I understand this sentiment, but equally frustrating is the fact that you can have every single lane open and people inevitably pile up on the first three and we have to call them over to the others so I guess I can see where walmart is coming from lol (the only time I will agree with that corporation)
@@thatchwhistle No offense but I look down on people who work retail their entire life or for a large chunk of their life. Why aren't you working toward greater things, or actually getting wealth? Why aren't you getting an education and doing something better-paying, more respectable, and that does more for people, like becoming a doctor. I'm sorry but I refuse to respect people who stay in retail.
No one should be treated poorly. It is a shame however that many cashiers now can't do basic math, have a surly attitude, and are distracted by their phones
@@susanbender2953 It's not their fault. It comes from education (or lack thereof) I don't know how many of you are fans of Star Trek-The Next Generation, but I jokingly refer to those who are slaves to their phones as the Borg. But it isn't their doing-if you aren't educated, you won't know. It is like how Black slaves were illiterate in the 18th and 19th centuries in the US. They weren't "stupid"-they were uneducated
My mom was a checker when I was a kid growing up. She worked at an A&P. Don't think that chain is around any more. I remember mom would bring home soft drinks for me and my brother and different things for supper. She was a great mom and I think of her everyday. Mom passed away in 2004. I remember at her funeral I cried so hard I couldn't see. One of my uncles knelt down in front of me and just grabbed my hands and held them. I was blessed to have such wonderful mom.
A and P!! There used to be one RIGHT by my house!! My grandma was a cashier at a local chain grocery store, and I followed her footsteps! Moms and grandmas are the best and I miss my grandma, I’m still so blessed to have my mom ❤️❤️
Worked as a stock boy back in '65. The girls were like lightening on the cash registers! We packed up the groceries in paper bags and were taught proper packing practices.Our store also had a conveyor belt that went up to an area where we would allow customers to drive up and have their groceries loaded into their car. I loved that job!
@@johnswanson4266 Actually Massachusetts, but the tips were great for a kid back in the late 70's when we put the bags in people's car. Met great people, and will never forget those days.
A cashier was a skilled position and you rarely saw a cashier bag her own groceries, it was a union thing. The bagger's were pretty skilled themselves, I remember watching these guys do tricks with the cans, like tossing it up in the air and catching it with the other hand. I can remember all the check out lanes open and the lines still curving around the store, you don't see that anymore, most likely do to scanners and bar codes make it fast today. The cashier's were fast, but it still took time to check the price and manually input everything into the register, but people were more patient in those days. I wasn't patient, I would tell my dad, I am going to wait in the car.
When I was a very young child I thought being a cashier was the most glamorous job anyone could have. To this day I still get a secret thrill if I see one of those old fashioned cash registers.
@Chris Budai - Right? I worked as a cashier at Rink's department store in '77. Price tags, pushing buttons and hoping I could remember what was on sale that week! 😊
I worked for SCHNUCKS grocery chain in Missouri. They actually made us go to their Checker School in St. Louis. It was a mock up grocery store where we had hands on training. Timing us was a big deal. It was a honor to be put in the Express Lane.
I worked as a cashier for nearly 10 years until 2006, and I had regular customers who would come through my line, even if my line was longer, because they knew I was more efficient and they enjoyed my friendly personality. I built relationships with so many people that I was always recognized when I went out to run errands and things like that, and I didn't live in a small town. I loved that part of my job and I loved being kind and personable to everyone. Now, and even back then, I noticed how rare that was. Whenever I go through a checkout line, I'm lucky if the person even says "hello" to me, and they usually just hand my receipt to me at the end without saying a word. This has always actually angered me. I could never imagine not even ACKNOWLEDGING a customer and treating them like just something they have to do and not as a human being. Why even work at a place like that if you don't like or enjoy people? My job was fun because of the human interaction and meeting all walks of life. I was never recognized by my employer for what I did either, which is sad.
I was a cashier too! I loved it. But I did notice that my manager wasn't as nice to every cashier and I think that's why some people don't like their jobs. Now I just go thru the self check out 🎉
Some employers are like that...never recognizing a good employee. On top of that they let the bad ones off the hook, thus ruining the moral of their other employees. That's a big problem.
11:40 "I always aim to pack a bag so it weighs 40 pounds and ensures the bag will break before the groceries arrive home. This way, the customer must come back to the store and spend more money."
Cashiers were highly trained and experienced experts back in the 60's and 70's. They were unionized and made above average salaries. If I remember correct cashiers at Safeway were making over 7 bucks an hour in the late 70's.
Meat Cutters also made good money, my uncle was making like 9 bucks an hour in 79 as an apprentice cutter. Once he made journeyman that about doubled. Today the average meat cutter only makes about 13-16 an hour.
I worked for a Safeway conglomerate! Even in todays world, I was unionized, and made more than my friends who worked other jobs for minimum wage. I have to say, 7.00, that’s a LOT for the 70s!!!!! But having a union as a cashier, that wouldn’t be a far hourly rate! I can believe that rate!!
Unfortunately some jobs become obsolete over time, this is a function of technological advancement and other social factors ....this is why it's important to ensure people are trained with transferable multi dimensional skill sets and there are regulatory mechanisms within the market to ensure adjustments can happen and ppl maintain gainful employment through their working years.
In Europe, cashiers are seated at the checkouts, because there's no reason for them to be standing up all day. In North America, cashiers are expected to stand all day, because sitting on the job is considered laziness. (Try telling that to office workers, whose jobs aren't that different from a supermarket checker.)
Yes. Americans invented the supermarket model and that’s where the standing up came from but it’s so dumb! Aldi is German and lets cashiers sit. Eight hours on your feet standing in one place is ridiculous.
Some office workers have been expected to stand: front-door type receptionists, specifically. The point mainly isn't that it's lazy, but that you should stand up to greet and talk to someone who is standing. It not only puts you at the same level as the other person, allowing for better eye contact, it makes it look more like you're paying attention to them. But, taller chairs are often being used at reception desks and service counters today.
Not exactly true OSHA does require a seat but workers don’t know or want to make a fuss so managers aren’t gonna supply them outside of Aldi a non US chain now operating in the US. But nowadays we have mostly self check out which I prefer because all discounts show up immediately after scanning instead of regular line where you have to wait for them to hit enter, pay and check your receipt. It be so much easier if they had one price and not coupons, apps and club specials lol
@@andrewosnaya2686 that's actually because aldi is a german company! It's very uncommon outside of america to see workers standing all day on their feet.
@@jamesfracasse8178 yeah i worked as a cashier at goodwill and we didnt scan anything. They shouldve had a scanner tho and some barcodes with different prices instead, would have made it much faster considering the amount of people who would come in and buy MOUNTAINS of clothing.
even though it was 50 years ago, i actually felt some pride when i heard about rose scalavino from star market in cambridge. i've shopped there many times!
I have no idea why this suddenly popped up on my recommended list, but what fun. My Grandma was a checker for Safeway for almost 30 years until the early 80's. She never worked with scanners, always punched in the price like the video. She had her regulars and had people who would wait to go through her line. the arthritis in her right hand was really bad after she retired from all the manual punching.
It takes so much more skill than people realize to work in a grocery store. I've done just about all of it- bagger, checker, stocker, general merchandise, greenhouse, carts, bottles, night stock, floors, meat, even management for a while. And there's probably a few things I forgot. I used to be able to check so fast the register's memory buffer couldn't keep up with me. And it used to take a lot more skill. And most grocery workers make peanuts compared to what they are worth.
I agree with you David. Most any Retail person will tell you they are disrespected by those who have never had the opportunity to work in Retail. It still has a certain amount of skill involved. I am thankful I was taught by a great older woman who knew the ropes and taught me skills that are no longer taught to kids today. LIKE how to actually count back change rather than just plopping it into customers hands.
I retired after 34 yrs from California supermarket. I remember having to go to a wk long traing 20 miles away from checking school. It was intense and nerve-wracking but proud when you passed and came back a checker... And forgot everything on the first day from being so nervous. Nowadays they throw you in and let you flop around like a idiot until you catch on
One hand on the buttons and the other handling the products, eyes on each prices and a fraction chart to use just in case you get stumped. Doing all that takes major practice compared today's retail work. That's crazy!
That's why the IT/Computer person does that part of the job and programs it into the register. A Cashier's job today is pretty much mostly cleaning, scanning items and asking customers for donations. It's a horrible job today. You stand in one place for up to 5 hours...no break and with very little movement. By the end of your shift, your lower back is screaming and you can barely walk out to your car.
Plus when I was a cashier we also had to quickly calculate the discount price of every item. It was a discount store but everything still had the original sticker price on it. And our registers were older than what is shown here. I can't remember if they were electric. I doubt it.
My first retail job, a sort of trial by fire, was manning the register in a very busy Stationary/Gift department - I was brought in to Woodward & Lothrop in 1975 as seasonal help, so this was before/during the holidays. This dept. was right near the store's main entrance, so I also got plenty of people asking for directions to the rest rooms & other departments. Each greeting card had to be entered individually, etc. You had to have quick reaction time & be able to multi-task. And this is already easier than the example in the video/ha. I was 20 years old. I did get kept on after Christmas, having done well with everything but, sometimes, the "bank" at the end of the night - uggh - you're so tired & so ready to get off your feet, & then you get to deal with... math & money! Anyway, yeah, you better believe my dogs were barkin', girls.
No with self checkout it’s even more difficult one person to run/watch over 4 checkouts at the same time while also stocking nearby displays cleaning answering phones and dealing with angry customers . It has become hell
@@mdmarko I never though about that. I love technology and handling things myself. But I'll keep this in mind and try not to use it all the time. I think they might be more like a replacement for quick checkout. Honestly I wouldn't use it for a fully loaded cart.
Self checkout is a pain in the ass though, you move an item slightly to the left or right or make a slight move of any item in general and all of the sudden, PLEASE WAIT FOR ASSISTANCE! automation has a long way to go before it replaces the human race entirely.
I was a cashier for JC Penneys in the 80s and we had only $17 in our register to start out the day. It was an easy and boring job. People had coupons or ads in their hands and demanded their discounts. Most of the time they misread the ads and didn't get their discounts.
And of course when they miss read their coupons or ads and don’t get the discount they expected it’s your fault because you don’t know how to do your job! Even though they are the ones incorrect. Because inevitably : “Well, the last time I was in here...” 😖
@Richard Head that’s on the manager comes up and totally contradicts you and give the customer the discount they didn’t deserve. Manager: “just take care of the customer“ 😟
@@nyccollin False. Looking at James Cash Penney’s family tree, I can see that his surname on all records from 1900-end of life was spelled “Penney”. Even his great-grandfather, the Reverend John Penney’s surname is spelled “Penney” in the 1830 census. JC Penney has been spelled this way since its creation. You linked to misspelled ads.
I remember these old cash registers when I was a kid. Something that will always stick with me was how NOISY that part of Shop-Rite was! Just a constant percussion.
I could not imagine a coupon system where you charge the customer first and refund them for the coupons. That blew my mind. It’s so much easier and quicker to handle that before totaling out the purchase.
When I was a checker, with the old-fashioned cash register, we deducted the coupons collecting. That's ridiculous, giving them money for coupons after the fact.
When that happens you go find the store manager and drag them out by their nostrils to the front line. No point at all them hiding away in their offices. Only way that poor service level will change is if they are publicly humiliated and punished for their laziness.
Boy have times changed miss those days no wonder folks choose to go to the self checkout can't find these kind of checkers now you are lucky if you can get them to speak to you!
i remember checkers as a kid. I was always intrigued by how fast they could key in items and memorization of prices. When barcode scanners were a new technology the experienced checkers could enter products faster than the scanners. They along with the bag boys were true masters of their professions.
its impossible to be faster than the scanner, i have a 600cpm typing speed, and scanning when you already know the code position is faster, the only exception is objects that take are big and take a while to move arround for example a 12 box of milk that typing is much faster.
I am 56 and remember in the late 70's how some stores had the scanners not many did , i worked as a stockboy in a store in the early 80's and the store didn't have the scanners this store actually had you put the price on the item with a black grease pencil
@@Dallas_K then show me someone being that is faster than the scanner, because then that person would need to type faster than me as i have a 600cpm typing speed.
I started part time work at a grocery store in 1970. 53 years later I retired as the grocery manager. We estimated that I trained over 1500 employees half were cashiers. Most everything said in this video I still used 50 years later. Cashiering has changed over the years but it is still the same. My favorite line was “ the last impression that the customer gets of the store is the cashier.” This is so true
I worked at Kroger for years, eventually going into management. We were proud to serve the public and took pride in our jobs. Our customers came first. Times have changed and there is no respect for the job from the public or employees anymore. It’s very sad.
It was certainly different back then. It was a more pleasant experience, usually, to be face to face with a friendly member of one’s community. That is truly what is missed by those of us older than 50.
Also cashiers were not expected to upsell credit cards or other crap to generate revenue for the store. They expect you to take applications with a big line of in a hurry consumers.
When I worked at a supermarket in the early eighties while in high school, I had to wear a button down shirt and tie, and I was just the guy who swept and mopped the floors, lol. But, now when I go shopping, I have my favorite cashier. She is quick, efficient, and very pleasant, so her line is always the longest, with people always picking her register. I don't care how long her line is, I will always get on it. Many times, it is faster even though other lines are shorter. Service does indeed make a difference.
I worked at a neighborhood, Shop n Bag. It was over 20 yrs ago. We had a friendly staff, and customers that came to my counter, I would smile and say, "hello and how are you today"? Around the corner was a senior living complex, and I really enjoyed helping the elderly, pack their bags in their little shopping carts. They really appreciated it. Our stations were well kept. I moved and got a better job, but I missed everyone who worked, and came to our store. TY 😁
I used to work as a cashier at Walmart from 2009 through 2016 and our Walmart had absolutely no self checkouts at the time and got their first ones in 2017!
I worked at a Safeway right out of HS in 96. I worked while I took care of some prerequisites at the JC I was going to and I needed insurance. All staff were required to wear nice shoes and slacks. You could either wear a Safeway polo shirt, or a white button up with a tie. Men could not have facial hair. We were trained on everything, even bagging groceries. We had to ask all customers if they would like help to their car after bagging regardless of their size. I was annoyed at how strict it was at the time but now that I see how dumpy grocery stores are getting, I miss that attention to detail.
It's a feedback loop too, the looser the standards the less the employee respects their own job so they get even more lax, unmotiveted and unenthused by their job. A "Where did I go wrong to be working in this dump?" attitude.
@@Speedster-dj6yx Aldi had the best bags of all major chains, and I would reuse them over and over at home, but they recently decided to stop carrying them.
In 77 - 78 I worked for Publix supermarket in Homestead FL. I was 14 -15 and was a bag boy. Cashiers had to know the price of ever single item, were very friendly and fast.The very best were on the first register and the women at the service desk was their supervisor. The most popular bag boy was also on the first register. In 78 the new bar code scanners were installed. Now a cashier can be just about any one. They now longer need a fantastic memory, fast fingers and are often not nearly as friendly. During the 80's I worked restaurants. At least in some places not only cashiers but also waitress who were hard workers were seen as upstanding people. It seems much different today.
I just quit my waitress job after 5 years, the money was okay but I couldn't take the disrespect from customers and management, idk what's next wish me luck! I live near Daytona Florida and I love it here and I love the people here, I don't want to leave 😢
I remember being a little kid in the late 1970's. Some Grocery Stores didn't even have Bar Codes yet. You had to walk around the Store with a Black Marker and Write down the prices Yourself on the items. It was 100% on the Honor System.
My first job was in a grocery store in Memphis Tennessee in 1968. I was a sacker. After my first night I went home, ate supper and then laid down to go to sleep. All I heard was the sound of those clanging bells from those large National Cash Register machines. I later moved up to become a checker, which was much better! I already knew how to count back change to my customers because my dad and granddad taught me how to do that. I think that's become a lost art. Too many computer machines now, and people have forgotten how to think on their feet😎
2:00 - This is what I heard in a corporate flash video when I was a trainee in my grocery store in 2010. Things have not changed. "The checker is the last a customer sees and the impression of that is associated with the whole shopping experience".
