Anyone Ever Been a Cashier?

[manda_moo87]

Has anyone ever been a cashier before?

Just curious, because I'm starting a new job in the morning as a cashier... I'm pretty nervous and I was wondering if any cashiers or former cashiers could give me any cashiering tips! Thanks. :)

Amanda

[Cookiebaker]

Yup! I was a cashier at a grocery store for 2.5 years. I really liked it -- it was in a small town and I got to know all the "regulars".

A tip: Always smile, even when you don't feel like it. Customers will almost always treat you better, and then you really will feel like smiling.

Best of Luck on the new job. I know you will do fine! :)

[slleipnir]

Nope..not unless ringing stuff in on the cash register counts ;) I think you'll do just fine though...I think we're all nervous about the first day of a new job

[katienoonan]

Be sure to double check giving change, sometimes the bills stick together. I did have two tens stick together once, but thank goodness the person was honest and came back when she noticed I had given her too much money. Also, smile and don't worry too much. :D

[Laura's Babies]

I worked at K-Mart as cashier years ago and I enjoyed it, the best advice I can give you is to just take pride in your job and enjoy whatever job you do.

[jackie]

I was a cashier all through high school. My advice is wear comfortable shoes!

[anna_66]

Yep:) Good advice has been given!
My two major tips...comfortable shoes and count the change back to the customer.
Good Luck!

[cali]

I am not primarily a cashier but I do work the till form time to time at the store I work at. its really not hard, just remeber to actually give the person their change back before you close the drawer :o

[wolfsoul]

I don't work at the till all the time, but I do have to book out dogs at the end of the day, and then I have to use the cash register. My advice is to remember to ask your boss if there is a certain way he/she likes the money. It drives my boss crazy when someone puts the bills in backwards or upside down, or when people put pennies in the tip jar.

[moosmom]

Always ALWAYS count the money when the customer gives it to you and count the change back to them, and place the bills across the drawer so if there's any descrepency, you can just pick up the bills and re-count them. There are alot of con artists out there that will tell you they gave you a $20 when they only gave you a $10. It saves you alot of time of having to close out your drawer, call a manager over, and count it.

I had a situation once where a lady bought alot of stuff and handed me a bunch of $10 bills. I counted them outloud and made the BIG mistake of putting them in the drawer instead of across the drawer. She said, "Oh, I gave you one $10 too many." Instead of shutting my drawer and calling the manager like I should have, I gave her back $10. Sure enough, at the end of my shift, my drawer was $10 short. Lesson learned.

Good luck at your new job!!! Another bit of advice is...when your line gets long and people start getting pissy that they're waiting in line, concentrate on the person you're cashing out, ignore the rest of them. Otherwise you'll get overwhelmed and start making mistakes. Another lesson I learned. ;)

[mina'smomma]

ALWAYS SMILE AND BE POLITE! This wins them over everytime. Make sure you say hello or some similar salutations. If your working at a grocery store always check the eggs and make sure they aren't broken and then ask if they would like eggs and bread in a paper bag so they dont' get broken or smooshed. This shows that your customer's happiness is your #1 concern. If I were you too the first couple of weeks carry like a bottle of asprin with you. When I had started my cashier job I had a headache from the high pitch that the registers make. I worked there for about 5 years.

[Edwina's Secretary]

As a customer.....always greet the customer..."Hello...Hi" something...and LOOK AT THEM....also...change...put the coins in the customer's hand FIRST...bills on top. That makes it so much easier for the customer.

[mina'smomma]

As a customer.....always greet the customer..."Hello...Hi" something...and LOOK AT THEM....also...change...put the coins in the customer's hand FIRST...bills on top. That makes it so much easier for the customer.

Oh shoot I had forgotten about that one Sara

[ramanth]

Yup! I was a cashier at a grocery store for 2.5 years. I really liked it -- it was in a small town and I got to know all the "regulars".

A tip: Always smile, even when you don't feel like it. Customers will almost always treat you better, and then you really will feel like smiling.

Best of Luck on the new job. I know you will do fine! :)
Ditto. :)

I worked as a cashier for about 5 years in a small town. Always smile, be polite even if you have the worst customer ever. Don't take any frustrations out on the customer. I would always laugh at myself (especially if I did do something silly) the time, appologize to the customer, and just rant once I was home.

Stick to your guns and don't let people take advantage of you.... that whole "I gave you a $20 scam". I would always call the manager right away and offer to have my till counted. I would never argue with the customer.

I was very nervous too but it helped to have great trainers. The cashiers that trained me were super sweet.

Good luck!

[Jessika]

I was a cashier at PetCo for awhile.

JUST REMEMBER: if you were in line being checked out, how would you like to be treated???

I know when I'm in line and the checker doesn't even talk to me, make eye contact, or try to strike up conversation it just... bothers me, and makes me feel very uncomfortable. ALWAYS smile, ask how their day is, if they found everything alright, just make small talk!! You have no idea how just small talk can make someone's day just a bit brighter. I found it was easier to talk to my customers while at PetCo because we had something in common -- pets! And if you got the customers talking they would talk FOREVER. And they LOVED when you asked about their pets, I mean come on, everyone loves talking about their pets. Hehe.

