10 Things a Cashier Job Will Teach You

Hi sweeties,

I got my first job this summer, and I am a customer service representative at a local bakery. Even though the cashier position is generally viewed as a plain and simple one, I dedicated this blogpost to 10 things a learned while having this job. Now firstly, I should mention that I though it will bring me nothing in terms of anything I needed for Medicine - wrong! And lastly, despite some difficulties arising at work, I take it as a priceless experience, and I will continue working there during the school year!

1. Team Work
I'm not gonna lie, I was never the greatest team member at school or sports, just because I was never tolerant to disengaged people - I would do all the work by myself. As a part of my job, I had to memorise a lot of different items' codes, nuances, and the different procedures, and I quickly came to realisation that without my cashier mentors, I'd never succeed. I currently really enjoy the team work and all of its benefits: the efficiency, the quality of work, and the fun.

2. Responsibility of Handling Paycheques
Before the job, I'd never think about how I want my money organized; but as soon as I got my first paycheque, I realized that I have to learn how to use them. I've created a little system of envelopes all dedicated at of them to something different (vacation, school supplies + furniture, gas, gifts etc.) and I deposit money into them in cash regularly. I know it's not the safest way to store the money at all, but that way I see and control exactly where everything is at a given moment. I have also realized that in terms of pocket money (on coffee, little gas, etc.) I only need $50 CAD bi-weekly.

3. Responsibility of Handling the Store's Profit
At the end of the shift, all cashiers perform a "cash-out" - the evaluation of profit. I can say it puts a lot of responsibility on one to keep track of all of this money. One also has to be careful with all of the transactions being approved and valid, as well as changing the money from cash reg. 1 to cash reg. 2&3 without losing any of it.

4. Working Long Hours
It depends from the establishment to establishment, but my shifts can last anywhere from 5,5 hours to 10 per day. It will also turn out that I will be working multiple times in a row, so the feet and the spine gets tired. The good thing is that I got used to that, and now it's not too big of a problem at all. I also motivated myself by knowing that in Medicine I will also have to work super-long hours and be on my feet all the time.

5. Patience
There are a lot of different people you will encounter in your day, and all of them are different: some - nice, some - not so nice. You, as a cashier, unavoidably have to deal with all of those people patiently, despite some of the personal circumstances you might have. You will also encounter people from different age groups and with different accents, which will make your job a tiny bit harder, but you will have to learn how to appreciate and respect the diversity.

6. Conflict Resolution
Whether that would be your fault or not, there might be conflicts between you and your customers/colleagues/boss etc. As a professional, you will have to learn the conflict resolution. It's quite easy actually. There are 3 things that will help you avoid the conflicts:
1. Honesty
2. Respect
3. Apologising (if appropriate)

7. Asking For Help and Informing
For me personally, asking for help was never very comfortable until I understood that if I do something wrong, I might harm something (profit, conflict resolution, etc.). I find it extremely important to ask for help, since it will eliminate a lot of potential mistakes.

8. Learning From Customers
There is actually a lot of things you will learn from your customers: from the price of the item (if not registered by code) to the soccer team who's winning, to politics, to something else. I love communicating with my customers, and I appreciate that they take their time to smile and respond. I've learned how different people are, and I learned how not to judge them based on anything.

9. Professionalism and Ethics
Unavoidably, you will have to remain professional at your job. The word "professionalism" covers lots of things like promptness, respect, conflict resolution, honesty, etc. and those qualities are what you will carry throughout your life. You will also learn ethics, from confidentiality and prioritising to critical thinking by dealing with different situations at work.

10. Multitasking and Working In a Fast Paced Environment
Multitasking is key on Saturday morning when you have 10+ people in a line with all different orders. Not only you have to correctly complete the orders (transactions, actual orders, packaging, etc.) you will also have to remain patient and professional. It's hard, but I love it!

So, hopefully you will be able to draw the parallel lines between my 10 Things a Cashier Job Will Teach You and practicing Medicine. As you can see, I didn't include any physical skills I had to learn (slicing the bread, etc.) just because it will very greatly from place to place. I really love my job, and despite occasional difficulties, it taught me all of those things and I'm extremely grateful for them!