My children simply cannot understand how we used to live in those days without computers, tablets or smart phones; cashiers kept the whole day punching keys on the register, changing the paper inside while trying to smile at the same time. Do I miss those days? I certainly do! Simpler life when we used to talk to each other and none of this cheating with cut/paste homeworks. We had to read and use our handwriting to do our work and I went through college with the aid of my powerful slide rule that I carried like a sword by mi side. A great time to be alive!
Although the technology has changed dramatically the basics are the same. Accuracy, speed, pleasant attitude, these will never lessen in their importance.
When I worked as a cashier through high school in the 80s, we always said please and thank you and had a bag boy for the customer… but then the customers were decent and nice for the most part too. I’ve been behind some pretty rude people in line and so it’s no wonder we run into grumpy cashiers now. I don’t want to sound like I’m narrowing in but I find at the discount grocery stores, the clientele are most of the time just rude. I understand prices have sky rocketed but don’t take it out on your cashier. I always always strike up a chat with my cashier… why wouldn’t I? It’s easy!!!! Plus it makes their day and mine.
I worked at one of the most prestigious grocery store chains in the US and the pure abuse that was dished out on a regular basis by the "high end" clientele was shameful. The job itself wasnt bad, although definitely hard on the back standing all day. The abuse, sexual harassment and customers who at times would literally melt down into screaming fits made it utterly intolerable, especially for how low the wages are. Im literally laughing at the people in this comment section complaining about the lack of staff and customer service who then get snippy and say people should just go get a better job if they dont like it. What they dont realize is we did, thats why their local stores never have enough help to cater to their entitled selves.
I remember watching these ladies in the early 1960’s and being amazed how fast they could check you out. Plus, getting the redeemable stamps and everything packed in paper bags, with a young man always taking it out to your car.
I worked in a grocery store about 10 years ago. You never had a chance to check your register for anything. It was get your money and then get open as quick as you can. Then when stuff ran out you had to check the next register over. People are always in a hurry nowadays so it makes it worse to do anything in customer service.
There was a lot more to the job then shown! Before bar codes, you had to remember sale prices and product codes for all the the produce. There were no stickers on the produce. It is simple today in comparison!
I remember those stamps. Every few months supermarkets would sell special items that required those stickers for a discount. They items could be dishes, toys, records...basically anything. It was nice living back then. We were duped into giving it all up for convenience.
Me too. I used to love those TV Guides. They still had them up through the 1990's. I'm not sure when those particular TV Guides changed from the way they looked at that time. Somewhere in the 2000's I guess.
Seriously when I was a kid I'd rush out to our mailbox to check if the TV guide had arrived and I'd look at all the Johnny Carson late nights to see if he was going to have Buddy Rich on! I was a kid drummer and Buddy Rich was and still is God!!! I get permission to stay up late to watch it and of course my dad would be sound asleep in this chair.
I wish I could go back to the 50s. Decades of good times still ahead... Including the 60s. Now you have self-checkouts, the prizes are higher than ever but you do the work for the stores. How did we end up like that?
I am currently a checker at a Los Angeles area Vons store. I've had other ringing jobs over the years, but this is special, because you become familiar with so many people, a cross section of society. I also help in a lot of areas throughout the market. I worked in the Starbucks for a total of six years in two separate market locations, but as soon as I became my Mother's weekend caregiver it was deemed my availability was too restrictive. Change is good, and I'm enjoying moving around the store versus being stuck in a small kiosk the whole shift.
Worked at Acme in 1965. I learned how to add, subtract and divide quickly. I learned how to deal with difficult people. But most of all I loved making money which at the time was the reward for hard work.❤❤❤😅
I used to work part time at supermarket and one time our scanners stopped working for a day. You have no idea how much they speed up and keep accurate the whole process. Respect to them being able to handle it as fast as today's cashiers.
That is so interesting! It used to be the same here in Germany, we had a small supermarket in our village until the mid-1990s and there were no scanner checkouts and some goods were weighed manually with a merchant's scale, I loved the business as a child! Nowadays, thanks to supermarket chains like Aldi and Lidl, after a short hello, the goods are pulled like mad over the scanner checkout, so that everyone has trouble packing the goods away in time (in Germany, the customer himself is responsible for packing the goods) - often I just push the goods into the shopping cart and am very stressed after shopping. And I am 35 years old and not at retirement age! In some supermarket chains, the scanning times per cashier are even recorded and if they're not fast enough, there will be consequences. My father did his apprenticeship in retail and enjoyed working in retail until the late 1970s, when more and more pressure and stress (and the miserable salary) made him change professions. In Germany, the job is absolutely no longer valued at all, unfortunately.
My first part time job at 13, I told them I was 15...was as a bagger at A & P in flushing , NY early '70s. The taught me how to properly pack a square paper bag!, also used to have to clean the coffee grinders by the check out end of day and sweep up..But my favorite part was when someone wanted me to take their groceries out to the car, boy those 10 & 25 & 50 cent tips really added up! My $1.05 per hour salary! A kid was only allowed to work 20 hours per week then , stores closed by 6:00 or 7:00 pm and closed on Sunday's! It taught me how to deal with people and responsibly to a job, even had to wear a spiffy little bow tie which the manager would check to make sure was straight all the time. Great times, wish I could go back!
It was more difficult at this time, but people were more professional & efficient than they are now. When I use a self-check aisle, I try to be careful and move as quickly as possible so someone else can check out. People should watch these films before using one.
I would say it wasn't simpler, just different. What would you do without the internet, the microwave, your mobile phone, and various devices we take for granted today? They were not around back then. People were expected to treat each other with respect and cordiality. Manners were much more important and no one would treat elderly people like they do now. It seemed simpler because all those social courtesies were in place and everyone knew them. Now, so many don't bother to display courtesy, respect, or deference to others and especially those in authority.
@@sunniertimer598 are you kidding I grew up without all those things and me and my friends road bikes together and we confronted bullies together and I met my wife by walking up to her and asking her out on a date I didn't have to swipe left or right take it from me it was a much better time back then
One of the products I noticed that isn't available today was Baggies sandwich bags. They were also known as alligator Baggies because of the texture of the bags, and to close them you used the twist-ties that were in each box. Love the video and the trip down memory lane. By the way, when this was made (1965) I was just a year old. Gave my age away, don't care, have a nice day. 🤪🤭
@@boballmendinger3799 I'm a man 48 but still wash , dry and reuse my Plastic bags. It seems like a waste to only use them once. It may also have to do with being raised poor. I can't believe how much food people waste. I can't remember the last time I threw something away because it had gone bad. I also love leftovers. Some people throw them away or give it to the neighbors. I can't imagine having to cook and clean again , not to mention go 🛒 shopping when you already have leftovers!
@Alex Rossi I hate washing them, but we really get the use out of Rubbermaid containers! I usually cook enough for a couple of days at a time. I'm in my mid 50's, and also grew up without much money. Mom did a LOT of canning and freezing.
@@boballmendinger3799 ya, I'll cook rice, beans, or pasta salads, and just eat off it for days! Can't compute having to cook every meal ( because you hate leftovers)! At least we weren't born during the great depression. I knew 2 older gentlemen( both have passed since, one recently), anyways they both were kids after the depression ( but it traumatized them). One of them would use a teabag 2 or 3 days in a row! Even though he was a world 🌎 traveler and owned his own home and pension, etc. The other was very cheap tipping servers even though he too owned 3 homes ! He would not buy a soda 🥤 at a restaurant even though he like the other gentleman both had an estate each of over a million dollars each! The one that would not tip would have me do gutters and weeding at his home as he was too cheap to hire a professional! I'm not cheap, just never had a lot of money . But for the first time in my life I'm not worried about finances. I've saved and saved for years now and am careful with my money and lead a simple life. Most people my age are broke because they live in houses they can't afford, drive cars they can't afford, and eat out at restaurants, when I cook for myself) once in a while I treat myself). I don't feel sorry for them,, not at all!
I was a cashier a LONG time! It was my first job at 15, and I remember my job calling us checkers and that we were so important. This video makes me want to be the checker of the year DANG IT LOL!! I was quick and could get a 400 dollar order bagged and checked in LIGHTNING SPEED!!! And no, I didn’t have a bagger helping, I was on my own! Anyway, I loved cashiering!! The cashier cleaning her area, that was me!! I had a customer get mad when I sanitized the lane after meat leaked onto it. I was like “Mamm, raw meat could cause sickness. I have to clean this very quickly!” If my lane isnt clean, it reflects bad on me and the store, and I wanted my lane clean and organized!! Talking to customers and getting them in and out as fast as possible but in a professional manner always made me feel happy and like I was making a difference!! The way they bag too, that’s how I bag!! I’m picky and want my bags done correctly, I dont want the eggs on the bottom or cans with fruit…. I’ve had that before.