So I guess, if the customer is buying an item you've used or are familiar with, tell them "OH this was a great choice, I use this and it REALLY WORKS!" or something like that, make them feel HAPPY for making the choice they made lol. Sounds lame but it helps.

OH and don't stress out about having to learn register, its SO EASY.

EDIT: OH someone brought up a good point. AS SOON as you hand a customer their change -- CLOSE THE CASH DRAWER. Then if they try telling you that they gave you a twenty and you gave them wrong change, you HAVE to call a manager over, they will count your drawer, and if it is off then the customer was right and they will get the appropriate change. BUT if its correct, the customer was lying, and your managers will deal with them NOT YOU. So NEVER give someone change for what they SAY they gave you ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS call a manager. ESPECIALLY around Christmas.

OH one more thing -- always ASK if they want their receipt in the bag or not. Don't just assume to stick it in their bag. If they're really busy put it in the bag but TELL THEM "your receipt is in the bag, sir or ma'am". Usually I would hand them their receipt if they used their debit or credit card but stick it in the bag if they paid with cash. But its always better to ASK. Because I had a customer chew me out because I put it in the bag instead of handing it to him ON MY FIRST DAY. :(

[manda_moo87]

Wow, thanks for all the replies! :D I really apprechiate all your tips!!

First day went pretty well I guess. I'm having a heck of a time with the machine... so many buttons. Hopefully I'll get the hang of it after a few weeks. Its also really hard to remember all the codes for fruits/veggies but one of the girls gave me a list so I can start to memorize them.

I think after a while I'll start to like my job, its pretty overwhelming at the moment. http://admin.scapermoon.net/smilies/shocked.gif

[K9karen]

Ditto all the excellent advise. What I hated most was that after I rang up the purchase and the register calculated the change, the customer would decide to hand me a quarter or other change, and being lousy at math, I'd want to cry because I'd have to think hard about the proper change! The small discount store where I worked had an old register, not a scanner. I also had to remember which items were taxable. But I really loved it. I was scared stiff the first few times, but after a week or so, I was an old hand. You will be too! Good luck and have fun!

[Jessika]

Karen, that happened to me a lot, but lucky for us every register also had a calculator so we could just add in the extra change the customer gave us. :)

[ILoveMyAbbyGirl]

Wow, thanks for all the replies! :D I really apprechiate all your tips!!

First day went pretty well I guess. I'm having a heck of a time with the machine... so many buttons. Hopefully I'll get the hang of it after a few weeks. Its also really hard to remember all the codes for fruits/veggies but one of the girls gave me a list so I can start to memorize them.

I think after a while I'll start to like my job, its pretty overwhelming at the moment. http://admin.scapermoon.net/smilies/shocked.gif

Oooh, a grocery store? I've been working there for almost a year. You'd be surprised how fast you learn your PLU's. The only hard thing is that there are SO many types of apples! :p

[Kfamr]

Karen, that's one of the things I hate too.
Why can't they tell you, "Just a moment, I've got the change." - Some do, some don't. It's easy, because all you have to do is count up as much as they gave you.

One thing that really peeves me is when they hand you a handful of change and don't tell you what it is. Then you have to sit there and count all of their pennies.

[mina'smomma]

Oooh, a grocery store? I've been working there for almost a year. You'd be surprised how fast you learn your PLU's. The only hard thing is that there are SO many types of apples! :p

No kidding and you have a PLU for each one.

[Uabassoon]

Just to warn you at some point you will have people yell at you! Don't take it personally! There are a lot of grumpy people out there, just remember that there are more nice people out there!

[slleipnir]

Oh..duno if this has been said yet, but I always leave the money THEY give me OUT of the cash till they take the change...sometimes they tell you you gave them the wrong change when you didn't...so it's good to know what they gave you for sure

[slleipnir]

Karen, that's one of the things I hate too.
Why can't they tell you, "Just a moment, I've got the change." - Some do, some don't. It's easy, because all you have to do is count up as much as they gave you.

One thing that really peeves me is when they hand you a handful of change and don't tell you what it is. Then you have to sit there and count all of their pennies.

Should never take their word for it anyway..I've had a lot of people say "here is $5 in change" and it's short

[grybai]

Its also really hard to remember all the codes for fruits/veggies but one of the girls gave me a list so I can start to memorize them.

Eeeii! Although I've been a cashier I've never been one at a grocery store- memorizing all the produce scares me.

Everyone's given you a lot of good advice, but I also suggest to try to resist the urge to rush when you have a long line, especially when you're new. Just take your time and you'll be less likely to make mistakes. As long as you try to stay positive and friendly, people usually are pretty understanding.

[Shelteez2]

Ditto. :)
Stick to your guns and don't let people take advantage of you.... that whole "I gave you a $20 scam". I would always call the manager right away and offer to have my till counted. I would never argue with the customer.



Don't forget guys that up here in Canada our money is pretty and colorful... so it's pretty hard to try and get away with someone saying they gave you a $20 when they only gave you a $10 (twenties are green and tens are purple) ;) lol


Glad to hear your first day went well, good luck in memorizing the produce codes.... :)