Occupation: CASHIER

CASHIER

Never struggle with Show-and-Tell again. Activate your free trial or subscribe to view the Occupation Thesaurus in its entirety, or visit the Table of Contents to explore unlocked entries.

CHOOSE MY PLAN

HELPFUL TIP:

There’s probably a good reason why your character chose their career. Think about how certain talents and skills, a dominant positive or negative trait, or even an emotional wound might have influenced this decision. And once they're on the job, don't forget about the many work-related conflict scenarios you can throw at them to create tension and add complications.

A cashier is someone who handles transactions, accepting payments for goods from customers (who might be buying milk at a grocery store, a plant from a flower shop, or a meal at their local pizzeria). Cashiers are usually stationed at a specific checkout with a cash register and remain there as customers come to them. Occasionally they may have other duties they perform during a lull in traffic, such as straightening the checkout area (which often contains magazine racks, gift card, chocolate bars or other store-specific impulse items). If the bagging of items is required, the cashier may also do this, and remove tags if requested.

Cashiers handle a variety of payments such as cash, credit cards, gift certificates, coupons, and the like. They require basic math skills and need a good memory as they must apply store processes to ringing in items, know codes for different departments or those assigned to goods being purchased (such as fruit and vegetables being weighed). Cashiers are also the "front line" when it comes to dealing with customers, so they must be personable and able to problem solve or deescalate situations where customers are upset or frustrated.

Cashiers with seniority in larger stores may be put in charge of the front end (customer support), working more with management and less on cash, performing duties such as scheduling hours for cashiers and clerks, creating break assignments for front-end employees, restocking the checkout area, attending to price checks and recoding prices within the store's computer system. They will also handle customer inquiries and some paperwork.

A character may have a cashiering job at a grocery store, gas station, convenience store, retail shop, restaurant, cafeteria, movie theater, hardware store, coffee house, fast food or takeout place, recreation spaces, or any service industry business that sees regular foot traffic.

Most cashier jobs require no formal education level, but on-the-job training is provided. Cashiers either attend special training sessions to learn how to run the cash register and perform related duties, or they are shadowed for the first few shifts by more experienced coworkers. Cashiers may also have to memorize store codes for certain products (such as a grocery store). Lists of these codes are provided by the store and employees are expected to memorize them on their own time. Because cashiers handle money, trust is paramount. For this reason, it is unlikely that someone with a known criminal record would be hired as a cashier.

CASHIER

HELPFUL TIP:

OVERVIEW:

NECESSARY TRAINING:

USEFUL SKILLS, TALENTS, OR ABILITIES:

HELPFUL POSITIVE TRAITS:

EMOTIONAL WOUNDS THAT MAY HAVE FACTORED INTO THIS OCCUPATION CHOICE:

SOURCES OF FRICTION:

PEOPLE THEY MIGHT INTERACT WITH:

HOW THIS OCCUPATION MIGHT IMPACT ONE'S BASIC NEEDS:

COMMON WORK-RELATED SETTINGS:

TWISTING THE STEREOTYPE:

REASONS THE CHARACTER MAY HAVE BEEN DRAWN TO THIS PROFESSION: