12 Items Or Less: A Difficult Concept

[Dreamstalker]

I saw so many SCs last night who apparently never passed first grade math...

Among them was an old lady of a certain ethnicity (some of them are nice, but I wonder if the majority around here don't have ties to the Brighton Beach mob) who trundled up with...yes, 12 items, but she had 6 each of 12 different items. I'd heard about that tactic but not actually seen it until now. Three minutes to close

Unfortunately, the express cashiers aren't allowed to send customers to another register once they've started unloading their crap (all the lanes can fit carts through and when it's busy it's easy for someone with a full cart to slip into a '12 or less' line). Their IPM goes down, because all that the register timer knows is that each transaction should take about a minute max on an express lane.

I think that transaction, including the SC arguing about how to bag her items, took no less than five minutes because she had multiple declined cards (the SNAP card system is having issues, so it took about six tries for that card to finally go through).

[Nemesis44UK]

I heard from a friend that a SC turned up at her 10 items or less till with a trolley full of stuff and a shit-eating grin on her face. That was soon wiped off when my friend asked which of the 10 items she wanted to put through her till.

[barainga]

This is one of those beautiful examples of letting them get away with it just makes it happen more.

[XCashier]

Among them was an old lady ... who trundled up with...yes, 12 items, but she had 6 each of 12 different items. I'd heard about that tactic but not actually seen it until now.

Yep, that's been noted before. It's not lack of counting ability, it's lack of manners and common decency.

Once upon a time, we used to be able to ring up mulitples of one item by typing 12 X and scanning the barcode, but companies don't like doing that anymore because too many items slipped through the cracks and inventory was off if there was one slightly different item in the bunch, so now we have to ring up each individual item. Sorry, those 50 scrapbooking papers do have to be rung up one...at...a...time. Yes, even though they're all the same.

[x_ugh_x]

They do it BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY CAN. where i work we're not allowed to turn customers away either. When im working express i'll have customers that'll come up to me with atleast 300 items and say 'oh those other lines were too long' and start unloading its unfair to the other customers who actually follow the rules.

[emax4]

If they know they can do it because they can, and as there are no people waiting behind the a-holes (why would they, as they can see the person in front of them trying to purchase more than 12 items in the express lane?), why not enjoy your time with the customer, take your time to smell the roses, so to speak? Go ahead and scan each item slowly, looking at each item front and back with each item scanned. They want to get out of the place, but if they can be an asshole and get away with it, there's no reason that you can't do the same, even giving them a little payback of your own by taking your sweet time.

[EricKei]

emax - this is true, and would be a lot of fun -- but DS mentioned that they have to worry about IPM/Items (scanned) Per Minute....If it gets below a certain threshold, the cashier gets in trouble. Because, of course, it's their fault that buttmunches like these exist and get away with what they do.

The best part is, I'm sure that people who DO follow the "express lane" rules get mad at the cashiers for "letting stuff like this happen" when they are behind people like this.

Ya just can't win sometimes.

[Dreamstalker]

Once upon a time, we used to be able to ring up mulitples of one item by typing 12 X and scanning the barcode, but companies don't like doing that anymore because too many items slipped through the cracks and inventory was off if there was one slightly different item in the bunch, so now we have to ring up each individual item.

Same at my store, there's no quantity key so even if you have 10 of the same thing, it needs to be scanned 10 times x_x (hint to corporate: that is why cashier speed goes down)*

* IPM is one of the reasons I kinda don't want to become a cashier aside from the magnitudes of suckiness and abuse I'd get to deal with; even if I can scan 30 items per minute that doesn't matter if the SC wants to argue about every single price

EricKei, what is your avatar from? It looks disturbingly familiar for some reason...

[Raveni]

When I was at Grocery Store, IPM was measured by the time that you were actually scanning items. So, the clock would automatically stop when it was time for the customer to pay. The instant someone starts to argue about something, I'd just hit "total" to stop the timer.

Big orders tended to have better IPM, because you get into a groove and can scan 10 boxes of cereal and a pile of tuna a lot faster than the first few items you are scanning while the customer is still unloading their cart.

I agree with everyone else... It's just a lack of manners. Even if your lane is empty when they start, 3 or 4 express lane customers could be waiting by the time the one SC is done.

[EricKei]

EricKei, what is your avatar from? It looks disturbingly familiar for some reason...

Oh good. That was exactly the effect I was going for ^_^

It's Gary Glitter, a glam rocker from days of yore.

Ya see, it's time for the XMAS Card mailing around here, and I've apparently become known for striking abject horror sending out cards that spontaneously redecorate people's desks. I felt it would be appropriate

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I agree with everyone else... It's just a lack of manners. Even if your lane is empty when they start, 3 or 4 express lane customers could be waiting by the time the one SC is done.

And this is why I much prefer being on a regular register and take the bigger orders. Much less trouble as a general rule and, at times, less general bitchiness.

[Moosenogger]

Oh god, I hate when people do that. I saw a group of grown men in the express lane (10 items or less) with at least 30 items in their cart. I only had two, yet I had to wait in a regular lane because they either can't read or can't count.

I was so tempted to yell, "Which is it, guys? Either you never learned to read English or you never learned how to count to 10." I wonder if they'd have gotten offended.

[CinSim]

I wish the express lane cashier who is obligated to take someone with too many items could suspend the transaction partway through scanning, pull up the next person in line, check out their few items and send them on their way before resuming with the mannerless pig. They might learn a lesson that way!

*slinks off to keep dreaming*

[Dreamstalker]

When I was at Grocery Store, IPM was measured by the time that you were actually scanning items. So, the clock would automatically stop when it was time for the customer to pay. The instant someone starts to argue about something, I'd just hit "total" to stop the timer.

I think the clock here stops at "Total/Subtotal" as well...a lot of customers who want to argue about prices do so as an item scans (while the timer is still running). Restarting it without voiding the transaction or cashing out apparently requires a manager's code.

Someone tried that earlier tonight during a rush, and the cashier just totaled it out, saying "It's going to take a while to resolve this and I do have a line, so you can pay for what I've already rung and go wait at customer service." The look on SC's face was...frankly indescribable. CBF crossed with I don't know what. SM was watching and had to run up to the office to laugh his head off. SC can't complain, because the cashier technically did complete a transaction...I come to find out later that SC was hoping to get the 'disputed' item for free (loophole in our policy, although there was no price error except in SC's head) and failed.

[Slayer]

We have the same issues at the grocery stores in my area.

Though I must admit I'm sometimes an issue, too. Sorry Our fast cashes are 8 items or less and we have stupid laws about how many cashes can be open during what times and blah blah blah. I'll never go with a full cart, but I will go if I have multiples of an item with the total coming to let's say 10 items. I'll put all the items on the belt with one of the multiples at the end. I just tell the girl how many and they do quantity or just scan that one item multiple times. When I do a proper shopping, it's always at the regular cashes.

6 of each 12 items is pushing it to say the least.

Curious, though. Here, all fast cashes are also have the service counter where the one cashier handles both (pisses me off, but extra person = money, sigh). Is that the same for you where there's the one minute timer? Like if your customer also wants lottery tickets printed?