How to scan... fastah!

[bean]

I've been cashiering all of 2 days - while I've been a cashier before, it's never been in a large scale setting like a grocery store. My biggest day, prior to this, was about $1500 (I did almost $9000 today).

I've also never had to use a scanner mounted in the counter before.

I think my scan speed is already decent - I'd say I'm already in the target area and it's only my 2nd day ringing - but give me some tips on how to get faster, without breaking things. My store's target is 14-17 items per minute. We can cheat and stop the clock by hitting the total or secure buttons (my trainer told me to always do this if I have to stop for any reason, or if I'm between customers).

edit: any tips on remembering produce PLUs, besides repetition? I hate having to dig out the code book constantly, though I've already memorized a lot of them.

[Applerod]

edit: any tips on remembering produce PLUs, besides repetition? I hate having to dig out the code book constantly, though I've already memorized a lot of them.
Starting out at the grocery store, I typed up a list of the most common and/or difficult-to-remember produce codes. Then I printed it out in the smallest font I could read and physically cut around the list so I ended up with a single small piece of paper which can be kept somewhere at the register or in one's pocket. Maybe too involved for most people but it's worked for me -- particularly since produce is a huge part of our business. The codes I learned I simply deleted from the list and it's gotten progressively smaller.
(Here's the most recent list, just for example's sake):
"Andives (Belgian, red): 543, 3395
Artichokes (large, small): 84, 516
Arugula: 9884
Broccoli, Broccoli crowns: 60, 3082
Brussels sprouts: 550
Cabbage (green, red): 69, 554
Carrots (small bunches, large bunches, large): 561, 9094, 9562
Cauliflower: 79
Chives: 888
Cucumber, Persian Cucumber: 62, 4592
Lettuce (green Butter, red Butter): 9632, 93098
Lettuce (green leaf, red leaf): 9076, 9075
Lettuce (green Romaine, red Romaine): 9640, 9644
Mangos, Champage Mangos: 51, 312
Melons (Honeydew): 34
Mint: 896
Mushrooms (Crimini, Portabella, Shiitake, White): 648, 650, 651, 85
Nectarines (‘large’, white, x): 36, 3035, 378
Onions (red, yellow, white): 82, 93, 663
Oranges (Navel medium, Navel large): 3107, 12
Oranges (Valencia small, Valencia large): 14, 388
Papayas: 394
Parsley, Italian parsley: 899, 901
Peas (English, Snap, Sugar): 9674, 675, 92
Peaches (small/large, yellow, white): 37/38, 44, 401
Pears (Bartlett, Bosc, D’anjou): 409, 413, 416
Peppers (Bell green, orange, red, yellow): 65, 3121, 88, 689
Pineapples, Pineapples cored: 432, 433
Potatoes (sweet): 91
Radishes (bunch, regular/red): 741, 89
Shallots: 662
Squash (baby mixed, Yellow Crookneck, Sunburst): 756, 784, 9777
Yams (red): 818
Zucchini, zucchini (Gold, Old-fashioned): 67, 86, 785"

[bean]

I wanted to do a list like that, except we're not allowed to keep anything except "official" lists at the register. However, that doesn't stop me from keeping something in my apron pocket (apron is part of our dress code, my apron has 3 large pockets).

Also the only thing in common your produce has with ours is your organic starts with 9.. most of our conventional is 4 digits (starting with 3 or 4), organic is 5 digits (starting with 9). Our mangoes, for example, are 4959 (organic being 94959). I do have a complete copy of our PLU book at home though, along with our speed sheets.

Produce is what slows me down - my "real" scan rates are pretty damn fast (well over 25 items per minute, target is 14-17 overall). I don't know what my overall is yet, I should know tomorrow.

Also, I did another near-$9k day - $8927.

[clod75]

The target is 14 to 17? Holy shit.. ours they like to have a minimum of 22.... and they LOOVE us if we do 30 :eek:

and there are some robots working who scan at 40 items per minute :lol:

I had a hard time remembering codes off of paper. It was only repetition that did it. OH and also just try to scan everything, don't quantity unless its a ton of it.

[Nina Turner]

Huh. I don't recognize any of those, Applerod, where do you live?

Bean, take note of where the GTIN (or UPC) is on the item. Usually they're on the back or on the side, and if you have two scanners (one standing up, one lying down) you can probably hit it if you're facing the product upright, but away from you. Most boxes will have the code on the back.

For things like yogurt and little cans of cat food, just kind of spin it as you drag it across, that way you don't have to try very hard to get it to ring. Surprisingly enough, this works really well for me.

If you have to bag the items yourself, don't push them very far away from you, if you don't have to reach for them you can use that time to scan more items. If you can, when you get to the end of the order and you see the person paying with a card, just scan it all at once without bagging, then once the card is going through, bag the items.

Another thing, I find that broccoli/lettuce (iceberg, romaine) is a pain in the butt to scan. Some of those items have codes, too. Broccoli 4060, romaine 4640, etc. If you have some down time, go through the lookup codes and see if you can make your life a little easier by typing in codes instead of having to scan annoying items. If you notice a lot of something going through your line because its in season, like cherries (4045) make sure you know the code once you see them.

I hope that makes sense and/or helps. :p

[purplecat41877]

Try not to bag during the order unless you absolutely have to. Try to have everything rung up and then bag if possible.:yes:

Sometimes you might have to bag during an order if the area the items end up get too full. If possible, try requesting a bagger to help out with bagging the items especially with large orders.;)