Be a Great Cashier
Be a Better Cashier
It may not take a lot of skill to be a cashier and many people treat cashiers as such, but there are ways to make it tolerable as a job. First, remember that any job will allow you to pay at least some of your bills and in this economy you must be thankful for that. If you want to be a good cashier you must have great people skills. You will be dealing with a lot of different kinds of people and while most of them are nice, there will always be a few who are either having a bad day or are just downright mean. You also need to know how to count money and it is really helpful if you can do that without the computer telling you how much change to give back because sometimes you might put in the wrong amount or the customer will give you additional change afterward. No one ever dreams of growing up to be a cashier, but sometimes life brings you to different places and you have to accept where you are at the time.
To be a cashier in most stores requires the use of a computer based register system. Each store generally has its own unique system on which you will be trained. None of them are very complicated, but some people are afraid of pushing the wrong button. There is almost nothing you can do that can’t be undone in some way. It’s better to figure out how to undo a mistake yourself, but even if you can’t, there will always be a supervisor to help. This doesn’t mean just anyone can handle the job. It’s easy in the sense that you don’t need a college degree, but you do have to be able to deal with certain issues and have some common sense.
The most important part of your job is to be friendly and attentive to the customers. Smile! If customers are made to feel unwelcome in any way, they are unlikely to return and will probably tell everyone about their bad experience at your store. Without customers, you have no job and no paycheck! Even the rudest customers have to be treated with respect. Even if you feel as if they are wrong or being unreasonable, you have to be pleasant on the outside. You may think whatever you want, but do not say anything that will further anger or annoy the customer. Be nice and help the customer as best you can, tell them to have a good day, and move on. One or two customers that are disagreeable do not have to ruin your entire day.
There are very few places you can shop nowadays where a cashier knows how to properly count back change. This is extremely unfortunate and leads to errors and frustration on the part of shoppers and stores alike. The proper way to count out change is to start from the total of the sale and count up to the amount given as payment. For example, the sale totals $17.68 and the customer hands you $20. Start with the coins and count from the pennies, 68, 69, 70. Now you have two pennies, then add a nickel for 75, and a quarter brings you to the next dollar, in this case, 18. Then go to the ones and count 19, 20. Now you have properly counted back the change. Do this out loud to the customer, although you may just tell them the amount of coins, “thirty two cents is eighteen, one is nineteen and one is twenty.” It is especially important to count the change out loud to the customer when dealing with large amounts. If you are having difficulty learning to count back change, then at least count out loud the amount you’re giving back going by what the register tells you.
Being a cashier is not the most fulfilling, rewarding job, but there are ways to deal with your situation and do the best job you can. Keep in mind that it will not always be easy and you will be the first person to hear complaints and the people above you may not be the best and brightest either. If you go to work every day with a pleasant attitude, you will feel better about yourself and you may open doors to opportunities you never knew existed. Make a good impression on everyone with whom you come in contact and you may look back on your days as a cashier and realize that it was more than just a job.