I found myself reminiscing while looking at the way the name brand labels looked back then. My, how times have changed! And not for the better, either!!
The Good Old Days!!! I remember watching these checkers as a little girl. I must have been 6. I thought the big brown cash registers were the coolest thing around!!!!
It's amazing how this job used to take a lot of skill. Nowadays, younger cashiers don't know what they're doing, even though they have a giant calculator in front of them
Oh, the years of abuse I endured as a cashier. And we wonder why no one wants these jobs anymore. Standing on your feet for hours getting abused by Karens for very little pay.
I remember as a kid in the late 60s, early 70s my mother teaching me to place things on the spinning circular table at the register in order of taxable and non-taxable items to make it easier on the cashier. I miss the sound of old mechanical registers. There were high-school boys as baggers and cart collecters for the parking lot -- it was a decent job.
@@Anonymous-wi6ig General basic food was non-taxable. Soda, alcohol, candy, etc. was taxable. This was in California where you can buy alcohol at the supermarket and not have to go to a separate liquor store.
@@Anonymous-wi6ig Yes, many states (and counties) have their own determination of what's taxable. Also, some stores then had price labels which indicated taxable items or not with a "+tax" along with the price.
My husband’s late stepfather was a career supermarket checker/cashier at an A & P store back in the 1970s and 1980s in Pennsylvania. He did that as a career for about four decades, and his union-based salary was quite significant! I am amazed by how the customs and technology have changed over the years.
The Grand Union company in northeastern USA used to give a math test to cashier applicants. If you passed the test the first thing they taught you was how to properly pack a paper bag. It seems stores now longer teach that skill.
You are lucky today if any of the checkout people in the stores today know the multiplication tables without using a calculator or give you change without the cash register telling them how much to give back.
In the late 70’s my first job was as a cashier at McDonald’s. I recognize the ‘put the money received on the cash register and always count back the change’. I also remember being reprimanded because my bills were not all facing in the same direction when I turned the cash drawer in at the end of my shift. After my retirement I thought it would be fun to work part time at Tim Hortons. I had the manager give me heck for counting back the change and being fastidious about the cash drawer. I was told that it was a waste of time. Didn’t last two weeks there…
The "Super Market Institute" and the "National Association of Food Chains" merged in 1977 to become the "Food Marketing Institute", which changed its name in 2020 to become the "FMI - The Food Industry Association". No word on when "Checker of the Year" competitions may have ceased.
Even as late as 1999 when I worked at an independent health food store, they did not yet have electronic scanners so we priced everything by hand and had to manually enter it into the machine!
This was before Walmart figured out the perfect formula: Install 30 cash registers but only open 3 at one time.
I laughed so hard at this because it's too true 😂
I understand this sentiment, but equally frustrating is the fact that you can have every single lane open and people inevitably pile up on the first three and we have to call them over to the others so I guess I can see where walmart is coming from lol (the only time I will agree with that corporation)
*I OPEN 3 REGISTERS FOR HOURS AT A TIME*
@@downinthevalley9757 I’ve never seen that
@@blakekaveny I would say I've never seen that myself, but then again I don't think I've seen all the lines ever open either..
Back when these jobs were respected as hard work and valuable to the community.
They still are respectable jobs and valuable to the community but not everyone treat it as such
When unions made sure respect was accorded. Nobody gives you a damn thing.
Yeah bc they used to pay an actual liveable wage. Now people like you treat us like garbage.
@@thatchwhistle that's a long time. wow. incredible. good on her
@@thatchwhistle No offense but I look down on people who work retail their entire life or for a large chunk of their life. Why aren't you working toward greater things, or actually getting wealth? Why aren't you getting an education and doing something better-paying, more respectable, and that does more for people, like becoming a doctor. I'm sorry but I refuse to respect people who stay in retail.
Today, the checkout person is treated like the lowest form of life in the supermarket.
No one should be treated poorly. It is a shame however that many cashiers now can't do basic math, have a surly attitude, and are distracted by their phones
@@SJHFoto just the other day I had someone who was confused when I gave her cash. Slow counting.
@@susanbender2953 It's not their fault. It comes from education (or lack thereof) I don't know how many of you are fans of Star Trek-The Next Generation, but I jokingly refer to those who are slaves to their phones as the Borg. But it isn't their doing-if you aren't educated, you won't know.
It is like how Black slaves were illiterate in the 18th and 19th centuries in the US. They weren't "stupid"-they were uneducated
Unfortunately, so is the customer. People today are jerks. What are you gonna do 🤷♀️
More like they treat you like they working for free. No hello, or thank you just them on their phone , chewing gum and bagging shit all dumb. Lol
My mom was a checker when I was a kid growing up. She worked at an A&P. Don't think that chain is around any more. I remember mom would bring home soft drinks for me and my brother and different things for supper. She was a great mom and I think of her everyday. Mom passed away in 2004. I remember at her funeral I cried so hard I couldn't see. One of my uncles knelt down in front of me and just grabbed my hands and held them. I was blessed to have such wonderful mom.
I miss mine too...God bless them 💞
A&P went out of business in 2015.
I miss mine also
A and P!! There used to be one RIGHT by my house!! My grandma was a cashier at a local chain grocery store, and I followed her footsteps! Moms and grandmas are the best and I miss my grandma, I’m still so blessed to have my mom ❤️❤️
I cried reading your comment!!!
Worked as a stock boy back in '65. The girls were like lightening on the cash registers! We packed up the groceries in paper bags and were taught proper packing practices.Our store also had a conveyor belt that went up to an area where we would allow customers to drive up and have their groceries loaded into their car. I loved that job!
I think I worked at the same supermaket in the late 70's.
@@stephendacey8761 Pennsylvania?
@@johnswanson4266 Actually Massachusetts, but the tips were great for a kid back in the late 70's when we put the bags in people's car. Met great people, and will never forget those days.
@@stephendacey8761 Roger,that!
A cashier was a skilled position and you rarely saw a cashier bag her own groceries, it was a union thing. The bagger's were pretty skilled themselves, I remember watching these guys do tricks with the cans, like tossing it up in the air and catching it with the other hand. I can remember all the check out lanes open and the lines still curving around the store, you don't see that anymore, most likely do to scanners and bar codes make it fast today. The cashier's were fast, but it still took time to check the price and manually input everything into the register, but people were more patient in those days. I wasn't patient, I would tell my dad, I am going to wait in the car.
Oh for these days again!! We didn’t know how good we had it!! ❤️🤦🏼♀️
When I was a very young child I thought being a cashier was the most glamorous job anyone could have. To this day I still get a secret thrill if I see one of those old fashioned cash registers.
I am 56 and feel the same way bet you don't see many old cash registers any more and interesting note they didn't have the barcode scanners in 65
@Chris Budai - Right? I worked as a cashier at Rink's department store in '77. Price tags, pushing buttons and hoping I could remember what was on sale that week! 😊
Me too! I would just stand there watching the “cashier lady” and was mesmerized! I wanted to become a “cashier lady” when I grew up!
I worked for SCHNUCKS grocery chain in Missouri. They actually made us go to their Checker School in St. Louis. It was a mock up grocery store where we had hands on training. Timing us was a big deal. It was a honor to be put in the Express Lane.
I LOVED Scnucks when I lived in Mo. Second only to Hy-Vee!
Only thing good that ever came out of Missouri was Frank and Jesse James. They took it from the rich and gave it to the poor
Please ask your parents or grandparents where they come from .
Thst is neat!!!! Glad you responded. People do not understand what happened in the past anymore. I
Was their slogan, Don't be a schmuck. Shop at Schnucks?
It was interesting seeing all the same brands of food we buy today from more than 50 years ago.
@Sad Sack - So are you paying by cash or card?. I don't have time to stand around and chat with you all day.........
@@woohooboy lmao
Yes, but the actual ingredients are completely different.
Now the sizes have shrunk and the prices have doubled.
