I am an (older) assistant manager in retail and also run the register, so this topic interested me. I have always thought that the older workers are smarter and more dependable than the young ones. Many do not have the extra responsibility of home and children and can work any hours. Of course we are supposed to learn as we age, and I think it is parents fault that their young ones can't read and calculate. Parents need to take interest in what their children are learning or not learning.

I couldn't agree more. I refused to let my children use calculators when doing Math homework. Pencil...brain...use um.

JJ

I agree it's the parent's responsibility, but the teachers seem to have all the authority. When I tried to help my kids with their math, I was bumfuzzled by the new ways they teach it. It seemed to have no logic to it at all. And the teachers didn't appreciate my way so I gave up.
Wound up with two college grads, one of whom is a CPA so I guess it worked out, but math today is certainly not what it used to be. And counting change and computing prices doesn't seem to be the same either.
smile

My husband went into a store this weekend and was unable to purchase anything. The register was not working so they store clerk would not ring up the items even though the prices were clearly marked on the items and my husband was paying cash.

Two other people followed him out the door. It amazes me that the store clerk could not figure out how to do a manual transaction. There was a time when that was the only way to do it.

My husband took some clients to dinner a while back in the midst of an electrical storm. He didn't have enough cash to pay for the meal and the waiter couldn't charge the meal to his credit card because the lightning had shorted out the machine.
So he sent the clients home with another guy and left an assistant at the restaurant as collateral while he went to an ATM for cash. He had to go from ATM to ATM forever seeking cash because they too had been shorted out by the lightning.
By the time he returned, his assistant was about to have a breakdown thinking he would have to wash dishes to pay for the meal.
It all turned out to be a joke, especially since the clients had never seen such a display of thunder and lightning. Now every time they come out, they want to know if we can arrange another light show with a little comedy thrown in.
smile

I have been a cashier twice in my life. The first time I was a teenager working in a roller rink. Do you remember how those lines were all packed up at the front, with everyone shoving money at you trying to get inside quick? That was awful (but I learned how to make change in my head real quick!) The second time was only about a year ago when I worked for Lowe's - (the home improvement store) Oddly enough, it was one of my favorite jobs! People used to ask me why I liked it so much...I told them it was easy! Easy? Yep. I told them all I have to do is: Smile, Be Polite, Make Correct Change. How hard is that? It satisfied this loner's need for social interaction in small increments. There was really no intensity of interaction like there would be in other occupations....so in essence, they paid me for having fun! Sure, some customers were "royal pains", but I always had the last laugh 'politing' them into embarrassment. It was a hoot! If you ever need a part time job, check it out. As long as there's a decent store manager, you can have a grand ol' time and take home some bucks besides!

My best friend here in Vegas works for the Home Depot and although she makes $11.25 an hour she says its pure hell. They treat their women checkers like mules and they have to lift huge heavy fan and other boxes and they change your hours every day and even have split shifts. Its no picnic there but they have good insurance and she needs it bad. So I guess you might want to stick to Lowes if job hunting because Home Depot stinks for their employees anyway....

Chatty, I worked for Home Depot, too (but not as a cashier) and of the two, I have to say Lowe's does treat their people better. If HD actually 'walked' their 'talk' and lived up to their corporate philosophy, it might be different...but from what I experienced, I liked working for Lowe's much better. Retail is a hard field no matter which company as person works for - but many companies forget that treating their employees with respect increases the bottom line. Happy employees make for happy customers; happy customers keep coming back and unhappy customers go to the competition!

Hey, maybe I should check into Lowe's here. I've got about 4 more weeks here at the job, then zap...I'm outta here. eeek!

JJ

Really JJ? Are you retiring or what?

When I had my DQ, my neice worked for me during the summer and she was so sweet and cute and all of the customers loved her. The woman who ran the flower shop across from my store told me one day, "You need to fire her before retail ruins her!" It can be hard work and you can get a bad attitude when customers yell at you, etc. Plus, it's hard on your legs and feet!