cashier suck

[seigus]

I was in Hell... I mean Wally World yesterday. Hate going there, but necessary occasionally. I go to the self checkout and first ring up the beer, which needs approval from one of the cashiers monitoring these registers. She comes over with a BIG sigh to approve it. "Can't you do it from there?" I ask, having seen clerks at other locations do so. "No," she sighs and returns to her post. I then scan a coupon, which tells me I have exceeded the amount called for. 60 cents off of one paper towel roll - how can I have exceeded a limit (this is the second time in a row at Wally I have gotten this message)? She sighs even louder and comes over to push some buttons. I swipe my debit card - the screen says "ask cashier to push debit button". I look over at her once more. She stares at me. I look at the screen and back to her. She sighs again, louder than ever. She approaches. I say "It told me to ask you to push the debit button." LOUD sigh, eyeroll, "I don't HAVE a debit button!" She said this like I had just asked if she'd sell me her infant.
Well, how the hell am I supposed to know what buttons you have? Can you at least see why I might think you have one, being as the machine is asking for you to push it? How is this MY fault in any way?
I HATE WM with a passion.

[MoxisPilot]

I would have talked to a manager about that; there's no reason for her to behave that way to a customer.

[seigus]

I did consider that, but I just wanted out of there.
On another level, now that there's some emotional distance from the event, perhaps she was having a bad day; we all do from time to time. I'm not excusing it, however, just trying to be a decent, understanding human being. I need some work in that area, so I could use the practice.

[Andara Bledin]

I know we all have bad days, but there is absolutely no call for her to take it out on you or any other customer. After all, it's not your fault that the self checkout was set up the way it was.

^-.-^

[artifical sweetner]

"you mean you actually want me to work?!"

[seigus]

"you mean you actually want me to work?!"

Ah, I see now how it was my fault.

[cawaker]

the first gen and even second generations of the SCO software was horrible. The ralphs i go to finally have userfiendly and more employee friendly software that isnt so nagging for an employee to come over every 3 seconds.

I still dont use them when i'm buying booze, too much of a pain in the ass.

[Primer]

Any time I'm getting something that I know is, or even suspect to be, age restricted, I go through a full service lane. Did you know that caffeine pills, and Sharpies permanent markers are age restricted?

[RootedPhoenix]

Sharpies?!!

Graffiti control, I guess? But still...wow.

I'd go to a regular cashier for age restricted stuff too. Overall, I think SCOs are good for uncomplicated shopping trips, but complications...>_<

[ottid]

Sharpies?!!

Graffiti control, I guess? But still...wow.

You have never sniffed a Sharpie, clearly. Though I think Vivid give a better high...

BTW I have done neither, and they aren't age restricted in NZ, just spray cans.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Sharpies?!!

Graffiti control, I guess? But still...wow.

I was thinking those were for huffing the fumes.

I have a big king-size Sharpie I use for writing SKUs on boxes at work. I can get a decent buzz going if I'm marking lots of boxes in a confined space.

[ottid]

I was thinking those were for huffing the fumes.

I have a big king-size Sharpie I use for writing SKUs on boxes at work. I can get a decent buzz going if I'm marking lots of boxes in a confined space.

SNAP! Who would have thunk we were thinking the same thing at the same time

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Great minds think alike.

[bainsidhe]

The cashier was off-putting and she didn't need to keep sighing like that. But was your aggravation more at the SCO or at the cashier? I've had customers get upset with me, even though I try to sound polite and sincere. Their anger isn't really due to me, but because the SCO inspire rage.

1) Alcohol. Yes, the cashier MUST come over and override the system. If you "appear" under age 40, the cashier MUST see your ID and enter in into the system.
2) Quantity limit. This is the SCO way of saying "Error Will Robinson, cannot comprehend". Usually it's because the system is asking some life-altering question such as "Is this Food/Non-food" or ""Please enter value". Thus the coupon must be entered manually, which means logging on the system, into the keyboard, typing it in, submitting it, logging off and *hopefully* sending you on your way.

The cashier upfront has a monitor used to, well, monitor. He/she can authorize a void or clear out a scale snafu, but that's about it. Otherwise the cashier watches for shrink and for the little flashing lights saying someone needs help.

The cashier failed in that she clearly didn't want to work SCO and kept sighing (I personally hate hate working them) and because she could have calmly explained things to you. If customers understand WHY the cashier has to override the coupon, they are a lot more understanding. I'd be surprised if you were the only customer pissed at this cashier because she kept sighing and because the SCO are beyond aggravating.

[Kogarashi]

Bad day or not, the cashier was being unprofessional with all her sighing and attitude.

Bainsidhe has a great explanation. Age approvals and coupon snafus/overrides must be handled at the individual SCO, not the monitoring screen. This also makes sure the cashiers actually check that the customer purchasing age-restricted items is old enough, at least in theory.

For the debit button problem, was it the pinpad (where you swipe your card) or the main touch screen telling you to ask the cashier to push the debit button? If it's the main touch screen, then there's a problem with the software. If it's the pinpad, then you need to hit the debit button on the touch screen. I had lots of customers who'd swipe their credit cards on the pinpad and then stare at me waiting for me to push the "credit" button like it said, and I had to point out the touch screen that was still waiting for them to tell them what payment method they wanted to use. I made sure to point it out politely, though. The pinpads do this because they use the same software/screen prompts as the ones on the regular registers, while the touch screens are a much different setup.

As for all the extra button pushing, one thing I loved about working the SCOs was that as a cashier, I could print out a little barcode from one of the checkouts that I kept in a clear plastic sleeve in my pocket. Instead of having to manually log into the machines to do overrides and such, all I had to do was scan that barcode and it did all the login work for me. Much easier, especially when the SCOs were being uber-sensitive.