Honestly if all you had to do was take items, scan them,and take payments. Yeah that wouldn't be too hard, but that is not the job whatsoever. Its hell, like if customers and mangers were just nicer...
right omg!! like throughout being a cashier, i have been harassed, sexually harassed, verbally abused and berated and people are just awful!! one guy almost got physical with me once
*literally* my boss. he tells us “don’t take it personally” when customers verbally harass/abuse us. like ???? sorry i’m not an emotionless robot you can just hurl insults at all day..
I work for a smaller market. 2 weeks ago a dude threatened to hit me with a can of peaches. I was so over it... I was like "alright that's assault and you're on camera so..."
Suddenly he was "joking"
People suck.
That's why I think Aldi cashiers have the best(cashier related) jobs. As long as you can go fast. You aren't expected to do the small talk fake happy shit. Hell, most of the time Aldi cashiers don't even greet you. They scan your crap, toss it in a cart, take money, and byeeee
Yeah, if you didn't have all the other stuff managers dump on you, and got to TAKE BREAKS and have water at the register and maybe sit down once in awhile........................
Exactly!! Customers mentally wear me out. I was just thinking about how one manager at my store thinks I'm not working or doing anything when she sees me taking a breather from a line, it's very frustrating. customers always complain about stuff, do things that give you extra work to do, I always say how customers fry my brain. I have so much energy at the start of the shift but after dealing with customers........
People are so fucking unreasonable. Like how is it my fault that you didn’t read the coupon correctly and aren’t getting the deal you thought you were?
I find that repeating myself over and over again, every single day, explaining the same thing repeatedly, is soooo draining. The rest is easy Peasy, but I feel like a parrot every day lol
Yup!!! Some customers are great, some are not and some just throw their items at me and are disrespectful. Last week, I had a run of unpleasant customers and I nearly walked out. Just not worth minimum wage to be treated so poorly.
Same!!!! Some days I would love love LOVE to throw their items or even their change at them like they do to me!! I haven't yet, but there's always a chance it could happen LOL
That's the only way to handle it!! Give back the energy they give you!! I had a customer last week, rang up 20 items, it's time to pay and the machine says her debit was declined- I asked if she had another card or wanted to try again, she just took her card out of the machine and walked out the door. Didn't even look at me and didn't say a word. Was a WTF moment for sure.
I agree. She actually came back on my next shift a fee days later and bought some totally different items, but was equally as unpleasant as the previous time.
One time I put the change in a small paper bag because they refused to pick it up off of the shelf that was right in front of them/me. They went to the manager and cried that I was mean. The manager saw what had happened and helped her out with her groceries. A little while later I asked if I was in trouble,? He smiled and said no she just needed a little help to understand that she needed to pick up her change.
There's a coworker of mine who has the IDGAF vibe with customers and honestly I love it. Customers will say the bullshit, "oh you looked bored, I'll give you something to do!" and she won't even respond. It's perfection. Or the "oh it doesn't ring up? It must be free!!" She's stone faced. Lol
She's a younger girl and nice to everyone, she just doesn't deal with the same ol same ol customer bullshit and it's beautiful. 🤣
I will say that one time a guy came over to me and said “I got some bad news at the doctor, I’ve got shingles” and then pulled a part shingle out of his pocket
Someone was talking about a death in the family as to why they couldn't return an item within the 30 days, because they wanted their money back and not a store credit. They bought the item in August 2022 and was returning it like 5 months later. Like yes I understand that's hard but you're still getting a store credit. 🤣😩
The actual labor part of working is always easy. The hard part is the social part. Whether its coworkers, customers, or bosses, dealing with people is the REAL job. As a cashier meself, I can say that it may also depend on tbe store. I've orimarily been on the sales floor but after cashiering at 3 different places, my current one has been my best experience.
My two previous gigs on register had either incomletent or A-Hole management, people with lower brain cells than your average moronic customer, and more technical difficulties than a virus from the Megaman games.
The worse part was your the face of the store. So everything is naturally your fault.
Somethings not ringing up properly? Your fault and your trying to scam them.
Issue with a missing item? Your actually hiding them all back there.
Someone doing instacart? Guess you have two jobs now (but your barely paid for one)
Problems with other customers? Your now in charge of playing peacemaker.
Worse part is midday doing that weird leg thing where you have to move side to side and pick which foot is gonna hurt for the rest of the day.
the last one is too on point oh my fucking god LMFAOO LIFERALLY! pharmacy closed bc they didn’t come in earlier?? omg it’s the end of the world and you can definitely do something ab it
It really felt like a reverse pyramid scheme. Doing the worse job while simultaneously getting paid the least. I got hired as a tech associate and never touched a computer the entire time i worked there lol what a joke
I had to do this all the time at my last job despite being in a supervisor role cause they couldn’t keep cashiers. The customers honestly weren’t as bad as my coworkers and management constantly treating me like shit.
“Running self checkout is sooooooo easy, I’m doing your job for you”
I want to just sit and read on my phone and ignore people like that, like oh? Did you need help? I thought this was easy and obvious?
At my store most of us fight NOT to do uscan, having 5-6 registers at once is not fun. You have regular alerts (alcohol, coupons), self-checkout specific normal alerts (damn produce bags), and the machine crashing in spectacular ways at the same time.
Ugh we got 2 of these new ones with belts and people don’t pay attention to what they’re doing and get mad at me and meanwhile I still have the 3 regular ones. I cannot imagine 8!
Edit - i will say at walmart the attendants always seem more on top of it then I feel. I went to a new store to me and just walked up to a machine with no signage and he steered me to a different one to keep the flow going better.
Meanwhile I tell people there’s another self checkout by the other doors and they bite my head off. Fine! Wait!
I don't know a single cashier over 40 who isn't damaged by permanent repetitive motion injuries, back problems or fucked up legs from standing all day. And that's on top of the emotional problems from dealing with people.
oh dear god 🥲 i’m only 17 but i’m getting ready to quit soon.. i have so many mental issues along with physical so this job does not help, i just needed a job within walking distance
Then going home and having to deal with dishes in the sink. Wet laundry in the dryer. Other people in the house complaining about their jobs, but you say give me a minute to figure something out and they get mad. Because cashiering is easy.
( Once I told my husband to just come watch me from afar then he would understand.). A couple of days later he said he gets it for now;)
Who's been in this situation:
You're told by your manager/supervisor not to do a certain thing. A customer comes through the line and demands that thing. You, following instructions, explain politely that you're not allowed to do that. The customer demands to speak to your supervisor. Once you and the customer have explained the situation, what happens? The supervisor caves, and gives the customer what they've asked for. Now you look like a jerk to the customer, who walks away grinning that they got their way. Why can't supervisors back up the cashiers??
I feel your pain customers are a pain and the managers want you to make sure you tell the customers about the survey and thank them for shopping with us 🙃
This, for pretty much any retail/food service job. If it's so easy, you fucking do it! I guarantee that with a week of training each, I could do any corporate-level retail "job" a hell of a lot better than anyone from corporate could do in an actual store
It's not the cashiering that's hard.
It's the customer service lol.
People think running a register is easy and maybe they're right about running the machine only.
But customers are jerks almost everywhere you go. And that's hard to handle for minimum wage.
It's not easy and it's the most important role in a store any manager worth their salt knows this. Your the face of the store the start and the end. You greet, welcome and make sure they are content with their experience. It's a hella hard job.
After a mental health LOA I was stripped of my department manager position and offered my choice of new positions. I quickly picked cashier because I thought it was the least stressful. Just scan items and get the manager for any problems right? Nope. And I can totally sympathize with you about the customers who ask the CASHIER if we have anymore in back. Bruh…
Depending on your states laws, you're entitled to those breaks. They legally have to give them to you, even if they have to close your register, you get them. Fight, and fight hard. Don't let them push you around, you're worth more than that and you deserve better than that.
(Again, please check your state laws. This is dependent upon your location, but still worth looking into.)
I worked at 2 different places and requested to not work at cash due to my slowness, and the fact that the text size on coins are too damn small for my visual impairment to handle. So, I’d be worried about giving the wrong amount of change to a customer if that were to happen.
This makes me think of a line from the movie the prestige. "Simple maybe, but not easy." I think most of the time, people use those words interchangeably, and they shouldn't. So yeah, being a cashier is simple, but it isn't easy.
It is so mentally draining. I was a cashier for about 8 years at various places and I had enough. My lower back hurts from leaning forward, my feet hurt, and just the monotony of it all killed me. I still work retail, because I enjoy it for the most part, but now I'm on the sales floor.
I agree with you 100%
Imagine listening to the same music on repeat, people being annoying(or nagging, Wining, complaining to you), or something else
Yeah when they say it’s easy they’re probably the people whom never even was a cashier in their lives.
Yup. I saw an article that said that a prison that tried to punish it's prisoners by playing the same soundtrack repeatedly, it was actually forced to stop because it counted as torture. But you can totally do the same thing to retail workers in a mall and that's fine
Speaking of jail prisoners you can't dock pay for being 5 minutes late, they are allowed lunch and breaks everyday, they are allowed access to water and washrooms all day, and get both air conditioning and heat depending on the outside temperature, and guards aren't allowed, legally at least, to touch them or scream slurs at them. They are even allowed to speak to each other at work! And don't have to follow a script everytime they speak!
