Cashier

Cashiers operate registers at any store or building where a service is provided. Cashiers count money, collect payments, provide change for customers and provide them with receipts. A small minority of cashiers still use adding machines or calculate totals on paper.

Depending on the company, cashiers have separate responsibilities, but most are assigned to work at a specific cash register with a certain percentage of money known as a till. Cashiers are responsible for counting the money at the beginning of a shift and ensuring there is enough change for expected sales. Many are also responsible for inspecting returned products for quality and finding out when the items were purchased.

When customers are making purchases, cashiers are responsible for taking coupons, ringing items up, and informing the customer of the total purchasing price before receiving payment for the items. Most stores will accept checks, credit and debit cards, and currency. When accepting returns, cashiers need to understand their company's return policies. When customers use credit or debit cards, cashiers are frequently required to collect additional information to identify them. Cashiers are also responsible for checking identification cards to ensure people buying tobacco or alcohol are of legal age. Some cashiers place purchased products in a bag for customers.

When a shift is over, cashiers must count money one final time and compare that number with the store's sale totals. Infrequent discrepancies between sale totals and the amount in the till is usually not a problem, but when this frequently occurs, cashers can lose their jobs. Many cashiers are also responsible for organizing coupons and return slips at the end of the day.

Cashiers usually work in stores with modern scanning equipment; however, certain stores require cashiers to manually enter information into a cash register. Cashiers scan an item's Universal Product Code during checkout. The information is interpreted by a computer which enters the item's sale price in the cash register.

Some companies assign additional duties to their cashiers. Management at some grocery stores assign their cashiers to restock returned products and weigh food purchased in bulks. Those working at convenience stores prepare money orders and operate an assortment of equipment. Cashiers employed by theaters and companies that dispense tickets must be able to answer questions asked by customers. Cashiers working at casinos known as booth cashiers, redeem tokens and casino certificates for casino patrons. Some booth cashiers work in the slot machine section of the casino making change for patrons and keeping track of money located in the drawers.

Work environment. Cashiers usually work inside buildings. Since they work with large amounts of money, they are usually not permitted to leave their registers without managerial approval. Cashiers usually perform the same routine, repetitious tasks daily, but workstations are being altered to decrease problems associated with repetitious movement. Working as a cashier can be hazardous since stores are occasionally targeted by robbers; however, most stores take precautions to prevent robberies.

Booth cashiers usually work in more secure environments than cashiers working for other businesses, but casino employees work in noisy rooms with cigarette smoke.

A little less than half of cashiers are employed part time. Employers usually determine the hours cashiers work. Since stores are usually open nights, weekends, and holidays, cashiers are usually required to be available to work hours during these times. Most companies provide cashiers flexible working hours, but since stores are very busy during the holidays, management usually does not permit employees to have time off during the holiday season.