Advice from a Cashier on How to Make Shopping Less Stressful for Everyone

Shopping can be stressful, having to deal with the crowds, and not being able to find what you're looking for, waiting in super long checkout lines. Shopping under those conditions can turn even the most happy go lucky people into extremely crabby customers, especially when you've spent way more time in the store than you'd intended to, couldn't find a few things you were looking for, and then had to wait in a really long line, only to have something ring up wrong when you finally get up to the cashier and then have to wait for a price check. Believe me, I know, I shop, too! But did anyone ever stop to think how stressful a day of dealing with crabby customers is to a cashier?

Well, since I work part-time as a cashier I thought I'd tell you how stressful it is for cashiers, as well as give you a few tips to make your shopping experience less stressful for both you and the cashier.

First, I have to say that I have a love/hate relationship with my job. The job itself I love, having to deal with the customers is the part I hate. I try to be as friendly as possible since I am working in the customer service industry; I greet the customers, I smile and I try to bag their groceries as best I can, putting cold items together, non-food items together, etc., but it really irritates me when I get a customer that comes into my line and stands there and tries to tell me how to do my job.

So, tip number 1 is let the cashier do his/her job. Don't stand there and try to tell the cashier how to bag your groceries, the cashier has been trained on the proper ways to bag groceries or they wouldn't be working there. Now, if you have a request such as, you would like for your milk to be double bagged, or you'd like for certain items to be all in one bag so you know where they are, that is fine, by all means, let the cashier know! He/She will be more than happy to accommodate your wishes, but please be nice about it.

Tip number 2, if something rings up at the wrong price, don't get mad at the cashier for it. It's not his/her fault! We cashiers have no control over how things are priced, we don't know the prices of everything in the store, so please be understanding when something doesn't ring up at the price you thought it should, and please be patient as the cashier calls for a price check. It does you no good to get agitated at the cashier for something beyond his or her control and it only frustrates the cashier and makes him/her want to "accidentally" smash your bread.

Tip number 3, if you are shopping at a store that has the bag carousels please be considerate enough to not just stand there and let all the bags become full. As the cashier spins the carousel around, be kind enough to pull your own bags off the carousel and place them in your cart. While technically it is the job of the cashier to load the bags into your cart, it is a tremendous help to the cashier if the customers load their own carts. The cashier can move faster and get everyone in his/her line out of the store that much quicker if the customers help out with this step.

Tip number 4, if for some reason your form of payment is denied, please do not stand there and argue with the cashier about it. Once again, that is something the cashier has no control over and when a check or credit card is denied, we are not given a reason as to why, all we know is that another form of payment is required to complete the transaction.

I promise if you keep the above tips and suggestions in mind the next time you go shopping, it will be a more pleasant shopping experience for both you and your cashier.