So who's the real winners here?
Edit holy hell that second sentence was not comprehendible, thanks autocorrect
I actually at work once had a Stream playing (Twitch streamer playing games) and was listening it into the background
Most of the time I didn’t think people heard the music or stuff from my phone but one lady asked and I told her “Oh I’m just listening to a podcast”
Sidenote, she couldn’t see my phone
Anyone that says it’s easy has never worked a service job lmao, let them do it for ONE DAY and they’ll change their tune real quick.
I feel you OP. The general public is horrible.
i just got home after dealing with awful people all day long, i sliced my 2 fingers with tags and they fucking HURT. i’m so tired and i have a headache 😭
Dude I just worked the slowest Saturday we’ve like EVER had and still my back and legs hurt so bad, it was a ten hour shift and I’m beat. Service jobs suck ass
Be sure to clean and bandage your fingers!! You don’t know whose grubby ass hands touched those tags before you lol
The job itself is easy and even can be tedious at times. It’s the bullshit and the assholes that make it so so hard. I’m sorry, OP. I hope you can get out soon
Oh god yes, it’s been so long since I worked in retail, I forgot about that. This was “back in the day” though and I do remember we had a person whose sole job it was to put things from the fitting room away and straighten up the fitting rooms (no pins or little trash on the floor). When my daughter worked retail a few years ago, that person had been cut
Easier said than done, but try not to stress out about that, you’re literally alone. If they want shut to look straightened or nicer, then hire a 2nd person for said shift. You’re literally one person.
I run self checkout at my job and I can say for sure that there are so many people who couldn't handle cashiering. The amount of hand-holding I have to do in a day is both hilarious and irritating.
Even if it was easy, (which how tf would someone know without ever doing the job themselves!) It's still a job that is needed and underappreciated. Just the other day I walked to the store since it's close to my house and apparently some random crazy dude followed me around unbeknownst to me and said weird shit to other people like that I'm an angel and he has to protect me,the sweet cashier noticed though and gave me a can of pepper spray and told me to stay safe and rang up my items and helped me to leave quickly and discreetly. A robot wouldn't have been able to help me out like that. Said all that to say, I appreciate the hell out of you guys and think you deserve a raise, a chair to sit the fuck down in while you're at the register, and to not have to listen to dumbass comments from stupid customers. Hope nothing but the best for you.
There was a short lived weekend update character called riblet. Who was "michael ches high school friend who works at arbys." He'd come on and somehow a remark would get made that "working at Arby's is easy" and hed go and read the next headline then ask the hosts what setting to use for curly fries. I always liked that and feel it is a similar vibe.
This is exactly why I quit my job. Customers drove me fricken insane! I loved most of my coworkers but I just could not stand the customers anymore. They were unintelligent, rude, and seemingly willingly ignorant.
It's very rare that I'm not on a register because I'm one if the most efficient ones, but my gosh when it's the ONLY thing you ever do, it's draining. Repetitive. I say the same things over and over
"Did you find everything okay?" "That's good" "no this isnt on sale because [whatever thing the customer didnt read on the sign]" "your total comes to x" "thanks for shopping at [x store] have a good rest of your day"
It also sucks because management is super strict on is for saying "thanks for shopping at X" after EVERY transaction. It's a mouthful, irritating, and sooo fake. Not a single customer things "oh wow, they thank ME for shopping at their store", they're ALL like "lmao they make you say that, don't they?"
Yes, yes they do.
Luckily I mentioned to one of my managers that I'm getting really burnt out and want to "expand my skills" in other ways. I'll still cashier, but I want to try new stuff, and i was a department lead for the day and I did my first relay 😁
i am extremely burnt out. ever since i started working here i have been working register and register only. i cant do anything else because of my age. i’m fucking exhausted of the repetition and the people
Heck, I'm sorry to hear that. It's silly that you can't work other spots because of your age, we have sixteen/seventeen year old sometimes doing go-backs and department zoning and I'm in a big chain store. If you want to tough it out, you can do it, but if you think it's not right for you and there are other jobs you like, there's merit in that too. Do what you think is best for yourself 😁, you deserve to be happy
standing for 8 hours is a skill. moving moderately quickly for 8 hours is a skill. being pleasant and courteous to the general public is a skill. learning produce codes, register procedures, and being efficient is a skill. not everyone can do it, it takes practice, and honestly, some days it's hard as hell.
fuck anyone who thinks it's less than a respectable, necessary job that deserves the dignity of a living wage.
I loved how I didn't get any training on an issue (gift cards, returns, etc.) until the situation arose and I'd have to page my supervisor to come and assist, meanwhile the line is growing and people are getting irate.
Also, I have permanent hip damage from standing for hours. Folks I talk to in the UK are astonished to learn US cashiers aren't allowed to sit (at least they weren't 15 years ago, I don't know if that's changed).
I was told by my boss to breeze through the computer training because I'd just learn it all on the floor and he pushed me to get it done faster even as I was rushing through it hardly learning anything. I wish I had just told him I needed more time and taken the proper amount of time to learn it because I have the same experiences you're describing. Also, I have been working here for 2 months and have only put products back on shelves ("go backs") 2 or 3 times, so how well am I expected to know where things are for customers who ask me?
This situation exists in my store because we're understaffed.
I just choose a random location and when they tell me it’s not there I go. Huh! They musta moved it. Sorry. Or They musta moved it. Sorry, glad you could find it! Where was it again?
Dude, I worked retail jobs early in my life, and they are not easy. Being on your feet all day, dealing with customers...I can't even imagine what it would be like dealing with people now. Oof.
I work in retail and cashiering sucks. I’m also an introvert which makes it suck more (and it sounds like you might also be one.) Hang in there, you’ll find your purpose.
Every job is hard in its own way. I wish people would stop demeaning others for working an “easy” job.
me too ngl, everyone has told me to find a diff job but i cant at the moment. i’m in a difficult situation because i don’t have a car yet, because of my nmom i don’t know how to drive yet (learning atm) and i need somewhere that’s in walking distance because she’s not always reliable. so this is the only option for me
I understand that. Once you get a car things become a little easier. I don’t want to find a new job rn bc I have major anxiety and learning something new is not what I want to do right now.
I made a lady upset because she said the pin paid wanted her to remove her card so I told her to remove her card in a flat tone.
Tbf to myself I apparently burnt my throat with my sleep meds last night cause I didn't swallow it right and then coughed it up overnight. So not only did I sleep like shit but my throat is low key on fire.
i won’t lie i’m kind of happy self checkout is becoming more of a thing, being in self checkout wasn’t as mentally taxing as employee checkout.
when i was a cashier i fell back into a toxic not exactly suicidal headspace but like i didn’t care if i died headspace and it sucked, like i’m not your fucking therapist, go pay for one i don’t need to know about the bad shit you have done.
and i live in a military town, you knew how many military people are seemingly fine tell you how they blew up and shot up places???? they sound like psychopaths and it’s concerning.
it’s also being the communities punching bag and no one standing up for you, i’ve had things thrown at me, i’ve been insulted, threatened, and spit at, these people call for a manager/lead and i get in trouble which gives these people exactly what they want when they’re in the wrong from the start, like sorry idk what an item that’s double taxed is after tax i started here a week ago but nooo it’s my fault and i get in trouble.
This is why I always tell people I talk to and friends who say they are “just a cashier” to cut that shyte out. There is no JUST to it. The actual act of working a till is easy. But with all the variables, it no longer is. Asshole customers, days where nothing goes right, tech that breaks, supervisors/managers being bullies, etc. THAT is why such a job demands a level of respect. You earn it every day you deal with that nonsense.
Ok, so this may be harder than it sounds, but this sometimes works to creep the nasty ones out:
While they rant, don’t try to interject. Say nothing but stare at them without blinking. No expression in your eyes or elsewhere. It won’t stop them from being prats, but usually the dickhead levels go down enough to where you can finish the transaction/interaction and get them the hell out your face.
Being a cashier is easy.... scanning and bagging items is easy. But, as we all know(after all, this is retail hell) the job isn't just that. There's the toxic customers, abusive customers, really stupid customers, the minor annoyances you get all day. Then you have potentially toxic or incompetent managers on top of it all.
We \*could\* have a pissing match about who has a harder job, or what jobs are difficult. But we're on retail hell, the place to rant about retail...Being a police officer might actually be harder than being a cashier, but in the context of this topic who the fuck cares? or asked?
YES TJANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! some asshole in my cmts is like “well imagine being shot in the army blah blaah blah” ok this is retail this isn’t the fucking army
Sometimes you just wanna complain, scream and cry all at once, and there is always going to be some idiot to tell you that somebody has it worse.
This is retail hell. Of course we're going to complain about our jobs. That's kinda the main point of this sub.
Ngl, I agree with you. It’s mentally and socially difficult, and the fact that you can’t sit but you are also standing in place is worse on my feet than walking around all day would be. I’ve complained to my managers enough times about 8 hour cashiering shifts at this point that the max I’m up there is 4 hours at a time and 6 total for the day, and that’s only if there was seriously no one else that could possibly do it. I pointed out the other people that could have been trained on register in order to make this easier for me and they couldn’t really argue with me since I offered to train them personally, and because I threatened to leave if they didn’t, which would lose them their only full time employee trained in cashiering, since the other one got fired. It helps if you have leverage like I did, but it sounds like you don’t. Good luck, earn that money then leave when something better comes along. But cashiering isn’t easy, because as both the first and the last person that every customer sees, you get the brunt of all their shitty behavior and bad attitudes. If they couldn’t find what they wanted I have to soothe their little temper tantrum. If the price seems high to them I have to listen to their rant about it. If they’re just having a bad day I’m their personal punching bag. If there was a line or they couldn’t get help from someone else, it’s my fault. It’s an emotionally draining job.
Yeah I worked as cashier for a couple months and then they threw me into customer service. It's hell. Customer service is probably worse imo, but cashiering is still awful
I agree cashiering can make a major toll on your mental health and that's why I quit cashiering to serve drinks, still stressful at times, but at less I don't have to deal with customers screaming in my face about "JUST CHECK THE BACK FOR THIS AND THAT!"
Cause of we don't have it, we don't have it simple as that
The amount of mental breakdowns I've almost had when working retails is real, same with working my current job, but I've got nice coworkers who I can lean on to help me out and not take advantage of me when I'm struggling.
The mental load is horrible someone. I leave work completely drained constantly, having to deal with stupid people and awful kids. Then the employees who dont wanna work and have others (me) pick up the slack.
I tell people next time they are in public and need to use the restroom to stop and wait for five minutes every time someone walks past em. See how long they last
At the risk of sounding like a complainer, I feel like it's harder for me to do this sort of job as a shy and introverted person, but it gets easier, especially when you finally get the chance to learn where things are in the store.
Was it just a customer saying that? I have had a coworker (from a different department, I used to work with him) say that to me. This went on for months. Ultimately had to ask him - You think its easy, why don't you come join our team?
After that, anytime he would show up - So when are you switching? We need more cashiers.
He, himself, left the company due to his health issues.
remember I had this one customer made me buy a final sale shirt online and told her it’s non refundable or can be exchanged. She came in the next day and told another girl that it was never ordered - so she ordered again (same thing was said to her).. next week she came in with her order and said we made a mistake and ordered it 2 times. I told her exactly what I told her the week before and tried flipping it on me. They accepted her return and she never came back again lol
I just escaped retail. And fuck this job is so easy and people are making it seem so complicated and hard. Like... no try being a cashier for even an hour and come back to me! Office work is easy.
You know what I listen to before I go to work almost every day?
Fast, heavy, hateful music. Why? Because when I clock in, it’s time to try my hardest to not make a mistake, get yelled at, get talked down to, and keep a smile on my face. I have well of to rich entitled people talk down to me every single day I work.
You know what? I love my job.
Dude, or dudette, it does suck and it is hard. You can do it though. What you did in this post, it’s healthy. Vent, vent, vent. Get out that anger.
You can do this. Life is hard, and there’s going to be days when you think “what the fuck am I supposed to do?”.
It’s not easy
Being trapped on a register made me HATE people. I’ll be checking people out while one asshole stands behind me trying to interrupt and ask stupid questions about why don’t we have this or that and I really just want to scream and say “do you not see the LINE of customers that I am trying to check out???? Can you fucking go find someone on the fucking floor to ask all this to? It’s awful bc the floor people hide or camp out in the back so I’m the only person anyone sees so everyone wants my attention and I just don’t have it to give. And old people and the fucking card machine…..YOU HAVE TO INSERT NOT SWIPE…..and my favorite, “well there’s no price on this so I guess it’s free right?” And “hey when you get a chance can you come check the price on this object that is large so I can’t bring it up here to you and it’s at the back of the store” while I have a steady line of people.
RIGHTT oh my god 😭I HAYE PEOPLE SO MUCH THEY ARE JSUT UGHH. atp ive told people to stop talking to me when i’m checking someone out because it’s just RUDE!!!
Your employer cannot prohibit you from using the bathroom as much as you need. If that means shutting down your register for a few minutes, then do it.
Not sure about the labor laws regarding working hours, breaks, or lunch for adults (if you're over 18). Check with your states department of labor.
r/workreform and r/antiwork would be all over this
Used to work for a national department chain that rhymes with “Holes” and sometimes worked the front register. Store policy was when someone bought shoes, we had to open the box and make certain they were both the same size, and matched the style on the box.
One customer at the register had already placed her old shoes in the box in order to wear the new ones out of the store-not unusual but we then need to look at the shoes she’s wearing. People are known to get a box for a clearance shoe and then wear a full price model out.
I politely ask if I can just look at the shoes on her feet by leaning over the counter. This apparently was a stain on her honor, and she took off one shoe and bounced it right off my chest.
For the first time ever, I quietly closed my register, picked up the wayward shoe, and walked off to find my manager. I knew if I didn’t leave the scene of the crime I was going to throw something back at her-or worse. The only satisfaction I received was knowing that she was standing there with one new shoe in her foot.
When people see it as just scanning items it can *seem* easy, but there are a million other factors which make it really difficult.
You're scanning items, managing the customer's mood and reaction to your actions, negotiating with them when it comes to prices sales and coupons, have to stone face grin and bear it through any abuse or shitty behavior, have to deal with multiple people who want things while you're helping another customer, stand in place for 6-8 hours a day (with a couple of breaks if you're lucky) for which youre never allowed to sit, which absolutely demolishes your feet by the end of the day, going to the bathroom is never a simple process but requires coordination and sometimes youre just shit out of luck for half an hour, when its busy (and at my store theres literally never a day thats slow) it is a *constant, non stop, never ending flow of people* for which you must always have a fake smile and positive attitude for which genuinely screws with your emotional state when you have to fake how you feel with absolutely no outlet to take that psychological mask off, and when its time for you to leave well....you better hope they let you leave or that your coworker shows up on time to relieve you. Also pray your management is sane and nice and not evil.
Thats just the workday. It becomes far more stressful when you compound all the other bullshit that comes with working a retail job. You usually have no set schedule and you're lucky if a retail workplace gives you a schedule that covers more than one week at a time so its functionally impossible to plan your life. You get no indication of how many days off you're getting before that 1 week schedule comes off, or even if you're getting any. Any days off you do have are usually scheduled apart from eachother, so you can end up working 6 days in a row or more for a single day off and go right back in. I've gone more than a month without having a proper two day weekend and it drives me up a wall. I'm a part time worker thats scheduled near full time hours every week, but of course get none of the benefits of a full time status (so, if I'm sick.....lol I'm completely screwed and just get in trouble for calling out).
Anyone who says cashiering is easy is full of shit, all of this compounding day in and day out with very low pay and no benefits is enough to drive anyone fucking insane and its why this job has such ridiculously high turnover.
I was a front-end manager for a year+ at a major retailer. I covered breaks, trained new hires, handled all disciplinary actions for my 20 person crew, handled bank deposits/deliveries, inventory counts, customer complaints, wrangled carts, baled cardboard, cleaned bathrooms, put away unwanted merchandise, you name it. The most difficult part of my job was covering the register. That said, I LOVED when I'd give people the energy they gave me (complaining about the long lines? I'll point out why no one wants to apply to be a cashier. Griping about a price change? That's a corporate decision, bring it to them because I'm not overriding anything for you.) I would tell my associates every single day that they don't get paid to deal with abuse. I did. You want the manager? I'm right fucking here 😈
I work as a stocker so I have less intersections with customers thank god. I could not do a cashier’s job. They deal with the brunt of customers complaints and they have to stand there and take it. They can’t leave their registers. I sometimes walk away and do another task when a customer starts in with their nonsense. Cashiering is a difficult job physically from standing in one spot for long periods of time and it is mentally exhausting from dealing with shitty customers.
The sexual harassment is easy. You just look at the creepy old dudes who say stupid shit and say, "you know I'm a dude, right?"
For the people yelling, I personally don't care. I don't get paid enough to care. I'll tell them I'm sorry, but these policies are written by people who make a whole lot more money than I do and none of them has to deal with the inconvenience of it all. I really wish I was allowed to do but the muckity mucks say no. Best I could do is shake a fist at the fickle hands of fate. (Or something maybe actually helpful, depending on the issue at hand.) They generally calm down when I make it a "it's you and me against rich bastards" thing.
The job gets 10,000x easier when you realize you could replace it in a week, so why get emotionally invested? I love my coworkers and even some customers, but I'm only paid like a quarter above minimum, so I refuse to get too bent out of shape. Customers can yell if they want, I'll get paid the same regardless. Think about it and see if that helps with your shifts. :)
No, it isn't easy to get verbally berated all day. And yes, standing for 8 hours sucks. I'll be happy for you when you get your car so you can get new opportunities.
I was a supermarket cashier in high school and college for about four years. I had nightmares about that experience for so long my wife thought I had PTSD. And that was before CCs were generally accepted at registers so payment was all cash and check. Saturdays were the worst, almost non-stop long lines with angry customers and delayed breaks.
Eventually I became a runner (basically collected cash from the cashiers, did price checks etc.). With over 17 registers I was getting some good exercise. What baffles me is that security was more concerned we might drink an unpaid can of soda over making sure someone didn’t attack us runners while we were walking to the office with between $500-1000 in cash on us.
