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    Ebook145 pages1 hour

    Checkout

    By Anna Sam

    2.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    This ode to the unseen supermarket checkout heroes is 'compelling reading’ [Daily Telegraph].

    'The checkout girls of Europe have found a figurehead' The Times

    Can you scan 800 barcodes an hour? Can you smile and say ‘thanks’ 500 times a day? Do you never need to go to the toilet? Then working at a supermarket checkout could be just the job for you.

    Anna Sam spent 8 years as a checkout girl. Checkout: A Life on the Tills is a witty look at what it’s really like to work in a supermarket: the relentless grind and less-than-perfect working conditions, along with people-watching and encounters with every kind of customer from the bizarre to the downright rude.

    Sam’s story has won her fans all over Europe, turning Checkout: A Life on the Tills into a huge international bestseller, published in 10 languages

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGallic Books
    Release dateOct 7, 2009
    ISBN9781906040932
    Checkout

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    Reviews for Checkout

    2.5/5

    74 ratings4 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      When I first saw this book on net galley, I really wanted to read it. I have worked retail, mostly in a grocery store atmosphere for 30 years and I thought this book would have some funny stories about the life of retail and customers. Not so much. I could relate to some of it, I have some similar stories; I have seen pretty much everything you could imagine and things you couldn't begin to imagine and I could relate to the descriptions of some of the customers. What I couldn't relate to was the horrific writing style. Don't get me wrong, I love sarcasm but this was over the top and way, way too much. Many of the attempts at humour just started to get really old; it may have worked in a 3 page magazine article but in a book even this size, I was over it long before the book was finished. I didn't like the arrogant tone and not so funny humour attempts and found it to be very condescending towards people who are "checkout girls" making them seem like half brained idiots. While most of my career has been in a supervisor or manager capacity, I took offense to this and found it interesting that the market most likely to be interested in reading this book were the ones who were targeted as having a worthless job. I would give it a 1 1/2. I received this book free from net galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      Loved it - got it sent free from the publishers and I have to admit I wasn't expecting much. A great read that doesn't require much thinking. If you're sick of chick lit but still want a giggle, this is the book. I read it in 5 hours (probably would've been 3 if I'd read it straight through).And if you think that working at the checkout is a piece of cake...think again.
    • 2/5
      It's interesting to read about the supermarket experience from the cashier's point of view, for once. Don't expect any pity for harried clients with children who are trying to fit in the shopping chore in their busy Saturdays; all the pity is for the cashiers and the cashiers only (and when clients wipe their boogers on their shopping for the cashier to scan, who can blame them?). This book is based on a blog by the same author. Some blogs lose a lot of their quality when they are turned into books. The lack of a narrative makes for a halting reading experience, and the repetitions that provide a common thread in the blog posts become obtrusive when lined up in a book, especially if it's a slim volume like this one. This non-taxing read will only take you a few hours to get through, so it's ideal for an afternoon at the beach.
    • 2/5
      a great little book that i really enjoyed it brought back some memories of when i worked as a checkout girl a must read for anyone who has ever slaved over a till

    Book preview

    Checkout - Anna Sam

    My name is Anna. I’m twenty-eight years old with a degree in literature and a life story that is both completely ordinary and a little bit unusual. I’ve worked for eight years in a supermarket. I started out there just to fund my studies and to have some financial independence. But when I couldn’t find any work using my degree, I stayed on and became that stalwart of modern life, a checkout girl.

    The till. Not a great conversationalist, unless you count the beeps it gives when you scan the produce. As a result of listening to that robotic noise I felt frankly that I was becoming a little like a robot myself. The fleeting interaction with the customers was not enough to make me feel human. Happily though, contact with my colleagues did just that.

    One day I decided to write about my working life and record the little incidents that fill the day of a checkout girl. Suddenly I was looking differently at the customers filing past my till. I was seeing the world of retail with new eyes and discovering that it was a lot more varied than I had thought. There are the easy customers and the more challenging ones. Rich ones, poor ones. Nervous customers, boastful customers. Customers who treat you as if you were invisible and customers who say hello. The ones who are always champing at the bit for the store to open, and the ones who always come just as the store is closing. There are customers who flirt with you and customers who insult you. Who says nothing happens in the life of a cashier?

    I wanted to share my experiences. I have put together here a few of my stories, the ones that affected me most. So it’s time to take your trolley and come into the supermarket. Look, the shutters are already going up!

    Happy shopping!

    WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF RETAIL – AND YOUR DREAM JOB 

    Congratulations! You’ve finally managed to get an interview and actually been hired. Welcome to the retail family. You are now a checkout girl … sorry, checkout operator. That feels much more important, doesn’t it?

