Service with a smile starts with you.
Goinggrocery shoppingisnt exactly a riveting adventure.
There are other ways you could make their shifts a little easier.
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If youre guilty of the followingannoying habits, this is your sign to kick themnot your cartto the curb.
Cashiers are on the job, and a backed-up line can be stressful for them.
This doesnt mean you cant exchange pleasantries, but take a stab at keep it brief.
Contrary to popular belief, grocery stores dont keep a huge supply of inventory in the back.
attempt to find an employee stocking the shelves and ask if theyre available for an inventory check.
Most express lanes allow up to 15 items, though some have a cap of 10 items or fewer.
Using Self-Checkout Slowly
Self-checkout lanes are popping up in most grocery stores.
They help keep labor costs low, which could mean lower prices on groceries.
However, similar to the express lane, its easy to throw off the equilibrium of the self-checkout lane.
While no one expects you to checkout in record time, its designed for customers to move through swiftly.
What those displaysarentthere for, however, is to dump the items you changed your mind about.
If you no longer want an item, simply hand it to the cashier.
When you leave it in a random spot, it only creates more work for the employees.
Weve all been there!
To you, itll just take a second to run and grab that forgotten item.
But to the cashier (and other customers in line), the clock is ticking.
If you fill it up, its your job to empty it.
Cashiers dont love when customers place their entire basket on the conveyor belt or counter.
This just creates more work for them to unload and discard of the basket.
So do your part and empty out the contents of your basket when youre next in line.
Theres usually a spot for you to place the emptied basket when youre done.
But those cases of water bottles?
Large bags of pet food?
Fortunately, grocery stores are prepared for those heavy items.
Simply leave them in yourshopping cartand let the cashier come around with a handheld scanner.
Sometimes they can reach by simply leaning over.
Other times they can punch in a code without having to scan at all.
If you think an item is too heavy to lug onto the belt, it probably is.
Just let the cashier know so they can enter it another way.
Bagging Your Own Groceries
Employees who bag your groceries often split their time between multiple lanes.
Grocery store employees are all about efficiency, so theyre faster than you might think.
Rather than bag your own groceries, check with the cashier first.
Grocery store employees are no exception.
The people who bag your groceries know the drilleggson top, cans on bottom, etc.
Lets leave that to the pros.