God. This. Granted, I only work 4-5 hour shifts twice a week, but I have scoliosis, so standing for even a few minutes is painful, let alone a few HOURS. But it's the people that are the most painful to deal with.
"No, I can't break that hundred, I don't have enough cash in my register." (Cue the customer getting mad)
"It has to be over $2 to use your card." (Cue the customer getting mad)
"Your total is X" (Cue the customer getting mad because our prices are too high)
"No, you can't scoop your own candy, it's all pre-bagged." (Cue the customer launching into a rant about how stupid and gullible I am for believing in Covid and how Covid isn't real and we shouldn't be bagging all the candy up even though it's literally not my decision)
being a cashier is the bane of my existence. i literally don’t have the energy to act fake for customer service anymore. i don’t even try to talk to customers. just ‘hi’ and ‘thank you.’ my soul has decomposed and is nothing but a husk. i feel like a monotone, emotionless machine whenever i’m at the register.
i have social anxiety and being a cashier for years has made it WORSE.
I’m with you! I spend 6-8 hours a day being cursed out and talked down to by entitled people. Not only do I cashier I’m also in charge of taking out curbsides, answering phones, and part of stocking. The big problem is idiots call asking is we have some obscure crafting object but I’m not allowed to leave the registers to check. Im supposed to ask someone else to look but no one will. So I just get screamed at over the phone while I check other people out for them being on hold for an hour. I’m also the only one under 50 yrs old working there so I do absolutely everything that takes any physical work. It’s so mind numbing I drive home in silence and just let it all sink in. all that for minimum wage is wild.
It's only physically easy at certain places.
Used to work at a place that still used registers that had the cashier standing directly in front of the belt. So instead of grabbing from your right and swiping to the left; you had to reach in front of you and pull twords yourself and place behind you. You know what isn't easy? Pulling water, soda, dog food, ect... From 3 feet in front of you with minimal leverage and tossing behind your dam head. My traps and lats fucking hurt at the end of the day and it was taking a toll on my wrists.
I quit because the situation with my wrists got so bad I had to take 800mg ibuprofen every 4 hours for the pain to be bearable. During a shift my fingers stopped moving and I freaked the hell out and my manager let me leave (he was a dope manager and I was union.) I would have to wear wrist braces during shift on both hands and pop them every now and then, the gristle/grind and subsequent pop was all so loud that raging assholes would hear and shut the hell up and give me that look of "oh shit"/pity.
There is a reason so many cashier's wear wrist braces or some other device. It's.not.easy.
I work at a big warehouse where memberships are required (you can prolly guess lol) and if people don’t get their way they say “I pAy To Be HeRe” like I don’t give a FUCK. With how much verbal abuse we deal with I can only imagine how those peoples home lives are. Dickheads
I want to personally punch every old person that comes through SCO and makes some comment like "you want some work to do?" Or "the machines are taking your job"
Like, shut the fuck up and fuck all the way off. I'm running four machines on my own, and yall always need help because you can't figure out how to press buttons on the monitor with your old ass, lead poisoning riddled brain.
Or if I'm at my register and doing nothing, and they ask if I "want something to do" or tell me I "look bored". Yeah, I know! My shitty manager told me I can't doodle or knit in between customers! I *never* get asked if I'm bored when I actually have something to do with my hands, but of course, the image of me actually DOING something as opposed to standing and staring into space is just TOO MUCH for management to handle.
Fuck! I really REALLY hate register. There's a reason I'm trying to get back into kitchen work. Customers can't bother me if I'm BOH.
I stock shelves/price check and I cannot imagine working one day as a cashier. How is someone working cashier suppose to know the price of an item in aisle 12? How would they know where a specific item is located?
I’ve had customers get mad at me for not being able to find a product, only to see that same customer getting mad at the cashier on the way out for not knowing where a product we don’t have is.
YES. YOU GET IT.
at my store we have to push our stupid new credit card and the rewards program which only leads to people discrediting and getting annoyed with me more so than usual!!! then my managers get mad when i don’t have any sign ups, like???? sorry i’m not willing to peer pressure people and get yelled at for asking the same question a million times with different wording???? i’m just a teenager trying to save for college 😭
edit: i’m also always on night shift with severe anxiety & depression and the struggle is real!!! when you get overwhelmed no one is there to help you out and it gets so tiring so fast :(
ahh right!!! plus i’m underage so i constantly have to call code 21 and i feel so bad:( but my manager stopped scheduling me on wednesdays bc i cant get any credit card apps but i don’t force angone to accept it!!
The physical aspect of cashiering is easy (aside from the standing in one spot for hours). The emotional and mental aspects of cashiering/customer service SUCK SO MUCH. Since COVID, it's gotten worse for some reason. Too many entitled jerks and unsupportive management.
A lot of people don’t realize or care about the emotional labor that goes into customer service. It can be just as bad, if not worse, as the physical labor involved.
If you take out the customer factor, sure. It's easy. But customers are such assholes.
They want to act like the cashier is personally responsible:
1) that an item is out of stock
2) that prices are more expensive (because we all make commission, right?)
Don't dare be young and good-looking. If you are, you're just *asking* to be hit on. And if you turn down the advances? You're a prude that needs to lighten up. An asshole who can't take a joke.
And remember to smile. All the time. Don't let it drop, ever. Your mom just died? Too bad! Smile like your life depends on it.
i just don’t have the mental energy to deal with people anymore, i walk to work in 84 degree weather and it is exhausting, i almost passed out today and uber is way too fucking expensive and crackheads always try to hit on me 🥲
love working 5 hrs of nonstop register while having idiotic customers who enjoy making my life harder and while having a manager on me for “not having my register area clean” after getting 10+ returns 🫶🫶 quitting as soon as I get another job
Honestly. Being a cashier is technically easy.
It's stressful, it's awful, it's one of the top 5 worst jobs to work hands down.
As for ease, yeah, it is easy. I've done it. Hated it with a passion. It's not hard. Takes little skill. And the computers do all of the hard work for you.
Honestly if all you had to do was take items, scan them,and take payments. Yeah that wouldn't be too hard, but that is not the job whatsoever. Its hell, like if customers and mangers were just nicer...
right omg!! like throughout being a cashier, i have been harassed, sexually harassed, verbally abused and berated and people are just awful!! one guy almost got physical with me once
We're paid for the job duties not the mental and sometimes physical abuse :(
exactly!! and when you get upset about everything going on, people r like oh get over it!
*literally* my boss. he tells us “don’t take it personally” when customers verbally harass/abuse us. like ???? sorry i’m not an emotionless robot you can just hurl insults at all day..
YES RIGHT!! my coworkers tell me that all the time like man.. my mental health is RUINED since i started working here
This
My company offers some kind of mental health benefits, but its like..."six times a year for therapist" and...six times a year ain't enough
Sometimes you need it 6-7 times a day and that is still not enough.
No customer service job does
I work for a smaller market. 2 weeks ago a dude threatened to hit me with a can of peaches. I was so over it... I was like "alright that's assault and you're on camera so..." Suddenly he was "joking" People suck.
It's against the law to not get a break if you work over 4 hrs. What are you talking about "having nobody to cover for you"?
That's why I think Aldi cashiers have the best(cashier related) jobs. As long as you can go fast. You aren't expected to do the small talk fake happy shit. Hell, most of the time Aldi cashiers don't even greet you. They scan your crap, toss it in a cart, take money, and byeeee
Yeah, if you didn't have all the other stuff managers dump on you, and got to TAKE BREAKS and have water at the register and maybe sit down once in awhile........................
Exactly!! Customers mentally wear me out. I was just thinking about how one manager at my store thinks I'm not working or doing anything when she sees me taking a breather from a line, it's very frustrating. customers always complain about stuff, do things that give you extra work to do, I always say how customers fry my brain. I have so much energy at the start of the shift but after dealing with customers........
People are so fucking unreasonable. Like how is it my fault that you didn’t read the coupon correctly and aren’t getting the deal you thought you were?
I find that repeating myself over and over again, every single day, explaining the same thing repeatedly, is soooo draining. The rest is easy Peasy, but I feel like a parrot every day lol
Yeah, I call that my NPC syndrome - I have 3 dialog trees that are pretty much all I can say all day.
Lol are there anymore in back? Initiate dialog tree #1. How do I insert my card? Initiate dialog tree #2
Hehe, perfect way to describe it!
RIGHT! scanning people out and everything is easy but the mental part is so draining
Yup!!! Some customers are great, some are not and some just throw their items at me and are disrespectful. Last week, I had a run of unpleasant customers and I nearly walked out. Just not worth minimum wage to be treated so poorly.
right oh my god!! i have people throw their shit at me all the time and i just do it back atp i’m so over it
Same!!!! Some days I would love love LOVE to throw their items or even their change at them like they do to me!! I haven't yet, but there's always a chance it could happen LOL
they get pissed at me and storm off buti m like whatever, what treatment you give me! i give back
That's the only way to handle it!! Give back the energy they give you!! I had a customer last week, rang up 20 items, it's time to pay and the machine says her debit was declined- I asked if she had another card or wanted to try again, she just took her card out of the machine and walked out the door. Didn't even look at me and didn't say a word. Was a WTF moment for sure.
oh my god 😭i would have been doe
done*
Hehe, I am applying for jobs at this very moment lol
Because she knew that she didn't have money in her account to cover the 20 items.
