did that REALLY work out in your head?

[nomorecarts]

so you know how some customers will say things to people in their party that are clearly ways of telling you you aren't doing good enough? I had someone doing that repeatedly today, about my bagging and speed(I don't perform well when it's hot, and it was probably 80-85 degrees at my register), then she pops off with this gem

"at *competitor* they time them, and they have to get customers through their line in 3 minutes"

point 1:that's got to be a lie, you can't set a time limit for orders in that type of store

point 2:that store also has baggers

point 3:she had 180 items

did she really see herself getting through in 3 minutes?

[bainsidhe]

No problem. Hmm, eyeballing your order, I'd say....$800.00 please. And there's the bags lady. See, under 3 minutes

Edit to add: I randomly chose $800.00 because few transactions go that high. Pick a high number at random. See what she says then.

[nomorecarts]

$800 would be a pretty good guess, guessing high to make sure it comes out in the store's favor

it ended up being $530

[Bramblerose]

call me crazy, but making baggers go fast sounds like a good way to

Have smushed bread
Have broken jars
Have broken eggs (ooh, biohazard!)
Have aggressive Sucky Customers making a block-long mambo line at service desk trying to set fire to the air.

[Chromatix]

One of the quirks of walking to the supermarket is that I don't have a car or bike to load my shopping into - just a small rucksack and whatever I can hold in two hands. As a result, my shopping loads tend to be a bit smaller than most, and I spend quite a lot of time fitting it together so that I can carry it efficiently.

I don't care about being fast in this case. I just want to be able to get home without my arms falling off, and preferably with my shopping intact too!

[Arshtat]

I am apparently a slow cashier, as opposed to the supersonic robots everyone expects these days. At a craft store, you've got people coming through with all kinds of funky stuff: dried and artificial florals, glass vases and bottles, frames, easels, paper, art supplies, beads, just to name a few things. Lots of unwieldy items, lots of delicate items. I always wrap anything breakable, or offer to wrap anything potentially so. Yet people are always keen to rush me through the transaction as if they could give a shit whether their (often expensive!) stuff breaks. They just want to shove everything in the bag or whatever and get offended if I put any effort into anything.
Plus, I worked at two different grocery stores, and I hated when coworkers would bag sloppily (putting heavy items on top of bread/eggs/other fragile items, putting stuff in with drippy meat, etc.) So fast does not = good. Slow does not = good, either, but people need to stop being in a mega-hurry to go nowhere.

[rerant]

What is with people's obsession with speed?
Some cashiers work at light speed, others at a perfectly reasonable, human speed, but unless someone is working so slow they're almost going backwards (and for the record I've only ever encountered a small handfull of people who work this slow) I don't see what people's problem is.
If you're in a rush then that's your fault for choosing the wrong time to shop, and should promptly go fuck yourself if you even think of complaining about the cashier's speed.

[crazylegs]

Dammit, it's easy to bag at that sort of speed, using a shovel, industrial strength black bags and a funnel, I can't see what the fuss is about!

[MadMike]

call me crazy, but making baggers go fast sounds like a good way to

Have smushed bread
Have broken jars
Have broken eggs (ooh, biohazard!)
Have aggressive Sucky Customers making a block-long mambo line at service desk trying to set fire to the air.

They've also tried the same thing at fast food places, which would often result in screwed up orders. I don't like to wait, but I value accuracy over speed.

[nomorecarts]

Dammit, it's easy to bag at that sort of speed, using a shovel, industrial strength black bags and a funnel, I can't see what the fuss is about!

it probably would have taken the computer 3 minutes to process a suspended transaction that big, after everything had been scanned and bagged, if she was expecting to also pay in that time

[sms001]

Dammit, it's easy to bag at that sort of speed, using a shovel, industrial strength black bags and a funnel, I can't see what the fuss is about!

This is just plain silly.

To get REAL check through times, remove the edge from the end of the post scan belt and put 50 gallon lawn waste type bags in racks at the end. Scan item, place on belt, let it tumble into the bag.

[Chromatix]

When I was a lot younger, I used to do the family (ie. my parents') shopping with a large cool-box and an adult tricycle. I think that would work better than the bin-bag - just back the tricycle up to the end of the checkout!

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

What is with people's obsession with speed?
Some cashiers work at light speed, others at a perfectly reasonable, human speed, but unless someone is working so slow they're almost going backwards (and for the record I've only ever encountered a small handfull of people who work this slow) I don't see what people's problem is.
If you're in a rush then that's your fault for choosing the wrong time to shop, and should promptly go fuck yourself if you even think of complaining about the cashier's speed.

From the corporate standpoint, it's to cram as many transactions as possible into the business day. And also to give off the impression that "we value the customer's time."

Yes, it is mind-blowingly stupid. But fortunately, my company does not set speed standards for its cashiers, or at least doesn't become hardassed about cashiers' speed.

[Bramblerose]

but unless someone is working so slow they're almost going backwards (and for the record I've only ever encountered a small handfull of people who work this slow)

OOh, OOh, I worked with her! At teh fabric store in St. Louis.

She was a half-million years old, she was slowly becoming a mummy thru dehydration, and I think she'd forgotten more about sewing than I know.

And, God Help us all, if a customer complained she was slow, she woudl give them an incindiary look and then go SLOWER.

After I left, my co-worker told me the boss hired someone *slower*. Didn't think that was possible without weaving the fabric at the table.

[nomorecarts]

my store "requires" that you keep your IPH over 380. most cashiers are around 480-490, however, we have 2 who are lucky to hit 250, who are not disciplined. one works a very awkward shift, but they have someone open self check, then he comes in(usually late, he sits in the break room and doesn't clock in til they page him) and they go to another register, then they find someone to cover when he leaves. the other just wastes a register. a manager confronted her about it one time, but she replied that she didn't know if she could improve, and nothing came of it


people who are on self checks(they have registers for suspended transactions and associates' break food) and non-cashiers IPHs aren't tracked