cripes sake, do you not think I’ve noticed the high cost of living?
9) If you change your mind about a purchase and are so lazy as to not want to return it to the shelf, give it to me so a cashier or the merchandiser can restock it. Don’t hide it in the magazine rack.
10) If the store is closing, GTFO. Don’t shop up until a minute before we lock the doors. You’re keeping an entire store’s worth of employees in there longer than they need to be. These are people with family, friends, and plans. Hurry the fuck up. When we start turning the lights out, it’s a hint.
I sound overly negative, so I will end this bitch on a lighter note by saying most customers are tolerable. Some are even pleasant!
This article appears in May 1-7, 2008.
Bar none, you are the WORST EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR.heaven forbid you do your job. You do know that there is more to being a cashier than scanning my can of soup. If i have question, that is something that you might know the answer to. ANSWER THE FUCKIN QUESTION. It might not fit into your robotic way of performing your task, but you might actually get satisfaction as i thank you for being a help. Are you ok with me saying thank you? Is that ok? Are your sure i can speak to you HITLER CHECKOUT CHICK?
On the other hand, I worked behind a cash register for many years. The poster makes some good, and accurate, points. The Homie, the comparison to Adolf Hitler was, I think, unwarranted and inappropriate. Do you intend to comment on the poster’s individual points, or are you merely interested in insulting the poster?
bert, In this case, all the shit she has bitched about, is part of being a cashier. It comes with the job. It has ALWAYS been like this, and ALWAYS will. It would be ideal to have it her way, it isnt practical. for the record, when someone says, “This is ANNOYING and it wastes my time.”, you are getting paid. I dont give a fuck if you think your time is being wasted. I am there trying to make a purchase, I might have questions, i might want that ticket in the middle. If that was the ticket that won and i came back and tipped, would you still be asking me questions like, “are you embarrassed? “. No, you would be shutting the fuck up. If reaching into a drawer to pull out the eighth ticket is that much of an inconvience for you, you shouldnt be a cashier.
The cashier makes a great point about people leaving crap all over the place. What’s up with that? Do you really expect the store to guess how long your groundbeef was in the magazinerack? NO- it gets thrown out, along with other perishable products left in inappropriate places. Then we wonder why food costs so much!
seems like a checklist for things to do at the checkout…and all the things that you say don’t have time for, how do you not have time? If you deal with one person for your whole shift you had time. Do your job and don’t think any half intelligent person wont ask you to re bag that shit or give them bills for change if they can see it clearly in the register…pretty lame as well…take that bread right under the soda that will teach them
I’m with the OP who made some very good and sensible points. I’ve seen many of the customers he/she’s describing and totally understand the bottomless well of frustration this job can generate. The OP, however, should note that he/she might be exchanging a retail hell for an office hell. At least the pay is better.
I’m sorry but the OP is just asking for some basic courtesy and consideration based on a basic level of respect. The OP has a right to these just as everyone else does, if you find that her request is excessive or offensive or responded with “It’s part of your job” you are an ass of the highest proportions and are obviously rude and inconsiderate, and most likely one of those losers mentioned in the Bitch. Get a life, show some respect or shut the fuck up before Karma comes back and bites you in your “Holier and Better than thou” ass.
so the way we are to react to a rude person is revenge?” I have methods of revenge”and im the one that is to get a life? So we have come down to an “address me when i address you or it is onnnnnnn” attitude? And that is ok? Wow…. nice
This is the Bitch section right? Last time I looked, this is where people bitch about things that bother them…Homie, up until right now, I’ve enjoyed reading your posts… however, this seems a tad dramatic.. (in my opinion)The cashiers revenge for idiot customers, is to give small change, she’s not shootin up the place… jeez We all have things we do to piss people off intentionally, revenge tactics…. (someone rides my ass, I slow down… Huffing and puffing cause someone is taking too long at the bank machine, just makes them that much slower.. I dont remember what other people posted, otherwise i’d go on)
Wow, even Christopher agrees with us…. hmmmm… at what point does it occur to the Vadge that maybe it’s not us. Maybe it’s you.
Cashiers don’t have it easy. They put up with a lot of shit for next to no money. Let the guy bitch about his (or her) crappy job, which is more than likely thankless. I wouldn’t say that the OP is “the WORST EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR” ..anyone in this position has the right to bitch, and plenty of reason to. Work one day standing at a cash register and let’s see how many things you’ve got to bitch about.
Wow, and Catlady, winner of “Nicest LTWWB Poster” 5 years running is on board. Truly un canning (RGG).Maybe someone needs some time away from their keyboard to do some soul searching.