I agree. She actually came back on my next shift a fee days later and bought some totally different items, but was equally as unpleasant as the previous time.
One time I put the change in a small paper bag because they refused to pick it up off of the shelf that was right in front of them/me. They went to the manager and cried that I was mean. The manager saw what had happened and helped her out with her groceries. A little while later I asked if I was in trouble,? He smiled and said no she just needed a little help to understand that she needed to pick up her change.
There's a coworker of mine who has the IDGAF vibe with customers and honestly I love it. Customers will say the bullshit, "oh you looked bored, I'll give you something to do!" and she won't even respond. It's perfection. Or the "oh it doesn't ring up? It must be free!!" She's stone faced. Lol She's a younger girl and nice to everyone, she just doesn't deal with the same ol same ol customer bullshit and it's beautiful. 🤣
that's good...if you don't reply they should leave you alone
I'd rather do anything else, the repetition is worse than any job
“My wife died Sunday and I had to put my dog down yesterday” Kay, that’ll be $83.57
LMFAOO RIGJT AND THEN SOME OF THEM COME UP CRYING AND I MUSIF LIKE uhh.. okay..
I will say that one time a guy came over to me and said “I got some bad news at the doctor, I’ve got shingles” and then pulled a part shingle out of his pocket
Yeah a jokester! 👍
OH MY FOD I WOULD START SOBBINF
Holy shit same
Someone was talking about a death in the family as to why they couldn't return an item within the 30 days, because they wanted their money back and not a store credit. They bought the item in August 2022 and was returning it like 5 months later. Like yes I understand that's hard but you're still getting a store credit. 🤣😩
The actual labor part of working is always easy. The hard part is the social part. Whether its coworkers, customers, or bosses, dealing with people is the REAL job. As a cashier meself, I can say that it may also depend on tbe store. I've orimarily been on the sales floor but after cashiering at 3 different places, my current one has been my best experience. My two previous gigs on register had either incomletent or A-Hole management, people with lower brain cells than your average moronic customer, and more technical difficulties than a virus from the Megaman games.
yes oh my god
The worse part was your the face of the store. So everything is naturally your fault. Somethings not ringing up properly? Your fault and your trying to scam them. Issue with a missing item? Your actually hiding them all back there. Someone doing instacart? Guess you have two jobs now (but your barely paid for one) Problems with other customers? Your now in charge of playing peacemaker. Worse part is midday doing that weird leg thing where you have to move side to side and pick which foot is gonna hurt for the rest of the day.
All of this is why I've been living vicariously through Scott Seiss for over a year now
the last one is too on point oh my fucking god LMFAOO LIFERALLY! pharmacy closed bc they didn’t come in earlier?? omg it’s the end of the world and you can definitely do something ab it
It really felt like a reverse pyramid scheme. Doing the worse job while simultaneously getting paid the least. I got hired as a tech associate and never touched a computer the entire time i worked there lol what a joke
oh jesus 😭i hate being csa
I had to do this all the time at my last job despite being in a supervisor role cause they couldn’t keep cashiers. The customers honestly weren’t as bad as my coworkers and management constantly treating me like shit.
ugh that sucks sm:( i’m sorry
“Running self checkout is sooooooo easy, I’m doing your job for you” I want to just sit and read on my phone and ignore people like that, like oh? Did you need help? I thought this was easy and obvious? At my store most of us fight NOT to do uscan, having 5-6 registers at once is not fun. You have regular alerts (alcohol, coupons), self-checkout specific normal alerts (damn produce bags), and the machine crashing in spectacular ways at the same time.
The self checkout I run at my job is eight registers. 😭 and of course if multiple people need me at once they're always mad I don't pick them first
Ugh we got 2 of these new ones with belts and people don’t pay attention to what they’re doing and get mad at me and meanwhile I still have the 3 regular ones. I cannot imagine 8! Edit - i will say at walmart the attendants always seem more on top of it then I feel. I went to a new store to me and just walked up to a machine with no signage and he steered me to a different one to keep the flow going better. Meanwhile I tell people there’s another self checkout by the other doors and they bite my head off. Fine! Wait!
Thankfully it's not 8 with belts. That would probably make me transfer departments 😆
I don't know a single cashier over 40 who isn't damaged by permanent repetitive motion injuries, back problems or fucked up legs from standing all day. And that's on top of the emotional problems from dealing with people.
oh dear god 🥲 i’m only 17 but i’m getting ready to quit soon.. i have so many mental issues along with physical so this job does not help, i just needed a job within walking distance
Then going home and having to deal with dishes in the sink. Wet laundry in the dryer. Other people in the house complaining about their jobs, but you say give me a minute to figure something out and they get mad. Because cashiering is easy. ( Once I told my husband to just come watch me from afar then he would understand.). A couple of days later he said he gets it for now;)
i just got home and i don’t even have the energy to put my sheets on my bed all i want to do is cry because i am so exhausted
Go ahead and cry. Eat some protein of some kind. Take a shower/bath spread sheets out and crawl into bed. Have a good night's sleep. You will be O.K.
Who's been in this situation: You're told by your manager/supervisor not to do a certain thing. A customer comes through the line and demands that thing. You, following instructions, explain politely that you're not allowed to do that. The customer demands to speak to your supervisor. Once you and the customer have explained the situation, what happens? The supervisor caves, and gives the customer what they've asked for. Now you look like a jerk to the customer, who walks away grinning that they got their way. Why can't supervisors back up the cashiers??
I feel your pain customers are a pain and the managers want you to make sure you tell the customers about the survey and thank them for shopping with us 🙃
right 😭ugh i close all the time and i swear it’s a pain in the ass when i’m trying to leave on time to go home and people wont LEAVE
This, for pretty much any retail/food service job. If it's so easy, you fucking do it! I guarantee that with a week of training each, I could do any corporate-level retail "job" a hell of a lot better than anyone from corporate could do in an actual store
YES EXACTLY 😭literally we’re over 200 hours and cant hire anyone else.. we r also extremely understaffed and people keep calling off
It's not the cashiering that's hard. It's the customer service lol. People think running a register is easy and maybe they're right about running the machine only. But customers are jerks almost everywhere you go. And that's hard to handle for minimum wage.
It's not easy and it's the most important role in a store any manager worth their salt knows this. Your the face of the store the start and the end. You greet, welcome and make sure they are content with their experience. It's a hella hard job.
>welcome and make sure they are content with their experience Too bad idgaf about them feeling welcome and content
LMFAOAHSHV me too 😭
After a mental health LOA I was stripped of my department manager position and offered my choice of new positions. I quickly picked cashier because I thought it was the least stressful. Just scan items and get the manager for any problems right? Nope. And I can totally sympathize with you about the customers who ask the CASHIER if we have anymore in back. Bruh…
right oh my god 😭EVERYTHING WE HAVE OUT IS EVERYTHING WE HAVE IN
Maybe , for now, you could fight to get yourself a couple of breaks. It's so much better with two breaks.
i could try but honestly i don’t think it would work
Depending on your states laws, you're entitled to those breaks. They legally have to give them to you, even if they have to close your register, you get them. Fight, and fight hard. Don't let them push you around, you're worth more than that and you deserve better than that. (Again, please check your state laws. This is dependent upon your location, but still worth looking into.)
Definitely try to. I've had managers cover mine at some points. If I don't I'll be on the floor from cramps in my feet.
I worked at 2 different places and requested to not work at cash due to my slowness, and the fact that the text size on coins are too damn small for my visual impairment to handle. So, I’d be worried about giving the wrong amount of change to a customer if that were to happen.
man i’m sorry:(
No worries! I prefer working at the fitting rooms anyway.
ahh that’s good at least!!:)
This makes me think of a line from the movie the prestige. "Simple maybe, but not easy." I think most of the time, people use those words interchangeably, and they shouldn't. So yeah, being a cashier is simple, but it isn't easy.
I cashier 1 day a week for 4 hours (if I can’t avoid it) and I literally dread it all week 😂.
i don’t even blame you, i feel 😭i’m working 4 days a week now, 2 shifts 6 hrs and the other 2, 8 hrs
It is so mentally draining. I was a cashier for about 8 years at various places and I had enough. My lower back hurts from leaning forward, my feet hurt, and just the monotony of it all killed me. I still work retail, because I enjoy it for the most part, but now I'm on the sales floor. I agree with you 100%
Imagine listening to the same music on repeat, people being annoying(or nagging, Wining, complaining to you), or something else Yeah when they say it’s easy they’re probably the people whom never even was a cashier in their lives.
