Working in a grocery store

Since last October I have been working in a grocery store as a cashier. This has lead to some frustration among my fellow students, and my teacher. Not that I am working there, but that me and another guy tend to talk about our work. The two of us usually work the same shifts, which gives us even more to talk about. Although I can understand that it maybe can be a little bit annoying to listen to use, I still think that the rest of the class overreacts. At least we got a job and can pay for our own stuff, unlike some of the people that complain about us. However, this blog entry is not supposed to be about me and my work, but a about a new book.

Anna Sam is the author of Les tribulations d'une caissière (The Trials and Tribulations of a Check-Out Girl). She has been working as a cashier in a French supermarket for eight years, so she defiantly knows what she is talking about. During an average workday (five hours) she found out that she said "Thank you", "Goodbye-have-a-good-day", "Do you have a loyalty card?", and "Could you remove your card please" 250 times a day, each. Everybody should be able to understand that having to repeat the same lines over and over again, will eventually mess up your head. Her book have so far sold more than 100,000 copies in France alone, and it looks like it will be published in 15 more countries. Hopefully people now will understand what it is like to be a cashier. It's not that easy as it might look. It may look like we sit just sit there, but we do have tasks to focus on. When a customer comes in and buys food for 4000 NOK, but realizes that his/her card is not working, and that he/she won't be able to pay, what do you do? If you then have an impatient line waiting to be checked out as well, things are not going to be easy. First of all you need to contact your manager (1 min), pack down the items the customer could not pay for (2 min), and then go back and take care of your line. Remember, during these three minutes where you have worked yourself a sweat, the line has grown even longer. Then when you handle the customers, who do you think they are going to take their anger out on? That's right.

Personally I can't wait to read Anna Sam's book. From the reviews I have read so far, it seems that she has the same issues with customers as I do. Customers don't look at us as equal humans, but as some kind of inferior race. If the old guy in dress that usually comes to my cash register every Friday would read this book, maybe he could make both mine and his day easier?