Amazed by People

I work at a local retail store. Last night while working it was jam packed. My coworker and I had customer after customer. There was a continuous line from about 530pm to about 9p. She and I were working as fast as we can. I understand no one likes to wait in a line, however there is no reason to take it your frustration out on the cashiers especially when you can see they're working as hard as they can. My coworker and I were checking out each member as fast as we could. I even caught myself skipping some of the questions we are to ask all members to try to get them in and out.

I've been working in retail since I was sixteen. As I've changed jobs a few times, I've noticed one common theme occurring no matter which place I work. Many people have little respect for the person behind the counter. I understand my clients come from all walks of life. Some are lawyers, nurses, doctors, construction workers, single parents, kids, and the list goes on. I try not to judge the people I see in my line. Just because you are currently an unemployed single parent or a doctor does not mean you're any better or worse than the next person in my line. I try to keep everything as fair as possible and treat all my clients the same.

I understand that I am a twenty-something year old cashier. However, that's not who I am. I am a person with goals and working as hard as I can to achieve those goals. I feel that many people when they come to my line can see that. What frustrates me are the people who come in my line and look down on me because I'm just a cashier. I'm simply there to serve them and if I don't preform to the level which they see fit then I simply fail. I see these people every day whether I am working or not. You see them too. When you're in the store and they're yelling at the cashier in front of you or while they're walking away they start talking about the cashier while still in clear view of the cashier. I have so many people who start talking about me before the door can hit them in the ass. I understand if I did something that you think is worthy of talking about and if it makes you feel better to make fun of me but have the decency to do it out of ear shot. This isn't my career; this isn't who I am; this is simply what I have to do to become who I want to be.

I know that I am not perfect. I know I've done these actions in the past. I try not to and I hate that I sometimes fall to this level. I just find it so horrible to see how frequent this behavior has become throughout the society. I even see children who follow this behavior because it's what they see from their parents. We have this idea that the customer is always right and if you can't give me what I want then I will simply go somewhere else. THE CUSTOMER IS NOT ALWAYS RIGHT!!!! I'm sorry, but customers, you are only human and therefore will be wrong at least on a rare occasion. If you can't bring a movie back on time, then it is not my fault you have the late fee. I did not lock you in your house, so you couldn't bring back the movie. I didn't let the air out of your tires so you couldn't drive out. Take the late fee you earned and suck it up. AND if you can't bring the movie back in five days, then how do you expect to be able to bring it back the next day!! I mean come on now!

Okay, I'll step down now. I just had to rant a little. I had a crazy night last night and needed to vent  a little. Thanks for reading. I hope you were able to laugh a little. Next time you're in line, just show a little appreciation to the person behind the counter. Without them, you wouldn't be able to buy the goods you want.