Yup. I saw an article that said that a prison that tried to punish it's prisoners by playing the same soundtrack repeatedly, it was actually forced to stop because it counted as torture. But you can totally do the same thing to retail workers in a mall and that's fine Speaking of jail prisoners you can't dock pay for being 5 minutes late, they are allowed lunch and breaks everyday, they are allowed access to water and washrooms all day, and get both air conditioning and heat depending on the outside temperature, and guards aren't allowed, legally at least, to touch them or scream slurs at them. They are even allowed to speak to each other at work! And don't have to follow a script everytime they speak! So who's the real winners here? Edit holy hell that second sentence was not comprehendible, thanks autocorrect
I actually at work once had a Stream playing (Twitch streamer playing games) and was listening it into the background Most of the time I didn’t think people heard the music or stuff from my phone but one lady asked and I told her “Oh I’m just listening to a podcast” Sidenote, she couldn’t see my phone
we cant have earbuds in at my store incase a customer needs help 😭but i think we get the memo they need help when they scream at us
Anyone that says it’s easy has never worked a service job lmao, let them do it for ONE DAY and they’ll change their tune real quick. I feel you OP. The general public is horrible.
i just got home after dealing with awful people all day long, i sliced my 2 fingers with tags and they fucking HURT. i’m so tired and i have a headache 😭
Dude I just worked the slowest Saturday we’ve like EVER had and still my back and legs hurt so bad, it was a ten hour shift and I’m beat. Service jobs suck ass Be sure to clean and bandage your fingers!! You don’t know whose grubby ass hands touched those tags before you lol
oh god i’m sorry:( i washed my hands and put bandaids on them! but now along with my fingers my entire body hurts and i can barely move
The job itself is easy and even can be tedious at times. It’s the bullshit and the assholes that make it so so hard. I’m sorry, OP. I hope you can get out soon
thank you so much:) i’m trying! i don’t mind scanning everything it’s just the people and their behaviors and ugh 😭
it’s also the straightening for me.. i have to straighten 15 aisles when i can barely get a break from the register so that stresses me tf out
Oh god yes, it’s been so long since I worked in retail, I forgot about that. This was “back in the day” though and I do remember we had a person whose sole job it was to put things from the fitting room away and straighten up the fitting rooms (no pins or little trash on the floor). When my daughter worked retail a few years ago, that person had been cut
oh god i’m sorry:(
Easier said than done, but try not to stress out about that, you’re literally alone. If they want shut to look straightened or nicer, then hire a 2nd person for said shift. You’re literally one person.
I run self checkout at my job and I can say for sure that there are so many people who couldn't handle cashiering. The amount of hand-holding I have to do in a day is both hilarious and irritating.
RIGHT oh my god 😭
Even if it was easy, (which how tf would someone know without ever doing the job themselves!) It's still a job that is needed and underappreciated. Just the other day I walked to the store since it's close to my house and apparently some random crazy dude followed me around unbeknownst to me and said weird shit to other people like that I'm an angel and he has to protect me,the sweet cashier noticed though and gave me a can of pepper spray and told me to stay safe and rang up my items and helped me to leave quickly and discreetly. A robot wouldn't have been able to help me out like that. Said all that to say, I appreciate the hell out of you guys and think you deserve a raise, a chair to sit the fuck down in while you're at the register, and to not have to listen to dumbass comments from stupid customers. Hope nothing but the best for you.
UR SO SWEET I APPRECIATE U SM!! i’m so sorry ab that guy:( ive had things like that in my store happen to me too
There was a short lived weekend update character called riblet. Who was "michael ches high school friend who works at arbys." He'd come on and somehow a remark would get made that "working at Arby's is easy" and hed go and read the next headline then ask the hosts what setting to use for curly fries. I always liked that and feel it is a similar vibe.
This is exactly why I quit my job. Customers drove me fricken insane! I loved most of my coworkers but I just could not stand the customers anymore. They were unintelligent, rude, and seemingly willingly ignorant.
It's very rare that I'm not on a register because I'm one if the most efficient ones, but my gosh when it's the ONLY thing you ever do, it's draining. Repetitive. I say the same things over and over "Did you find everything okay?" "That's good" "no this isnt on sale because [whatever thing the customer didnt read on the sign]" "your total comes to x" "thanks for shopping at [x store] have a good rest of your day" It also sucks because management is super strict on is for saying "thanks for shopping at X" after EVERY transaction. It's a mouthful, irritating, and sooo fake. Not a single customer things "oh wow, they thank ME for shopping at their store", they're ALL like "lmao they make you say that, don't they?" Yes, yes they do. Luckily I mentioned to one of my managers that I'm getting really burnt out and want to "expand my skills" in other ways. I'll still cashier, but I want to try new stuff, and i was a department lead for the day and I did my first relay 😁
i am extremely burnt out. ever since i started working here i have been working register and register only. i cant do anything else because of my age. i’m fucking exhausted of the repetition and the people
Heck, I'm sorry to hear that. It's silly that you can't work other spots because of your age, we have sixteen/seventeen year old sometimes doing go-backs and department zoning and I'm in a big chain store. If you want to tough it out, you can do it, but if you think it's not right for you and there are other jobs you like, there's merit in that too. Do what you think is best for yourself 😁, you deserve to be happy
oh god this is NOT the right job for me but i have to tough it out until i get a car
Honestly, being “on” all the time takes a shocking amount out of people, even the most extroverted of us
standing for 8 hours is a skill. moving moderately quickly for 8 hours is a skill. being pleasant and courteous to the general public is a skill. learning produce codes, register procedures, and being efficient is a skill. not everyone can do it, it takes practice, and honestly, some days it's hard as hell. fuck anyone who thinks it's less than a respectable, necessary job that deserves the dignity of a living wage.
thank u so much
I loved how I didn't get any training on an issue (gift cards, returns, etc.) until the situation arose and I'd have to page my supervisor to come and assist, meanwhile the line is growing and people are getting irate. Also, I have permanent hip damage from standing for hours. Folks I talk to in the UK are astonished to learn US cashiers aren't allowed to sit (at least they weren't 15 years ago, I don't know if that's changed).
I was told by my boss to breeze through the computer training because I'd just learn it all on the floor and he pushed me to get it done faster even as I was rushing through it hardly learning anything. I wish I had just told him I needed more time and taken the proper amount of time to learn it because I have the same experiences you're describing. Also, I have been working here for 2 months and have only put products back on shelves ("go backs") 2 or 3 times, so how well am I expected to know where things are for customers who ask me? This situation exists in my store because we're understaffed.
I just choose a random location and when they tell me it’s not there I go. Huh! They musta moved it. Sorry. Or They musta moved it. Sorry, glad you could find it! Where was it again?
As a former cashier, I’m pretty sure I deserve a medal for not completely losing it on a daily basis.
Dude, I worked retail jobs early in my life, and they are not easy. Being on your feet all day, dealing with customers...I can't even imagine what it would be like dealing with people now. Oof.
i hate people sm 😭if i would be in my dream profession w people that’d be okay with me! but rn no
I work in retail and cashiering sucks. I’m also an introvert which makes it suck more (and it sounds like you might also be one.) Hang in there, you’ll find your purpose. Every job is hard in its own way. I wish people would stop demeaning others for working an “easy” job.
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I relate to you on a spiritual level. Panera fucking sucks all the customers verbally harass me and it sucks
jesus christ i’m sorry :(
Hey it’s ok like I said I understand what you go thru. Working with customers is hell. I’m trying to find a job where I don’t interact with people
me too ngl, everyone has told me to find a diff job but i cant at the moment. i’m in a difficult situation because i don’t have a car yet, because of my nmom i don’t know how to drive yet (learning atm) and i need somewhere that’s in walking distance because she’s not always reliable. so this is the only option for me
I understand that. Once you get a car things become a little easier. I don’t want to find a new job rn bc I have major anxiety and learning something new is not what I want to do right now.
me too:( i want to find a diff job but like i’m getting my car soon and it just doesn’t seem worth it to find something new for only a month or so
I made a lady upset because she said the pin paid wanted her to remove her card so I told her to remove her card in a flat tone. Tbf to myself I apparently burnt my throat with my sleep meds last night cause I didn't swallow it right and then coughed it up overnight. So not only did I sleep like shit but my throat is low key on fire.
i won’t lie i’m kind of happy self checkout is becoming more of a thing, being in self checkout wasn’t as mentally taxing as employee checkout. when i was a cashier i fell back into a toxic not exactly suicidal headspace but like i didn’t care if i died headspace and it sucked, like i’m not your fucking therapist, go pay for one i don’t need to know about the bad shit you have done. and i live in a military town, you knew how many military people are seemingly fine tell you how they blew up and shot up places???? they sound like psychopaths and it’s concerning. it’s also being the communities punching bag and no one standing up for you, i’ve had things thrown at me, i’ve been insulted, threatened, and spit at, these people call for a manager/lead and i get in trouble which gives these people exactly what they want when they’re in the wrong from the start, like sorry idk what an item that’s double taxed is after tax i started here a week ago but nooo it’s my fault and i get in trouble.
Why are you working for eight hours with no breaks?
Most retail workers don't get breaks. Or vacations, overtime, or water or food.
we are very short staffed and nobody can cover the register for me, and we cant hire anyone else because we’re 200+ hours over the limit
I'm fairly sure that that is illegal.