Wikkipedia must be down today. (wah waaah)
By far, Homie is the MOST HYPOCRITICAL POSTER OF THE YEAR.Respect and courtesy should not be reserved only for bus drivers, we should show it to everyone.You think it’s a waste of time for politicians to talk BUT THAT’S ALL YOU DO. You’re here 24/7 waiting for opportunities to make “points”, and on 10 other boards as well, you claim. That leaves you with zero time to have anything resembling a life.To the OP: I really dig this bitch. I’s thoughtful and articulate, and actually somewhat enlightening. There are few things I wasn’t even aware that I was doing, that I will refrain from doing from now on.Can anyone say that about 1 single thing you’ve posted, Homie? I think not.
lets get this straight, there are various things that i do agree with in terms of the OP. however i take exception to the shit like, “it wastes my time”. ” the revenge” stuff. I do understand being rude back to someone, but sabotaging thier shit? Come on now. You actually condone that shit? Hey, the change stuff, no problem. I am good with lots of stuff she has said. To think that it is all good by people to ruin someone’s shit because they had an iPod on and didnt say hello when the cashier said hello, amazing that people called me on my manners.
She wants respect but doesn’t care about the customer. Customers sometime see more than one cashier a day. We go to the sore because we need something. The transaction lasts 1 minute. So what if someone is listening to an IPod? As long as they pay you what is the big deal.I think your expectations are too high. Do you want us to roll out the red carpet or something?
Homie, I’m the OP…honestly I don’t sabotage people’s things, I just might not give their bags as much thought in terms packing. The worst they would have to contend with is a lopsided walk to their car.When I complain about people “wasting my time”, it comes down to the fact that there may be 3 or more people waiting behind the customer at hand. If I have to spend 5 minutes with this one person, it means everyone behind them has to wait…I don’t have the time or the hands to serve them all at once. Then they all give me a hard time about it.Also, please don’t assume I’m a woman; I’m a boy.
Let’s play a game. It’s called how many times can you say “shit” in one post. Terrible form.Look, your true colors are more than emerging (are black and white colors? I forget), you spew random statements that you yourself don’t even believe to be true, for some reason you just like to post. I guess if you can drive everyone nuts while doing so, that’s gravy.
Don’t for get “them”, Qwerty.Them shit.
I will have to agree with you there, homie.. I dont agree with sabotaging someones order.. based on the fact that you didnt get a hello..But if I was in her shoes… Dont expect me to be nice to you, if you’re being a dick to me (customers that is), Thank you for chosing Sobeys 🙂 Where the smiles and small change is ALWAYS free 🙂
To the OP, now you see this is where the internet has its limitations… 1) my girlfriend and i read that and took it as sabotage. We judged it as that looking at the anger in the rest of the post. Being unable to really tell because it is just text, we both misunderstood your “revenge”. Agreed, if a lopsided bag is the worst that happens, KNOCK EM DEAD KID. 2) when your name or post doesnt really have a gender, I just attach a sex to it, no offense. 3) The lottery ticket waste of time…… that is the fault of the gaming commision. The customer isnt really to blame as the whole choice of ticket here doesnt really exist. They used to have them pull out board things for you to allow the customer to pluck out a ticket of thier choice. It was just an option they had for many years prior to this subtle unannounced change. Upon arriving in this province and purchasing a pop, i noticed it because i wanted to buy a ticket and she just handed it to me. I was sorta taken back and not used to that. I never really asked why and i dont have an answer for that. Apologies if you were offended. and to qwerty……. you were saying something?
But kidssssss off to entertain myself at work….play safe kids,
The OP said nothing of ruining anything…the other “revenge” taken is not bagging correctly and yes it could possibly lead to something getting squished but there is no intent there to destroy or ruin as you put it. It’s more inconvenient than anything, just like the change.
Attention, Shoppershttp://attentionshoppers.blogspot.com/
Has anyone else noticed that whenever anyone calls out Homie for having no life, his next post says something about him having to run off to work? ..Yet any other day he seems to have nothing better to do than pollute this place. Interesting..but just a thought.
Having considered retail after retirement, I picked up this terrific book by Norm Feuti who has a syndicated cartoon called ‘Retail’. The book (called: Pretending That We Care) was a real eye opener, told from the employee point of view and explained the high and often unrealistic expectations of the general public. Here’s his website if you are interested, including a link to his cartoon which is pretty good. You can get the book at the Halifax library, if you’re so inclined. After reading it, I have sooooo much more respect for those in the retail trenches.http://normfeuti.com/
Amen, OP, Amen. Agree with you 100%. Most people are nice but the bad ones can ruin your day.
