What Type of Cashiers Do You Have – One Handers, Two Handers, or the Worst – A One Handed Talker?
Posted by Joseph Pickett on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Under: Retail
There are many recommendations out there on how to improve your retail operation and cut costs – inventory control, managing cash flow efficiently, good retail equipment, etc.
But have you thought carefully about how your cashiers are doing their jobs?
When I was in college and bagged groceries, I spent a lot of time watching cashiers. So when I am standing in line at Walmart, Costco or a grocery store, I usually end up evaluating the scanning technique of the cashier. Most of the time, I group the cashiers into one of three categories (sometimes I do combinations):
One Hander – a cashier who uses one hand to scan. That is, she scans one item, turns, and places it in the bag. Then turns back and repeats the process.
Two Hander – a cashier who uses two hands to scan. She grabs a customer item with each hand, scans one after another, turns, and places both in the bag. Then repeats.
I’m not great at math, but even I can determine that the one hander is going to scan roughly half as many items in a shift as the two hander. Based upon my (lengthy!) observations, a one hander can transform what should be a three minute sales transaction into a five minute transaction or even longer.
A good cashier with proper technique should be able to scan about 30 items per minute. If she is only using one hand, figure about 12-15.
Of course, as retailers we do not want to inconvenience our customers with longer wait times. But of course, a major reason why firms such as Walmart do not employ baggers is because of the labor expense. You are losing a good deal of their savings by having ‘one-handed’ cashiers, based upon my observations.
This one hand economic fiasco working your register can make the situation even worse if she is a member of my dreaded third category:
The One Handed Talker – as you can probably guess, this category combines the worst aspects of a one handed cashier with the cashier that enjoys chatting. This gets even worse if the one-handed talker pauses the work frequently to chat.
The one handed talker is a real menace to your business because she can easily make a three minute transaction an 8-10 minute one. This monster can really slow down your retail operation and drive up your labor costs.
If you want to reduce the labor expenses of your retail operation, I would take a hard look at whether you have one-handed or two-handed cashiers, and how much their talking while working interferes with their job.
I would encourage your cashiers to scan and bag with two hands. And if they talk while they work, make sure that the talking does not slow down the job at hand - serving the customer as quickly as possible.
But have you thought carefully about how your cashiers are doing their jobs?
When I was in college and bagged groceries, I spent a lot of time watching cashiers. So when I am standing in line at Walmart, Costco or a grocery store, I usually end up evaluating the scanning technique of the cashier. Most of the time, I group the cashiers into one of three categories (sometimes I do combinations):
One Hander – a cashier who uses one hand to scan. That is, she scans one item, turns, and places it in the bag. Then turns back and repeats the process.
Two Hander – a cashier who uses two hands to scan. She grabs a customer item with each hand, scans one after another, turns, and places both in the bag. Then repeats.
I’m not great at math, but even I can determine that the one hander is going to scan roughly half as many items in a shift as the two hander. Based upon my (lengthy!) observations, a one hander can transform what should be a three minute sales transaction into a five minute transaction or even longer.
A good cashier with proper technique should be able to scan about 30 items per minute. If she is only using one hand, figure about 12-15.
Of course, as retailers we do not want to inconvenience our customers with longer wait times. But of course, a major reason why firms such as Walmart do not employ baggers is because of the labor expense. You are losing a good deal of their savings by having ‘one-handed’ cashiers, based upon my observations.
This one hand economic fiasco working your register can make the situation even worse if she is a member of my dreaded third category:
The One Handed Talker – as you can probably guess, this category combines the worst aspects of a one handed cashier with the cashier that enjoys chatting. This gets even worse if the one-handed talker pauses the work frequently to chat.
The one handed talker is a real menace to your business because she can easily make a three minute transaction an 8-10 minute one. This monster can really slow down your retail operation and drive up your labor costs.
If you want to reduce the labor expenses of your retail operation, I would take a hard look at whether you have one-handed or two-handed cashiers, and how much their talking while working interferes with their job.
I would encourage your cashiers to scan and bag with two hands. And if they talk while they work, make sure that the talking does not slow down the job at hand - serving the customer as quickly as possible.
In : Retail