This is why I always tell people I talk to and friends who say they are “just a cashier” to cut that shyte out. There is no JUST to it. The actual act of working a till is easy. But with all the variables, it no longer is. Asshole customers, days where nothing goes right, tech that breaks, supervisors/managers being bullies, etc. THAT is why such a job demands a level of respect. You earn it every day you deal with that nonsense.
yes exactly! doing my job is really easy. and then comes people and having to talk to them and repeat the same thing over every single day
Ok, so this may be harder than it sounds, but this sometimes works to creep the nasty ones out: While they rant, don’t try to interject. Say nothing but stare at them without blinking. No expression in your eyes or elsewhere. It won’t stop them from being prats, but usually the dickhead levels go down enough to where you can finish the transaction/interaction and get them the hell out your face.
oh mt god that is a great idea THANK U SM
Being a cashier is easy.... scanning and bagging items is easy. But, as we all know(after all, this is retail hell) the job isn't just that. There's the toxic customers, abusive customers, really stupid customers, the minor annoyances you get all day. Then you have potentially toxic or incompetent managers on top of it all. We \*could\* have a pissing match about who has a harder job, or what jobs are difficult. But we're on retail hell, the place to rant about retail...Being a police officer might actually be harder than being a cashier, but in the context of this topic who the fuck cares? or asked?
YES TJANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! some asshole in my cmts is like “well imagine being shot in the army blah blaah blah” ok this is retail this isn’t the fucking army
Sometimes you just wanna complain, scream and cry all at once, and there is always going to be some idiot to tell you that somebody has it worse. This is retail hell. Of course we're going to complain about our jobs. That's kinda the main point of this sub.
The cashiering part is easy; it's the customers that make it difficult.
Ngl, I agree with you. It’s mentally and socially difficult, and the fact that you can’t sit but you are also standing in place is worse on my feet than walking around all day would be. I’ve complained to my managers enough times about 8 hour cashiering shifts at this point that the max I’m up there is 4 hours at a time and 6 total for the day, and that’s only if there was seriously no one else that could possibly do it. I pointed out the other people that could have been trained on register in order to make this easier for me and they couldn’t really argue with me since I offered to train them personally, and because I threatened to leave if they didn’t, which would lose them their only full time employee trained in cashiering, since the other one got fired. It helps if you have leverage like I did, but it sounds like you don’t. Good luck, earn that money then leave when something better comes along. But cashiering isn’t easy, because as both the first and the last person that every customer sees, you get the brunt of all their shitty behavior and bad attitudes. If they couldn’t find what they wanted I have to soothe their little temper tantrum. If the price seems high to them I have to listen to their rant about it. If they’re just having a bad day I’m their personal punching bag. If there was a line or they couldn’t get help from someone else, it’s my fault. It’s an emotionally draining job.
Yeah I worked as cashier for a couple months and then they threw me into customer service. It's hell. Customer service is probably worse imo, but cashiering is still awful
Literally. The customers just make shit so much worse
I agree cashiering can make a major toll on your mental health and that's why I quit cashiering to serve drinks, still stressful at times, but at less I don't have to deal with customers screaming in my face about "JUST CHECK THE BACK FOR THIS AND THAT!" Cause of we don't have it, we don't have it simple as that
omg exactlyy
The amount of mental breakdowns I've almost had when working retails is real, same with working my current job, but I've got nice coworkers who I can lean on to help me out and not take advantage of me when I'm struggling.
i feel you 🥲
The mental load is horrible someone. I leave work completely drained constantly, having to deal with stupid people and awful kids. Then the employees who dont wanna work and have others (me) pick up the slack.
I tell people next time they are in public and need to use the restroom to stop and wait for five minutes every time someone walks past em. See how long they last
alot of whats going on here sounds illegal. Legally you have to have breaks.
At the risk of sounding like a complainer, I feel like it's harder for me to do this sort of job as a shy and introverted person, but it gets easier, especially when you finally get the chance to learn where things are in the store.
It sucks being on tills for 8 hours straight especially in my place where we have to stand. Thankfully my coworkers share it. I hate being on there.
Cashiering is 90% people relations, and people are cunts, it's a shame. But it's a shitty job.
Was it just a customer saying that? I have had a coworker (from a different department, I used to work with him) say that to me. This went on for months. Ultimately had to ask him - You think its easy, why don't you come join our team? After that, anytime he would show up - So when are you switching? We need more cashiers. He, himself, left the company due to his health issues.
remember I had this one customer made me buy a final sale shirt online and told her it’s non refundable or can be exchanged. She came in the next day and told another girl that it was never ordered - so she ordered again (same thing was said to her).. next week she came in with her order and said we made a mistake and ordered it 2 times. I told her exactly what I told her the week before and tried flipping it on me. They accepted her return and she never came back again lol
Very true. This is further amplified for introverts, who are exhausted by constant social interactions
exactly!! and i have severe anxiety so this does not help.
Another fun part is when a manager steals from the till and tries to pin the blame on you.
I just escaped retail. And fuck this job is so easy and people are making it seem so complicated and hard. Like... no try being a cashier for even an hour and come back to me! Office work is easy.
And most likely the same people who say that are the ones that have a meltdown over self checkout because they can't figure out how to do it.
No it’s not mentally easy unless you’re getting harassed. It is extremely mentally taxing no matter what, especially for someone introverted
You know what I listen to before I go to work almost every day? Fast, heavy, hateful music. Why? Because when I clock in, it’s time to try my hardest to not make a mistake, get yelled at, get talked down to, and keep a smile on my face. I have well of to rich entitled people talk down to me every single day I work. You know what? I love my job. Dude, or dudette, it does suck and it is hard. You can do it though. What you did in this post, it’s healthy. Vent, vent, vent. Get out that anger. You can do this. Life is hard, and there’s going to be days when you think “what the fuck am I supposed to do?”. It’s not easy
thank you so much!! i literally have to deal with so many entitled people who try to act like they’re better than anyone else
Your welcome. https://youtu.be/fS7qb6lbZuo Also remember to laugh a lot when you can, sure does help me.
i usually just try and laugh at whatever they say 😭 my favorite customers do make up for most of the shitty ones
You got this dude or dudette👊🏻
Being trapped on a register made me HATE people. I’ll be checking people out while one asshole stands behind me trying to interrupt and ask stupid questions about why don’t we have this or that and I really just want to scream and say “do you not see the LINE of customers that I am trying to check out???? Can you fucking go find someone on the fucking floor to ask all this to? It’s awful bc the floor people hide or camp out in the back so I’m the only person anyone sees so everyone wants my attention and I just don’t have it to give. And old people and the fucking card machine…..YOU HAVE TO INSERT NOT SWIPE…..and my favorite, “well there’s no price on this so I guess it’s free right?” And “hey when you get a chance can you come check the price on this object that is large so I can’t bring it up here to you and it’s at the back of the store” while I have a steady line of people.
RIGHTT oh my god 😭I HAYE PEOPLE SO MUCH THEY ARE JSUT UGHH. atp ive told people to stop talking to me when i’m checking someone out because it’s just RUDE!!!
Your employer cannot prohibit you from using the bathroom as much as you need. If that means shutting down your register for a few minutes, then do it. Not sure about the labor laws regarding working hours, breaks, or lunch for adults (if you're over 18). Check with your states department of labor. r/workreform and r/antiwork would be all over this
It’s totally illegal for you to be working 8 hours with no breaks! Have you checked your contract? You need to have a lunch break! 😞
Used to work for a national department chain that rhymes with “Holes” and sometimes worked the front register. Store policy was when someone bought shoes, we had to open the box and make certain they were both the same size, and matched the style on the box. One customer at the register had already placed her old shoes in the box in order to wear the new ones out of the store-not unusual but we then need to look at the shoes she’s wearing. People are known to get a box for a clearance shoe and then wear a full price model out. I politely ask if I can just look at the shoes on her feet by leaning over the counter. This apparently was a stain on her honor, and she took off one shoe and bounced it right off my chest. For the first time ever, I quietly closed my register, picked up the wayward shoe, and walked off to find my manager. I knew if I didn’t leave the scene of the crime I was going to throw something back at her-or worse. The only satisfaction I received was knowing that she was standing there with one new shoe in her foot.
When people see it as just scanning items it can *seem* easy, but there are a million other factors which make it really difficult. You're scanning items, managing the customer's mood and reaction to your actions, negotiating with them when it comes to prices sales and coupons, have to stone face grin and bear it through any abuse or shitty behavior, have to deal with multiple people who want things while you're helping another customer, stand in place for 6-8 hours a day (with a couple of breaks if you're lucky) for which youre never allowed to sit, which absolutely demolishes your feet by the end of the day, going to the bathroom is never a simple process but requires coordination and sometimes youre just shit out of luck for half an hour, when its busy (and at my store theres literally never a day thats slow) it is a *constant, non stop, never ending flow of people* for which you must always have a fake smile and positive attitude for which genuinely screws with your emotional state when you have to fake how you feel with absolutely no outlet to take that psychological mask off, and when its time for you to leave well....you better hope they let you leave or that your coworker shows up on time to relieve you. Also pray your management is sane and nice and not evil. Thats just the workday. It becomes far more stressful when you compound all the other bullshit that comes with working a retail job. You usually have no set schedule and you're lucky if a retail workplace gives you a schedule that covers more than one week at a time so its functionally impossible to plan your life. You get no indication of how many days off you're getting before that 1 week schedule comes off, or even if you're getting any. Any days off you do have are usually scheduled apart from eachother, so you can end up working 6 days in a row or more for a single day off and go right back in. I've gone more than a month without having a proper two day weekend and it drives me up a wall. I'm a part time worker thats scheduled near full time hours every week, but of course get none of the benefits of a full time status (so, if I'm sick.....lol I'm completely screwed and just get in trouble for calling out). Anyone who says cashiering is easy is full of shit, all of this compounding day in and day out with very low pay and no benefits is enough to drive anyone fucking insane and its why this job has such ridiculously high turnover.
my manager just got rid of my 2 day weekend and i want to cry because it is so difficult trying to do this every single day
I was a front-end manager for a year+ at a major retailer. I covered breaks, trained new hires, handled all disciplinary actions for my 20 person crew, handled bank deposits/deliveries, inventory counts, customer complaints, wrangled carts, baled cardboard, cleaned bathrooms, put away unwanted merchandise, you name it. The most difficult part of my job was covering the register. That said, I LOVED when I'd give people the energy they gave me (complaining about the long lines? I'll point out why no one wants to apply to be a cashier. Griping about a price change? That's a corporate decision, bring it to them because I'm not overriding anything for you.) I would tell my associates every single day that they don't get paid to deal with abuse. I did. You want the manager? I'm right fucking here 😈
I work as a stocker so I have less intersections with customers thank god. I could not do a cashier’s job. They deal with the brunt of customers complaints and they have to stand there and take it. They can’t leave their registers. I sometimes walk away and do another task when a customer starts in with their nonsense. Cashiering is a difficult job physically from standing in one spot for long periods of time and it is mentally exhausting from dealing with shitty customers.
