It's a very
depressing moment when you realize that your
job could be done more
efficiently by a
machine. Even more depressing is figuring out why your job still exists in spite of this.
While I was finishing off a 13.5 hour shift on
cash, I realized that I was no longer thinking
coherently enough to
multiply 8 times 7. The fact that this inability to do basic
calculations in my head hadn't interfered with my job scared me, and I began thinking over the next few days about how much I actually use my
brain while working.
There is nothing that a
cashier does that couldn't be done as well or better by a machine. We aren't allowed to make any
decisions on our own, we have to call a
manager or the
department, and have them tell us what to do.
Problem-solving is not only unnecessary, it is frowned upon. The only things I'm expected to do as a cashier are to ask every
customer the same questions to try and get them to apply for a
credit card, scan their items, put the items in a bag, and take the customer's payment. If they pay with cash, I am also expected to count out proper change. Of these things, only counting change seems to require any amount of thought, but keep in mind that
pop machines are able to do the same.
One of the possible reasons that stores haven't switched to
automatic cashiers (although the idea is being attempted at a few
supermarkets in the U.S.) is the cost. It would be very
expensive initially to have all of the necessary
equipment installed, but not enough to offset the benefits of not having to pay cashiers. At the store I work at there are 18 cashiers on at any given time during the christmas rush. with each cashier making at least $6.22 an hour, and the store being open for 13.5 hours, that works out to $1511.46 a day in wages, $7557.30 a week, and $30299.20 for the month of
December. Keep in mind that you still need to pay for the cash registers for the cashiers to use.
I honestly don't think that cost is the reason why major
retail stores and supermarkets haven't switched to automatic cashiers. The initial cost would be high, but you'd save enough money in the course of the first year to offset that. The idea that customers would prefer the
human contact of a live cashier is also an idea I'd disagree with. People just don't like cashiers in my opinion. Customers respond more favorably to the
sales associates in the departments, and would complain if they were phased out, as the sales associates help them shop, and aid them in finding the merchandise they want. Cashiers on the other hand, just take their money from them. People don't want to talk to us, they just want to get the painful part of
shopping (paying for purchases) over as quickly as possible. I've had customers who went through entire
transactions without bothering to say a word to me, right up until they wanted to
complain about something.
The real reason cashiers still exist is much more depressing. You can't
bitch at a
computer. Well, you can, but you won't get the
satisfaction of knowing that you have managed to darken someone else's day by taking your bad mood out on them. Also, when you bitch at a computer, you know its not actually listening, and that it won't help you get your own way. If cashiers were replaced by machines, the bitchy cusomers, would most likely end up transferring thier anger and bitchyness to the
managers of the store, as they would be the only people able to change anything. Obviously, the managers wouldn't want that. So, they keep us poor, abused cashiers as a
front line of
defense against the grief that is an integral part of working retail.
Few things are more depressing than realizing that your job is to be little more than Bitch-
Fodder.