On The Other Side

After having worked for a few months, I've learnt more things about being on the other side of "something" (in this case being on the other side of the customers' POV). There are things I wouldn't have known otherwise.

For example, sometimes for some items, the bar codes are incomplete (due to the wrong printing process) or for some reason the bar code label was ripped off (either partially or completely). Many times when this happens at work, some customers would insist that they remembered the prices of those items and they just expected us (cashiers) to type in the prices just like that. What they don't know is that in order to type in the prices, we need the supervisor's key to authorize it. Using the key, we then have to choose what kind of product it is so that it's shown on the receipt.

Another thing that I've experienced is after several busy hours being a cashier, it's so easy to lose the ability to count. I've shared this with a fellow colleague and she also said that it happens to her, so I assume it happens to the others, as well. Sometimes it gets crazy when the customer asks me to give me their change by exchanging some of them with coins. Or it gets even crazier when some customers give me so many coins to count as payment. When my brain is so tired already and I notice the queue getting longer and longer and I still have many coins to count, it gets rather stressful sometimes 'coz I just have to take my time to count carefully.

One time somebody gave me a BAG full of coins as payment. Thankfully it was filled with only one and two Euro coins. Had it been filled with 50 cent, 20 cent, 10 cent, and 5 cent coins as well, I would have probably freaked out he he...

Another thing that is a slight problem for me is on very very busy days, sometimes it's hard to have enough time to take a break (even though it's our right to do it). Sometimes in the middle of our breaks, we have to go back out there to serve the customers and other times it's just impossible for us to take breaks on time ('coz we have to do it by taking turns with the other workers). That's why whenever I have my break, I tend to try to fill my stomach as much as I can (esp. on very busy days) 'coz I don't know if I can take the next break on time or not. Glad to know that there've been calmer days, too. Phew!!! And it's nice to hear one thoughtful customer saying that we (workers) needed calmer hours (days) as well so that we could take a breath in between busy hours (days). :-D

All in all, I'm more appreciative towards those people who work in this type of job. Before I started working, I had NO idea what they had to deal with he he...Anyway, here's another autumn pic...taken from someone else's house near the river ha ha...