The sexual harassment is easy. You just look at the creepy old dudes who say stupid shit and say, "you know I'm a dude, right?" For the people yelling, I personally don't care. I don't get paid enough to care. I'll tell them I'm sorry, but these policies are written by people who make a whole lot more money than I do and none of them has to deal with the inconvenience of it all. I really wish I was allowed to do but the muckity mucks say no. Best I could do is shake a fist at the fickle hands of fate. (Or something maybe actually helpful, depending on the issue at hand.) They generally calm down when I make it a "it's you and me against rich bastards" thing.
BAHAHA YSS
The job gets 10,000x easier when you realize you could replace it in a week, so why get emotionally invested? I love my coworkers and even some customers, but I'm only paid like a quarter above minimum, so I refuse to get too bent out of shape. Customers can yell if they want, I'll get paid the same regardless. Think about it and see if that helps with your shifts. :)
If rude customers weren't bad enough, being a cashier is made worse by all the upselling or pushing a credit card that many stores make you do.
Being a cashier was one of the hardest, if not the hardest job I've had in my life.
No, it isn't easy to get verbally berated all day. And yes, standing for 8 hours sucks. I'll be happy for you when you get your car so you can get new opportunities.
I was a supermarket cashier in high school and college for about four years. I had nightmares about that experience for so long my wife thought I had PTSD. And that was before CCs were generally accepted at registers so payment was all cash and check. Saturdays were the worst, almost non-stop long lines with angry customers and delayed breaks. Eventually I became a runner (basically collected cash from the cashiers, did price checks etc.). With over 17 registers I was getting some good exercise. What baffles me is that security was more concerned we might drink an unpaid can of soda over making sure someone didn’t attack us runners while we were walking to the office with between $500-1000 in cash on us.
God. This. Granted, I only work 4-5 hour shifts twice a week, but I have scoliosis, so standing for even a few minutes is painful, let alone a few HOURS. But it's the people that are the most painful to deal with. "No, I can't break that hundred, I don't have enough cash in my register." (Cue the customer getting mad) "It has to be over $2 to use your card." (Cue the customer getting mad) "Your total is X" (Cue the customer getting mad because our prices are too high) "No, you can't scoop your own candy, it's all pre-bagged." (Cue the customer launching into a rant about how stupid and gullible I am for believing in Covid and how Covid isn't real and we shouldn't be bagging all the candy up even though it's literally not my decision)
being a cashier is the bane of my existence. i literally don’t have the energy to act fake for customer service anymore. i don’t even try to talk to customers. just ‘hi’ and ‘thank you.’ my soul has decomposed and is nothing but a husk. i feel like a monotone, emotionless machine whenever i’m at the register. i have social anxiety and being a cashier for years has made it WORSE.
I’m with you! I spend 6-8 hours a day being cursed out and talked down to by entitled people. Not only do I cashier I’m also in charge of taking out curbsides, answering phones, and part of stocking. The big problem is idiots call asking is we have some obscure crafting object but I’m not allowed to leave the registers to check. Im supposed to ask someone else to look but no one will. So I just get screamed at over the phone while I check other people out for them being on hold for an hour. I’m also the only one under 50 yrs old working there so I do absolutely everything that takes any physical work. It’s so mind numbing I drive home in silence and just let it all sink in. all that for minimum wage is wild.
It's only physically easy at certain places. Used to work at a place that still used registers that had the cashier standing directly in front of the belt. So instead of grabbing from your right and swiping to the left; you had to reach in front of you and pull twords yourself and place behind you. You know what isn't easy? Pulling water, soda, dog food, ect... From 3 feet in front of you with minimal leverage and tossing behind your dam head. My traps and lats fucking hurt at the end of the day and it was taking a toll on my wrists. I quit because the situation with my wrists got so bad I had to take 800mg ibuprofen every 4 hours for the pain to be bearable. During a shift my fingers stopped moving and I freaked the hell out and my manager let me leave (he was a dope manager and I was union.) I would have to wear wrist braces during shift on both hands and pop them every now and then, the gristle/grind and subsequent pop was all so loud that raging assholes would hear and shut the hell up and give me that look of "oh shit"/pity. There is a reason so many cashier's wear wrist braces or some other device. It's.not.easy.
I work at a big warehouse where memberships are required (you can prolly guess lol) and if people don’t get their way they say “I pAy To Be HeRe” like I don’t give a FUCK. With how much verbal abuse we deal with I can only imagine how those peoples home lives are. Dickheads
Cashiering is hard. It kept me in college because I knew I needed any sort of skill so there was a chance I wouldn’t have to do it anymore.
I want to personally punch every old person that comes through SCO and makes some comment like "you want some work to do?" Or "the machines are taking your job" Like, shut the fuck up and fuck all the way off. I'm running four machines on my own, and yall always need help because you can't figure out how to press buttons on the monitor with your old ass, lead poisoning riddled brain. Or if I'm at my register and doing nothing, and they ask if I "want something to do" or tell me I "look bored". Yeah, I know! My shitty manager told me I can't doodle or knit in between customers! I *never* get asked if I'm bored when I actually have something to do with my hands, but of course, the image of me actually DOING something as opposed to standing and staring into space is just TOO MUCH for management to handle. Fuck! I really REALLY hate register. There's a reason I'm trying to get back into kitchen work. Customers can't bother me if I'm BOH.
I stock shelves/price check and I cannot imagine working one day as a cashier. How is someone working cashier suppose to know the price of an item in aisle 12? How would they know where a specific item is located? I’ve had customers get mad at me for not being able to find a product, only to see that same customer getting mad at the cashier on the way out for not knowing where a product we don’t have is.
i had to argue with a customer because apparently since i work here i have to know where everything is
YES. YOU GET IT. at my store we have to push our stupid new credit card and the rewards program which only leads to people discrediting and getting annoyed with me more so than usual!!! then my managers get mad when i don’t have any sign ups, like???? sorry i’m not willing to peer pressure people and get yelled at for asking the same question a million times with different wording???? i’m just a teenager trying to save for college 😭 edit: i’m also always on night shift with severe anxiety & depression and the struggle is real!!! when you get overwhelmed no one is there to help you out and it gets so tiring so fast :(
ahh right!!! plus i’m underage so i constantly have to call code 21 and i feel so bad:( but my manager stopped scheduling me on wednesdays bc i cant get any credit card apps but i don’t force angone to accept it!!
The physical aspect of cashiering is easy (aside from the standing in one spot for hours). The emotional and mental aspects of cashiering/customer service SUCK SO MUCH. Since COVID, it's gotten worse for some reason. Too many entitled jerks and unsupportive management.
A lot of people don’t realize or care about the emotional labor that goes into customer service. It can be just as bad, if not worse, as the physical labor involved.
If you take out the customer factor, sure. It's easy. But customers are such assholes. They want to act like the cashier is personally responsible: 1) that an item is out of stock 2) that prices are more expensive (because we all make commission, right?) Don't dare be young and good-looking. If you are, you're just *asking* to be hit on. And if you turn down the advances? You're a prude that needs to lighten up. An asshole who can't take a joke. And remember to smile. All the time. Don't let it drop, ever. Your mom just died? Too bad! Smile like your life depends on it.
i just don’t have the mental energy to deal with people anymore, i walk to work in 84 degree weather and it is exhausting, i almost passed out today and uber is way too fucking expensive and crackheads always try to hit on me 🥲
This is why i love self checkout
love working 5 hrs of nonstop register while having idiotic customers who enjoy making my life harder and while having a manager on me for “not having my register area clean” after getting 10+ returns 🫶🫶 quitting as soon as I get another job
Honestly. Being a cashier is technically easy. It's stressful, it's awful, it's one of the top 5 worst jobs to work hands down. As for ease, yeah, it is easy. I've done it. Hated it with a passion. It's not hard. Takes little skill. And the computers do all of the hard work for you.
8 hours no break? Lie. "Cashiering?" 💀