The same in name only. They replaced good ingredients or acceptable ingredients with junk.
I worked as a cashier for nearly 10 years until 2006, and I had regular customers who would come through my line, even if my line was longer, because they knew I was more efficient and they enjoyed my friendly personality. I built relationships with so many people that I was always recognized when I went out to run errands and things like that, and I didn't live in a small town. I loved that part of my job and I loved being kind and personable to everyone. Now, and even back then, I noticed how rare that was. Whenever I go through a checkout line, I'm lucky if the person even says "hello" to me, and they usually just hand my receipt to me at the end without saying a word. This has always actually angered me. I could never imagine not even ACKNOWLEDGING a customer and treating them like just something they have to do and not as a human being. Why even work at a place like that if you don't like or enjoy people? My job was fun because of the human interaction and meeting all walks of life. I was never recognized by my employer for what I did either, which is sad.
Pay
I merely tolerate people, so being a cashier would have been horrifying.
😊
@@yessumyessum6624 😂
I was a cashier too! I loved it. But I did notice that my manager wasn't as nice to every cashier and I think that's why some people don't like their jobs. Now I just go thru the self check out 🎉
Some employers are like that...never recognizing a good employee. On top of that they let the bad ones off the hook, thus ruining the moral of their other employees. That's a big problem.
11:40 "I always aim to pack a bag so it weighs 40 pounds and ensures the bag will break before the groceries arrive home. This way, the customer must come back to the store and spend more money."
It's nice to see that once upon a time even a supermarket cashier had a fashionable style
The cashiers uniform was nice also.
Cashiers were highly trained and experienced experts back in the 60's and 70's. They were unionized and made above average salaries. If I remember correct cashiers at Safeway were making over 7 bucks an hour in the late 70's.
Meat Cutters also made good money, my uncle was making like 9 bucks an hour in 79 as an apprentice cutter. Once he made journeyman that about doubled. Today the average meat cutter only makes about 13-16 an hour.
I worked for a Safeway conglomerate! Even in todays world, I was unionized, and made more than my friends who worked other jobs for minimum wage. I have to say, 7.00, that’s a LOT for the 70s!!!!! But having a union as a cashier, that wouldn’t be a far hourly rate! I can believe that rate!!
I had to look this up on how much it would be equivalent to in this time and jeez, that'd be around $54.45 in 2023.
Unfortunately some jobs become obsolete over time, this is a function of technological advancement and other social factors ....this is why it's important to ensure people are trained with transferable multi dimensional skill sets and there are regulatory mechanisms within the market to ensure adjustments can happen and ppl maintain gainful employment through their working years.
@@sunnesunne4039 the job didn't become obsolete, although it soon will, the job became dumbed down.
In Europe, cashiers are seated at the checkouts, because there's no reason for them to be standing up all day. In North America, cashiers are expected to stand all day, because sitting on the job is considered laziness. (Try telling that to office workers, whose jobs aren't that different from a supermarket checker.)
Yes. Americans invented the supermarket model and that’s where the standing up came from but it’s so dumb! Aldi is German and lets cashiers sit. Eight hours on your feet standing in one place is ridiculous.
Stupid to make them stand all day
Some office workers have been expected to stand: front-door type receptionists, specifically. The point mainly isn't that it's lazy, but that you should stand up to greet and talk to someone who is standing. It not only puts you at the same level as the other person, allowing for better eye contact, it makes it look more like you're paying attention to them. But, taller chairs are often being used at reception desks and service counters today.
Not exactly true OSHA does require a seat but workers don’t know or want to make a fuss so managers aren’t gonna supply them outside of Aldi a non US chain now operating in the US. But nowadays we have mostly self check out which I prefer because all discounts show up immediately after scanning instead of regular line where you have to wait for them to hit enter, pay and check your receipt. It be so much easier if they had one price and not coupons, apps and club specials lol
@@edl6398 they made me stand on one leg
A definition of a good cashier at Aldi's is one that does not destroy half of your food items when throwing them in the cart.
I noticed the casher seat that the checker can sit on if he wants to sit down while working.
Goodwill donation center cashier
@@andrewosnaya2686 that's actually because aldi is a german company! It's very uncommon outside of america to see workers standing all day on their feet.
@@atomiccryptonite5201 yes it’s literally evil that america makes u stand on ur feet for hours on end in one place. It’s PAINFUL and it’s stupid.
@@jamesfracasse8178 yeah i worked as a cashier at goodwill and we didnt scan anything. They shouldve had a scanner tho and some barcodes with different prices instead, would have made it much faster considering the amount of people who would come in and buy MOUNTAINS of clothing.
even though it was 50 years ago, i actually felt some pride when i heard about rose scalavino from star market in cambridge. i've shopped there many times!
I wonder if Julia Child shopped there when she lived in Cambridge?
Man the amount of pride in the job you did. It’s crazy how much times have changed and not so much for the better.
Yep,and they all dressed like ladies. I miss that. Women were never and would never be as beautiful ever again as they were in the late 50's and 60's
This really came in handy for my trip to Walmart! I am now a more effective self-checkout guy!
Did you clean your station first?
did you check if you have enough fags to last? you dont want to run out later
exactly, I am getting faster each time 😀
Do you acknowledge the self checkout cashier or ignore them?
@@PraveenSriram They thank him for his service
I have no idea why this suddenly popped up on my recommended list, but what fun. My Grandma was a checker for Safeway for almost 30 years until the early 80's. She never worked with scanners, always punched in the price like the video. She had her regulars and had people who would wait to go through her line. the arthritis in her right hand was really bad after she retired from all the manual punching.
It takes so much more skill than people realize to work in a grocery store. I've done just about all of it- bagger, checker, stocker, general merchandise, greenhouse, carts, bottles, night stock, floors, meat, even management for a while. And there's probably a few things I forgot. I used to be able to check so fast the register's memory buffer couldn't keep up with me. And it used to take a lot more skill. And most grocery workers make peanuts compared to what they are worth.
I agree with you David. Most any Retail person will tell you they are disrespected by those who have never had the opportunity to work in Retail. It still has a certain amount of skill involved. I am thankful I was taught by a great older woman who knew the ropes and taught me skills that are no longer taught to kids today. LIKE how to actually count back change rather than just plopping it into customers hands.
@@deeleach8300 i count it back no matter what
I retired after 34 yrs from California supermarket. I remember having to go to a wk long traing 20 miles away from checking school. It was intense and nerve-wracking but proud when you passed and came back a checker... And forgot everything on the first day from being so nervous. Nowadays they throw you in and let you flop around like a idiot until you catch on
@@annnoble7181 yep and then blame you when you make mistakes even though you were hardly trained!
...or facing the bills in their tills all the same way...or plopping your receipt/ bill/ change all in one...
One hand on the buttons and the other handling the products, eyes on each prices and a fraction chart to use just in case you get stumped. Doing all that takes major practice compared today's retail work. That's crazy!
That's why the IT/Computer person does that part of the job and programs it into the register. A Cashier's job today is pretty much mostly cleaning, scanning items and asking customers for donations. It's a horrible job today. You stand in one place for up to 5 hours...no break and with very little movement. By the end of your shift, your lower back is screaming and you can barely walk out to your car.
How amazed they would be today to see us standing six feet apart, masked, and with plexiglass between us.
Plus when I was a cashier we also had to quickly calculate the discount price of every item. It was a discount store but everything still had the original sticker price on it. And our registers were older than what is shown here. I can't remember if they were electric. I doubt it.
My first retail job, a sort of trial by fire, was manning the register in a very busy Stationary/Gift department - I was brought in to Woodward & Lothrop in 1975 as seasonal help, so this was before/during the holidays. This dept. was right near the store's main entrance, so I also got plenty of people asking for directions to the rest rooms & other departments. Each greeting card had to be entered individually, etc. You had to have quick reaction time & be able to multi-task. And this is already easier than the example in the video/ha. I was 20 years old. I did get kept on after Christmas, having done well with everything but, sometimes, the "bank" at the end of the night - uggh - you're so tired & so ready to get off your feet, & then you get to deal with... math & money! Anyway, yeah, you better believe my dogs were barkin', girls.
No with self checkout it’s even more difficult one person to run/watch over 4 checkouts at the same time while also stocking nearby displays cleaning answering phones and dealing with angry customers . It has become hell
wow from this to self service checkout
You do the work and they charge you for the bags!
