Life As A Wal-Mart Cashier

No, Not Me



I just finished my 7th day out of 9 working as a cashier at a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market and it certainly opened my eyes in some areas.
First, the job is very demanding, especially on your back.  Standing in one small area for a total of 9 hours with an hour lunch and two 15 minutes break.  I think I have lost about 10 pounds since I started.
Second,
Wal-Mart is not this evil corporate empire, at least not at the store level.  Everyone I have worked with have been very nice to work with and have been very helpful.
The customers also, for the most part have been very nice, except this  very old lady who had the Bronx accent.  She was telling someone that Wal-Mart sucks and hires people no one wants to hire and was very negative.  She said this right behind me and when i informed her I was a teacher, so they have some hiring standards, she harrumphed like a Grinch and said she was talking about the company she worked for.  Yeah right.  But everyone else has been nice.
And I know some people complain about the long lines at Wal-Mart and yes, i have also.  While I am sure there are some slow cashiers out there, a lot of time is wasted by the customers.
I average around 600 swipes an hour (each time I swipe an item and bag it and collect the money).  But if I have to wait for a customer to pay, I could have swiped 10 items.  Wait 2 minutes, 20 items and so one.  That's one or two customers I could have done but instead I have to wait for the customer to get out their debit card or cash and pay.
It also amazes me how much of an electronic money society we have begun.  I bet about 2 out of every 10 transaction are cash transactions, the rest are debit, credit, gift cards or government payments.

Finally, even though this Wal-Mart is located in a pretty good area of Henderson, with few section 8 housing, I am amazed at how many people are on food stamps.  Young and old, Black, White and Hispanic, male and female.  The Obama economy has really hit all segments of the Henderson community.
All in all, It's been an interesting experience and I hope people will respect cashiers at Wal Mart or other places.  It's not an easy job.