I think the OP makes so very valid points. I don’t think wanting to at least exchange pleastantries is too much to ask at all. Does common sense not tell people to take out their earphones while interacting with another person?As for the “revenge”, the worst thing that could happen is someone goes home with a squished loaf of bread. And we ALL do little things like that to get back or get even with people. Even you, Saint Homie.And yes Poop, I have noticed that too.
Some customers are pleasent and some are down right rude..working in retail or in an office. you always run into both kinds..
Yes, retail sucks.When I worked it, my manager made us greet everyone who walked in the store and hand them an ad flyer. Most were on their phones and didn’t want the damned flyer, but we HAD TO.Also, working the register was not “all we did”. There were plan-o-grams, cycle counts, backstock, facing the products.As much as I would LOVE TO hear about someones recent operation, bad romance, or how bad they wanted to take me out and fuck my brains out—–I had shit to do.And, I really didn’t think I should have to stay an extra hour ( or more) after counting down the drawers and getting the deposit and paperwork finished, to put things away that people are too lazy to put back.We are All HUMAN BEINGS. We all have a life, pitiful or not. It would go much easier if we all had respect for one another and stopped acting like we were from some form of royalty.
i try not to ruin other people’s stuff however. Either way, i would like to address the to poop and jennie, the reason that i always have to go, is that i have to be at the office from 12-5 most days. You will not see a single post between them hours for the most part on a weekday. so you can notice what ever the fuck you want, but many of us here have jobs, and many of us have jobs where we cannot post. Not suggesting you dont, but i only post from home or from the warden’s house
Where did people learn to raise kids? Their parents probably raised them (like me) not to fuck with stuff in a store that doesn’t belong to me. Nowadays, parents let their kids fuck around with all kinds of stuff and be a real nuisance to everyone present. What the hell is that about? Those parents are going to get what they deserve and we’ll probably all get to read about it in the paper (so I guess, in this case, ‘karma’ will work out the way we like it to). Seriously folks, if you don’t plan on owning something in a store, slap your little brats hands and tell him/her to shut the fuck up and stand still/quiet while you talk to the lady/gentleman about the espresso maker you’re thinking about buying.
I’ve been a cashier, and I agree with everything in this Bitch. In fact, these are all points I’ve often made myself to others, including many more.Think about it: You’re probably dealing with one cashier a day, unless you’re doing several errands. That cashier has six to eight hours worth of customers to deal with for crappy pay. If the transaction takes all of five minutes, would it kill you to be decent and courteous to the cashier for that short period? If you’re nice to the cashier, that’s one less person to ruin his or her day, and makes the next person in line’s order that much more pleasant.People have to stop treating retail and other service employees like garbage, just because they think service employees are being paid to serve them. It doesn’t give them a right to be rude assholes.
Fucking grow up, I worked retail in two huge stores. And I always tired to be friendly, even when they are anti-social. You know why? because you are the face of said company, and as that you take whatever is given you. You have a problem with it, get another job. Fuck, these whiners make me sick. Wasting time and energy whining.. be grateful you have a job, i am a Stay at home dad, looking to get back on the job scene. I would happily take a shitty customer anytime, if that means I can make some money.In short shut yer trap, and be grateful you can take a cheque home.
heh heh…. awesome!!!!
I used to be a cashier and HERE’S TO YOU…I’m glad someone finally put it out there in words…YOU ROCK!!
Why do the people who ‘used to work retail’ all sound like middle fucking management? Pabst Blue Ribbon!
so much for the service industry…….it appears that the service workers demand so much from customers. Not the shit about being rude to the workers, but the stuff about “not having time to answer questions.”What is funny about this gripe is this, the OP apparently doesnt have time to answer these questions and it should be addressed to someone else, because the OP doesnt have the answers. Well, if you go to a store where the person that does handle the shipping, or stocking, and does know the answer, then why would one assume that when they bump into the OP here ,that the customer should know that the OP doesnt have the answers. Some of the best salesclerks i have run into were the managers, and had the information of when things are in, and what not. You know what? They represented the business well. I fell good about shopping at that store as the person was informative, pleasant and made me feel as though my little $2.11 purchase would improve my life. Needless to say, if i have choice, i go to the orange drug store before i set foot in the red and white ones. It’s funny, when one takes a retail job it’s to serve company and represent the company you work for. Apparently that isnt the case with this OP. Of course this reply isnt about any of the rude stuff. The lottery stuff, the asking questions to you shit, the “just check the back”. Speaking of that, how many stores do they go to the back and actually have it there? Many, so why is asking you OP, such a burden on you? Because YOUR store doesnt have other stuff in the back? How can you expect a customer to know that YOUR store doesnt have more of something in the back without asking you? It isnt like this is an unheard of thing.