I try never to use it. Want to protect jobs.
@@mdmarko I never though about that. I love technology and handling things myself. But I'll keep this in mind and try not to use it all the time. I think they might be more like a replacement for quick checkout. Honestly I wouldn't use it for a fully loaded cart.
I like self checkout. Use it at Walmart
Self checkout is a pain in the ass though, you move an item slightly to the left or right or make a slight move of any item in general and all of the sudden, PLEASE WAIT FOR ASSISTANCE! automation has a long way to go before it replaces the human race entirely.
I was a cashier for JC Penneys in the 80s and we had only $17 in our register to start out the day. It was an easy and boring job. People had coupons or ads in their hands and demanded their discounts. Most of the time they misread the ads and didn't get their discounts.
And of course when they miss read their coupons or ads and don’t get the discount they expected it’s your fault because you don’t know how to do your job! Even though they are the ones incorrect. Because inevitably : “Well, the last time I was in here...” 😖
@Richard Head that’s on the manager comes up and totally contradicts you and give the customer the discount they didn’t deserve. Manager: “just take care of the customer“ 😟
@@nyccollin False. Looking at James Cash Penney’s family tree, I can see that his surname on all records from 1900-end of life was spelled “Penney”. Even his great-grandfather, the Reverend John Penney’s surname is spelled “Penney” in the 1830 census.
JC Penney has been spelled this way since its creation. You linked to misspelled ads.
@@strnglhld His surname changed too. Mandela effects alter the past.
@@Mr.Obongo 🤣
I remember these old cash registers when I was a kid. Something that will always stick with me was how NOISY that part of Shop-Rite was! Just a constant percussion.
Still is
Now it's BOOOP BOOOP
I could not imagine a coupon system where you charge the customer first and refund them for the coupons. That blew my mind. It’s so much easier and quicker to handle that before totaling out the purchase.
That could affect taxes
Probably didn't have a negative key in those days.
@@miketubbs1198 You are correct. Change computation, ability to subtract, made it happen.
When I was a checker, with the old-fashioned cash register, we deducted the coupons collecting. That's ridiculous, giving them money for coupons after the fact.
I only give money for coupons afterward if I either forgot to scan the coupon or the customer forgot to hand me the coupon.
WOW 5 PEOPLE IN THE STORE AND 5 REGISTERS OPENED, I'VE SEEN 40 PEOPLE IN THE STORE AND 1 REGISTER OPENED
That will be Aldi or Lidl then
When that happens you go find the store manager and drag them out by their nostrils to the front line. No point at all them hiding away in their offices. Only way that poor service level will change is if they are publicly humiliated and punished for their laziness.
Like I said stockers are the heroes of today
Lmfaoo, _exactly_
When that happened at the Kroger I worked at it's because upper management was too cheap to schedule enough cashiers
Boy have times changed miss those days no wonder folks choose to go to the self checkout can't find these kind of checkers now you are lucky if you can get them to speak to you!
The TV guide on the rack at 4:45 is the Bonanza cover March 13th 1965. Also the Women's day magazine is March 1965 with the white kitten on the cover.
i remember checkers as a kid. I was always intrigued by how fast they could key in items and memorization of prices. When barcode scanners were a new technology the experienced checkers could enter products faster than the scanners. They along with the bag boys were true masters of their professions.
its impossible to be faster than the scanner, i have a 600cpm typing speed, and scanning when you already know the code position is faster, the only exception is objects that take are big and take a while to move arround for example a 12 box of milk that typing is much faster.
@@gabrielandy9272 Not back then. the scanners sucked. I could beat a scanner no problem.
I am 56 and remember in the late 70's how some stores had the scanners not many did , i worked as a stockboy in a store in the early 80's and the store didn't have the scanners this store actually had you put the price on the item with a black grease pencil
@@gabrielandy9272
You are entirely wrong.
@@Dallas_K then show me someone being that is faster than the scanner, because then that person would need to type faster than me as i have a 600cpm typing speed.
Yet more proof that it was indeed a better time
Now we have to scan our own groceries and get leered at by a store manager 😅
I wish we could go back to a simpler time like this.
Yeah and LBJ and “Jumbo”.
Sorry you didn't take responsibility to ensure your adulthood was pleasant.
The 1960s wasn't a "simpler time".
Those were some days.. But a really good 'bag boy' was essential.. I still bag my own..
The Checkers at Walmart rarely even smile or talk to you.
I started part time work at a grocery store in 1970. 53 years later I retired as the grocery manager. We estimated that I trained over 1500 employees half were cashiers. Most everything said in this video I still used 50 years later. Cashiering has changed over the years but it is still the same. My favorite line was “ the last impression that the customer gets of the store is the cashier.” This is so true
I worked at Kroger for years, eventually going into management. We were proud to serve the public and took pride in our jobs. Our customers came first. Times have changed and there is no respect for the job from the public or employees anymore. It’s very sad.
I remember Ruth Buzzi from the Laugh-Inn television show.
It was certainly different back then. It was a more pleasant experience, usually, to be face to face with a friendly member of one’s community. That is truly what is missed by those of us older than 50.
Also cashiers were not expected to upsell credit cards or other crap to generate revenue for the store. They expect you to take applications with a big line of in a hurry consumers.
Brings back memories of my youth. Good times life was more simple
Not for the checkout operators!
I was born in 1983 but my mom was born in 1960 and was a teenager in the 1970s. She remembers woolworths and JCPenney in the 70s
When I worked at a supermarket in the early eighties while in high school, I had to wear a button down shirt and tie, and I was just the guy who swept and mopped the floors, lol. But, now when I go shopping, I have my favorite cashier. She is quick, efficient, and very pleasant, so her line is always the longest, with people always picking her register. I don't care how long her line is, I will always get on it. Many times, it is faster even though other lines are shorter. Service does indeed make a difference.
I worked at a neighborhood, Shop n Bag. It was over 20 yrs ago. We had a friendly staff, and customers that came to my counter, I would smile and say, "hello and how are you today"? Around the corner was a senior living complex, and I really enjoyed helping the elderly, pack their bags in their little shopping carts. They really appreciated it. Our stations were well kept. I moved and got a better job, but I missed everyone who worked, and came to our store. TY 😁
Thank you for posting this. Now as a customer of Walmart ringing up my own groceries I can be more efficient
I used to work as a cashier at Walmart from 2009 through 2016 and our Walmart had absolutely no self checkouts at the time and got their first ones in 2017!
Nowadays at Walmart they put like one or two items in every bag, and then you end up with like 35 plastic bags
or they put like 10 heavy items in a bag
I worked at a Safeway right out of HS in 96. I worked while I took care of some prerequisites at the JC I was going to and I needed insurance. All staff were required to wear nice shoes and slacks. You could either wear a Safeway polo shirt, or a white button up with a tie. Men could not have facial hair. We were trained on everything, even bagging groceries. We had to ask all customers if they would like help to their car after bagging regardless of their size. I was annoyed at how strict it was at the time but now that I see how dumpy grocery stores are getting, I miss that attention to detail.
I also remember having to wear polo shirts and slacks and no facial hair. Now, even fast food workers look like dirty bums most of the time.
I work part time as a cashier at Wegmans and I’m one of the top cashiers.
@@Musictroper76 sad 😞 but true.
It's a feedback loop too, the looser the standards the less the employee respects their own job so they get even more lax, unmotiveted and unenthused by their job.
A "Where did I go wrong to be working in this dump?" attitude.
amazing how some of the grocery store items still have the same packaging today almost 60 years later!
Where I work believe it or not we actually use paper bags. But they break easily… 😅
@@Speedster-dj6yx Aldi had the best bags of all major chains, and I would reuse them over and over at home, but they recently decided to stop carrying them.
In 77 - 78 I worked for Publix supermarket in Homestead FL. I was 14 -15 and was a bag boy.
Cashiers had to know the price of ever single item, were very friendly and fast.The very best were on the first register and the women at the service desk was their supervisor. The most popular bag boy was also on the first register.
In 78 the new bar code scanners were installed. Now a cashier can be just about any one. They now longer need a fantastic memory, fast fingers and are often not nearly as friendly.
