5 Ways to Ease Stress and Save Time in Holiday Check-Out Lines

After sitting behind a desk staring at a computer (or typewriter) for most of my working life, this past Christmas I decided to make some extra money by working as a seasonal cashier for one of the national big box stores. 


Weeks of standing, scanning and bagging during the busiest time of the year gave rise to sore feet, back aches and several suggestions. Besides discovering the importance of good shoes and timing bathroom breaks, I recognized five ways you can help your cashier help you that I would like to share.

1. Always make sure check-out lane light is on before starting to unload your cart

Cashiers have specific work hours and break times.  If their check-out lane light is off, they are either ending their shift or leaving for break. There is a lot of pressure to maintain scheduled shifts. Always ask the cashier if his or her lane is open if you are unsure.

Check-out lane¹

2. Organize your purchases on the track by how you want them bagged

If you want all of your cold food items bagged together or are buying three or more of the same item, put them near each other on the track. Also, a good cashier/bagger will try to distribute the weight so that the heavy things are on the bottom of the bag and the light things are on top.  Don’t force your cashier to reach for items or push others out of the way. It wastes time for both of you.

 Organize your items 2 

^{3. Take your items out of the basket and put them on the track
 
This allows your cashier to sort your items and bag them correctly.  Having the customer empty the basket also saves the cashier time they could use scanning or bagging your purchases and getting you on your way.}

Please empty your basket³

4. Remove hangers from clothing

During the holidays, more often than not you’re stuck in a line while waiting to check out.  If you’re buying clothes, please remove them from the hangers while you’re waiting. It truly saves so much time, and trust me, your cashier will be extremely grateful.

Remove your clothes hangers⁴

^{5. Keep big items (12- and 24-packs of soda, big boxes of diapers, etc.) in the cart for easier scanning
 
Big items take up a lot of space on the track and are heavy lifting for both you and the cashier. Leave them in the cart and let the cashier scan the barcodes with the scan gun.} 

Arrange larger items so barcodes can be scanned with a gun⁵

<sup>Following these five simple suggestions should make your time in line and checking out go much smoother and much faster.  Happy Holidays!

Please share this blog with your friends and family.


1</sup>http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/target-cedar-rapids#e_tellEHSWfGcpDij4oUSA

²http://www.flickr.com/photos/hendry/7957555240/sizes/m/in/photostream/
Some rights reserved by Kai Hendry

³http://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/reusable_bags.html

⁴http://www.storesupply.com/c-480-hangers.aspx

⁵https://www.google.com/search?q=images+of+filled+grocery+cart&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=mVlxUsGeL4T4yQHvu4HQAg&ved=0CCwQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=600#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=9yPJCL_gHOOcKM%3A%3BbE5RUt1gxK0l0M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fspringsbargains.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2013%252F01%252Fsams-club-shopping-cart.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fspringsbargains.com%252F%3B350%3B263