    The interview only lasted a couple of minutes, long enough for you to repeat what’s already on your CV and give them your bank details. No IQ tests? Or a bit of mental arithmetic? Come off it – you’ll be suggesting they analyse your handwriting next. You’re going to work on the till, you know, not being called to the Bar.

    It’s only your first day – but you still have to prove your worth. So let’s get cracking, time for training. Don’t worry though – an ‘old hand’ will take you under her wing for at least, I don’t know, a quarter of an hour? A morning if you’re lucky. Or two days if your manager is nice. There are some nice managers, I promise. It’s just the luck of the draw.

    Let’s start with a tour of the store. It won’t take long (and besides there are other things to be getting on with). There’s only the locker room, the staff room, the waste disposal area with the bins where all the produce that’s past its sell-by date ends up – you’ll find you spend a lot of time here – the Office where you’ll be given your float and … well, that’s it.

    Now you know enough about the store to get down to work. You’ll have plenty of time to explore your new workplace further during your breaks. It will make them more fun.

    The first time you approach the tills in your wonderful Chanel or Dior uniform, or your hideous overall (depending on the store and the kind of customers they want to attract) with your float under your arm (the equivalent of several days’ salary no less) you are bound to feel a bit intimidated. Take a deep breath. That feeling will pass.

    Right, you’ve found your till, organised your float and settled in. You’re really concentrating and really motivated. The ‘old hand’ is beside you and you’re all ears. You’re ready to work. Not a moment too soon.

    The main things to remember are: scan the items (with a quick glance to check that the price looks right), add up the total, tell the customer, ask for a loyalty card, take payment, give the customer their change, ask for ID if necessary and give them the receipt. All with a nice sincere smile. Of course. And then ‘Thank-you-have-a-nice-day’ and on to the next customer. Shall I go through it again?

    To begin with it might seem that you have to work fast, too fast – especially if you start on a busy day. But it’ll soon become automatic and you won’t pay too much attention to what you’re doing. Within a month it will be as if you and your till were one.

    Time has flown by and the ‘old hand’ is already giving you less and less advice. It’s all sinking in. You’re becoming expert at scanning items and giving change. Well done! It’s really not that complicated – you just need to know what to do when and the rest comes of its own accord.

    Right, now the ‘old hand’ is leaving you to manage on your own. You’ll be able to scan your first items independently. Hurrah! What a treat that will be.

    Actually, apart from the bee-eep of the scanner, it’s not very exciting … fortunately there’s lots of interaction with customers (but be patient, more on that later).

    Oh yes, I almost forgot. There’s a part that’s not that easy but, strangely, it’s quite interesting. You have to learn all the code numbers by heart for items that are sold by the unit: lemons, peppers, garlic, artichokes, etc. Don’t panic. There aren’t that many and if you forget there is a prompt sheet on the till. And you can always ask your colleagues, Jessica, Emma, Kate, Sarah, who are never far away. Best not forget their names – not easy when you have about a hundred colleagues.

    Your first day is almost over. The last customers are leaving and the store is closing. So what are your first impressions? Actually, it’s quite a fun job. You scan lots of items (and discover things you didn’t know how to use or even existed), you chat with people, you have pleasant colleagues, you listen to music all day and it’s nice and warm.

    A dream job. Well, almost. You have to come back and do it all again tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that. And, as time goes by, getting up in the morning to go to your dream job won’t be quite so appealing.

    Believe me.

    THE TOP 3 QUESTIONS ASKED AT THE TILL

    Pay attention please. This store’s exclusive welcome gift to you is a set of the top three customer questions:

    – ‘Where are the toilets?’

    – ‘Don’t you have any bags?’

    – ‘Are you open?’

    Out of context they’re not so bad. But wait until you’re behind your till. By the end of the day these questions will make you want to commit an act of violence (or, at the very least, have a good scream). Judge for yourself.

    The most urgent question: ‘Where are the toilets?’

    C

    USTOMER

    (rushing up and usually quite flustered)

    Where are the toilets?

    C

    HECKOUT

    GIRL

    (obliged to interrupt her conversation with another customer)

    Hello!

    The customer does not reply.

    C

    HECKOUT GIRL

    (sighing but only inwardly)

    Over there.

    And she points at the big glossy sign saying ‘Toilets’ hanging just opposite the tills. The customer rushes off. No ‘thank you’ or ‘goodbye’ or even ‘damn it’. Takes too long. When you’ve got to go …

    The most aggressive question: ‘Don’t you have any bags?’

    One of this millennium’s greatest revolutions is the disappearance of the complimentary plastic bags offered to customers by supermarkets. Some people find this very irritating, especially the first time they come across it. They see it as a money-making scam. Their reasoning is as follows:

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