During the 80's I worked restaurants. At least in some places not only cashiers but also waitress who were hard workers were seen as upstanding people. It seems much different today.
Fascinating. I would love to hear your perspective on working in the restaurant industry in the 80's compared to today.
What was the minimum wage in the 80s and did these jobs pay well in the 1980s?
I just quit my waitress job after 5 years, the money was okay but I couldn't take the disrespect from customers and management, idk what's next wish me luck! I live near Daytona Florida and I love it here and I love the people here, I don't want to leave 😢
I remember being a little kid in the late 1970's. Some Grocery Stores didn't even have Bar Codes yet. You had to walk around the Store with a Black Marker and Write down the prices Yourself on the items. It was 100% on the Honor System.
My first job was in a grocery store in Memphis Tennessee in 1968. I was a sacker. After my first night I went home, ate supper and then laid down to go to sleep. All I heard was the sound of those clanging bells from those large National Cash Register machines. I later moved up to become a checker, which was much better! I already knew how to count back change to my customers because my dad and granddad taught me how to do that. I think that's become a lost art. Too many computer machines now, and people have forgotten how to think on their feet😎
2:00 - This is what I heard in a corporate flash video when I was a trainee in my grocery store in 2010. Things have not changed. "The checker is the last a customer sees and the impression of that is associated with the whole shopping experience".
When people were kind and friendly and presented themselves with dignity and respect. I miss the good ole days😞
My children simply cannot understand how we used to live in those days without computers, tablets or smart phones; cashiers kept the whole day punching keys on the register, changing the paper inside while trying to smile at the same time. Do I miss those days? I certainly do! Simpler life when we used to talk to each other and none of this cheating with cut/paste homeworks. We had to read and use our handwriting to do our work and I went through college with the aid of my powerful slide rule that I carried like a sword by mi side. A great time to be alive!
I’m old enough to remember life before the internet since I was born in 1983 and will turn 40 years old this year.
40 is the new 30 in 2023 😅
Although the technology has changed dramatically the basics are the same. Accuracy, speed, pleasant attitude, these will never lessen in their importance.
Which is all I have and am a top 🔝 cashier at Wegmans
When I worked as a cashier through high school in the 80s, we always said please and thank you and had a bag boy for the customer… but then the customers were decent and nice for the most part too.
I’ve been behind some pretty rude people in line and so it’s no wonder we run into grumpy cashiers now. I don’t want to sound like I’m narrowing in but I find at the discount grocery stores, the clientele are most of the time just rude. I understand prices have sky rocketed but don’t take it out on your cashier. I always always strike up a chat with my cashier… why wouldn’t I? It’s easy!!!! Plus it makes their day and mine.
I worked at one of the most prestigious grocery store chains in the US and the pure abuse that was dished out on a regular basis by the "high end" clientele was shameful. The job itself wasnt bad, although definitely hard on the back standing all day. The abuse, sexual harassment and customers who at times would literally melt down into screaming fits made it utterly intolerable, especially for how low the wages are. Im literally laughing at the people in this comment section complaining about the lack of staff and customer service who then get snippy and say people should just go get a better job if they dont like it. What they dont realize is we did, thats why their local stores never have enough help to cater to their entitled selves.
I was born in 1964. I remember still seeing those registers in the early seventies while shopping with my mom. I miss those days.😢
This was a wonderful trip down memory lane ❤ and I enjoyed seeing how low the prices were back then. Most kids don't believe it 😂.
I remember watching these ladies in the early 1960’s and being amazed how fast they could check you out. Plus, getting the redeemable stamps and everything packed in paper bags, with a young man always taking it out to your car.
What were the stamps for?
You got merchandise from another store. You collected them and got stuff.
@@robgrear1142 oh cool, thx for answering.
Wow! this kind of professionalism and customer service doesn't exist anymore.
It does, mostly in jobs that get paid.
Many jobs that provided a good wage now only pay minimum.
Neither does the kind of pay that would allow a checker to buy a house and the pearl necklace that one lady is wearing lol. Pay crap, get crap.
Love the old Supermarkets in the 60s and early 70s . Especially the smell of the Deli 😉
I worked in a grocery store about 10 years ago. You never had a chance to check your register for anything. It was get your money and then get open as quick as you can. Then when stuff ran out you had to check the next register over. People are always in a hurry nowadays so it makes it worse to do anything in customer service.
There was a lot more to the job then shown! Before bar codes, you had to remember sale prices and product codes for all the the produce. There were no stickers on the produce. It is simple today in comparison!
Now these were supermarket workers, took pride in their work. The good ol days
I'm watching this in preparation for my supermarket job interview at 3 today.
*How did it go?* 😄
@@jeffamunoz Excellent, I got the job. The manager was impressed with my knowledge of checkout ladies of the year from the 60s.
Congratulations 🎉
same
Good luck and have a great career
I remember those stamps. Every few months supermarkets would sell special items that required those stickers for a discount. They items could be dishes, toys, records...basically anything. It was nice living back then. We were duped into giving it all up for convenience.
4:00 I would love to read the magazines. Especially the TV Guide.
Me too. I used to love those TV Guides. They still had them up through the 1990's. I'm not sure when those particular TV Guides changed from the way they looked at that time. Somewhere in the 2000's I guess.
You can probably find copies on Ebay!
Seriously when I was a kid I'd rush out to our mailbox to check if the TV guide had arrived and I'd look at all the Johnny Carson late nights to see if he was going to have Buddy Rich on!
I was a kid drummer and Buddy Rich was and still is God!!!
I get permission to stay up late to watch it and of course my dad would be sound asleep in this chair.
this makes me happy
I wish I could go back to the 50s. Decades of good times still ahead... Including the 60s. Now you have self-checkouts, the prizes are higher than ever but you do the work for the stores. How did we end up like that?
It's unimaginable there was even a world like this that existed
But it did! It really did!!!
I am currently a checker at a Los Angeles area Vons store. I've had other ringing jobs over the years, but this is special, because you become familiar with so many people, a cross section of society. I also help in a lot of areas throughout the market. I worked in the Starbucks for a total of six years in two separate market locations, but as soon as I became my Mother's weekend caregiver it was deemed my availability was too restrictive. Change is good, and I'm enjoying moving around the store versus being stuck in a small kiosk the whole shift.
Checker of the year 2020 deserves a gold medal.
This is hilarious but it's sad things are not this wholesome anymore.
I worked for Walmart for 17 years and one of the first things you learned was never to pack chemicals with food.
This brings back memories of when I was little.....not just the checkers, but the voice of the Narrator.....classic in these old videos. 😊
Play fallout 4?
Worked at Acme in 1965. I learned how to add, subtract and divide quickly. I learned how to deal with difficult people. But most of all I loved making money which at the time was the reward for hard work.❤❤❤😅
I used to work part time at supermarket and one time our scanners stopped working for a day. You have no idea how much they speed up and keep accurate the whole process. Respect to them being able to handle it as fast as today's cashiers.
That is so interesting! It used to be the same here in Germany, we had a small supermarket in our village until the mid-1990s and there were no scanner checkouts and some goods were weighed manually with a merchant's scale, I loved the business as a child! Nowadays, thanks to supermarket chains like Aldi and Lidl, after a short hello, the goods are pulled like mad over the scanner checkout, so that everyone has trouble packing the goods away in time (in Germany, the customer himself is responsible for packing the goods) - often I just push the goods into the shopping cart and am very stressed after shopping. And I am 35 years old and not at retirement age! In some supermarket chains, the scanning times per cashier are even recorded and if they're not fast enough, there will be consequences. My father did his apprenticeship in retail and enjoyed working in retail until the late 1970s, when more and more pressure and stress (and the miserable salary) made him change professions. In Germany, the job is absolutely no longer valued at all, unfortunately.
My first part time job at 13, I told them I was 15...was as a bagger at A & P in flushing , NY early '70s. The taught me how to properly pack a square paper bag!, also used to have to clean the coffee grinders by the check out end of day and sweep up..But my favorite part was when someone wanted me to take their groceries out to the car, boy those 10 & 25 & 50 cent tips really added up! My $1.05 per hour salary! A kid was only allowed to work 20 hours per week then , stores closed by 6:00 or 7:00 pm and closed on Sunday's! It taught me how to deal with people and responsibly to a job, even had to wear a spiffy little bow tie which the manager would check to make sure was straight all the time. Great times, wish I could go back!
It was more difficult at this time, but people were more professional & efficient than they are now. When I use a self-check aisle, I try to be careful and move as quickly as possible so someone else can check out. People should watch these films before using one.
I want to have access to the time machine so that I could go back to these days! Life was simple!
I would say it wasn't simpler, just different. What would you do without the internet, the microwave, your mobile phone, and various devices we take for granted today? They were not around back then. People were expected to treat each other with respect and cordiality. Manners were much more important and no one would treat elderly people like they do now. It seemed simpler because all those social courtesies were in place and everyone knew them. Now, so many don't bother to display courtesy, respect, or deference to others and especially those in authority.
@@sunniertimer598 are you kidding I grew up without all those things and me and my friends road bikes together and we confronted bullies together and I met my wife by walking up to her and asking her out on a date I didn't have to swipe left or right take it from me it was a much better time back then
One of the products I noticed that isn't available today was Baggies sandwich bags. They were also known as alligator Baggies because of the texture of the bags, and to close them you used the twist-ties that were in each box.
Love the video and the trip down memory lane. By the way, when this was made (1965) I was just a year old. Gave my age away, don't care, have a nice day. 🤪🤭
god bless
My grandma liked Baggies. Mom used ziploc, but washed and reused them.
@@boballmendinger3799 I'm a man 48 but still wash , dry and reuse my Plastic bags. It seems like a waste to only use them once. It may also have to do with being raised poor. I can't believe how much food people waste. I can't remember the last time I threw something away because it had gone bad. I also love leftovers. Some people throw them away or give it to the neighbors. I can't imagine having to cook and clean again , not to mention go 🛒 shopping when you already have leftovers!
@Alex Rossi I hate washing them, but we really get the use out of Rubbermaid containers! I usually cook enough for a couple of days at a time. I'm in my mid 50's, and also grew up without much money. Mom did a LOT of canning and freezing.
@@boballmendinger3799 ya, I'll cook rice, beans, or pasta salads, and just eat off it for days! Can't compute having to cook every meal ( because you hate leftovers)! At least we weren't born during the great depression. I knew 2 older gentlemen( both have passed since, one recently), anyways they both were kids after the depression ( but it traumatized them). One of them would use a teabag 2 or 3 days in a row! Even though he was a world 🌎 traveler and owned his own home and pension, etc. The other was very cheap tipping servers even though he too owned 3 homes ! He would not buy a soda 🥤 at a restaurant even though he like the other gentleman both had an estate each of over a million dollars each! The one that would not tip would have me do gutters and weeding at his home as he was too cheap to hire a professional! I'm not cheap, just never had a lot of money . But for the first time in my life I'm not worried about finances. I've saved and saved for years now and am careful with my money and lead a simple life. Most people my age are broke because they live in houses they can't afford, drive cars they can't afford, and eat out at restaurants, when I cook for myself) once in a while I treat myself). I don't feel sorry for them,, not at all!
And here I am, on as wednesday afternoon after cleaning my garden watching how to be a good Checker.
Wow! That female checker wore a string of pearls! Classy.
I was a cashier a LONG time! It was my first job at 15, and I remember my job calling us checkers and that we were so important. This video makes me want to be the checker of the year DANG IT LOL!! I was quick and could get a 400 dollar order bagged and checked in LIGHTNING SPEED!!! And no, I didn’t have a bagger helping, I was on my own! Anyway, I loved cashiering!! The cashier cleaning her area, that was me!! I had a customer get mad when I sanitized the lane after meat leaked onto it. I was like “Mamm, raw meat could cause sickness. I have to clean this very quickly!” If my lane isnt clean, it reflects bad on me and the store, and I wanted my lane clean and organized!! Talking to customers and getting them in and out as fast as possible but in a professional manner always made me feel happy and like I was making a difference!! The way they bag too, that’s how I bag!! I’m picky and want my bags done correctly, I dont want the eggs on the bottom or cans with fruit…. I’ve had that before.
Good job Taylor.I had 47 yrs. at Jewel and pride was everything!
You did make a difference. Thank you 👍
Jeez, I remember those huge cash registers.
2024 we have self check out and I don't care for it. Thank you for posting. Chicago, IL.
I found myself reminiscing while looking at the way the name brand labels looked back then. My, how times have changed! And not for the better, either!!
Look all the registers are open and ready.
Saving stamps,
Box boys.
Oh the good Ole days
The Good Old Days!!!
I remember watching these checkers as a little girl. I must have been 6. I thought the big brown cash registers were the coolest thing around!!!!
I’m 66 years old and this video takes me back to my childhood .
It's amazing how this job used to take a lot of skill. Nowadays, younger cashiers don't know what they're doing, even though they have a giant calculator in front of them
Oh, the years of abuse I endured as a cashier. And we wonder why no one wants these jobs anymore. Standing on your feet for hours getting abused by Karens for very little pay.
Kudos to you for making it years. I made it 6 months. The sexual harassment, verbal abuse and screaming entitled old men made it utterly intolerable.
I remember as a kid in the late 60s, early 70s my mother teaching me to place things on the spinning circular table at the register in order of taxable and non-taxable items to make it easier on the cashier. I miss the sound of old mechanical registers. There were high-school boys as baggers and cart collecters for the parking lot -- it was a decent job.
How did you know what was taxable and what was non-taxable?
@@Anonymous-wi6ig General basic food was non-taxable. Soda, alcohol, candy, etc. was taxable. This was in California where you can buy alcohol at the supermarket and not have to go to a separate liquor store.
@@lohphat ah. Is it still like that or no?
@@Anonymous-wi6ig Yes, many states (and counties) have their own determination of what's taxable. Also, some stores then had price labels which indicated taxable items or not with a "+tax" along with the price.
@@lohphat i wish stores continued the tax prices lol
The REAL front-line heroes!
My husband’s late stepfather was a career supermarket checker/cashier at an A & P store back in the 1970s and 1980s in Pennsylvania. He did that as a career for about four decades, and his union-based salary was quite significant! I am amazed by how the customs and technology have changed over the years.
The Grand Union company in northeastern USA used to give a math test to cashier applicants. If you passed the test the first thing they taught you was how to properly pack a paper bag. It seems stores now longer teach that skill.
You are lucky today if any of the checkout people in the stores today know the multiplication tables without using a calculator or give you change without the cash register telling them how much to give back.
@@jpolar394 you’re absolutely right. It was fractions that always gave me trouble and we didn’t have fraction charts.
I bet half the cashiers can't milk a cow or crank a car or use a copper to wash clothes..oh the good old days
@@waiata216 lmao 😂 ❤️
In the late 70’s my first job was as a cashier at McDonald’s. I recognize the ‘put the money received on the cash register and always count back the change’. I also remember being reprimanded because my bills were not all facing in the same direction when I turned the cash drawer in at the end of my shift. After my retirement I thought it would be fun to work part time at Tim Hortons. I had the manager give me heck for counting back the change and being fastidious about the cash drawer. I was told that it was a waste of time. Didn’t last two weeks there…
That manager was an idiot.
They didn't deserve you, you were just too good for them.
this is entirely cinematic i love this lol, the lighting, the shots,
This Was Before My Time...But Still Splendid Memories Of A Simpler Time...
The "Super Market Institute" and the "National Association of Food Chains" merged in 1977 to become the "Food Marketing Institute", which changed its name in 2020 to become the "FMI - The Food Industry Association". No word on when "Checker of the Year" competitions may have ceased.
Worked at a Hardee’s in 1977 and I’ll never forget a customer who pulled a quarter out of his ear to pay for his coke.
Those mechanical cash registers look amazing
Wow, this reminded me of going shopping with my mother in the late 60's. Usually got a package of animal crackers at the register.
Even as late as 1999 when I worked at an independent health food store, they did not yet have electronic scanners so we priced everything by hand and had to manually enter it into the machine!
We got scanners in 1985 and plastic came into vogue also in '85.
1999 was 24 years ago and feels like a different lifetime ago. It is a full generation ago
Yeah. Old fashioned ways are so much better most times.
@@Speedster-dj6yx it definitely is since it works the brain 🧠 and the mind
I know lots of little mom-and-pop stores that manually write out receipts. (Although not grocery stores, mostly gift shops)