I found a new job. So, as my last days at the Tar-jay are winding down, I have reflected a lot about the a work experience, that I never thought I would have in my life. Working at Target was humble pie for me, but in the end, taught me a lot. I learned to be a wee bit more patient (not much, that would be totally against my impatient, head-through-the-wall-now German nature), more compassionate for people's struggles with low-paying jobs and the life they can or rather cannot afford you, and most definitely with a new-found appreciation for the sacrifices people in retail have to make.
Working in a retail store, whose main goal, naturally, is to make more profit by offering ever longer hours, more service and more convenience, is not a hard job judging by your job description. A trained monkey can run a register. What makes it hard though, is to sacrifice your life for $8 an hour. Weekends are basically non-existent; if you have a family or even just try to have a life, you can't. You work when everyone else with regular jobs and money to spend, doesn't,-- and is having fun, seemingly at your expense, because they are just taunting you with their sun-lotion, beer and fun-noodle purchases. It really gets messed up, if you're actually doing a good job and subsequently get scheduled core hours, like Friday 1-10 or, all day saturdays and sundays, and especially Holidays. In a way, all that doing good work gets you, is being punished by even more hours, during times when others are having fun.
Hence, I want to bring your attention to a few facts that most Target Shoppers either aren't aware of, or have so far willingly or subconsciously ignored. The way I see it, if I can even convince one of my readers to give a second thought to your shopping behaviors, I've done a good deed for generations of future cashiers.
#1: Hand your "No's" to the cashier:
We've all done it, we get to the register, maybe filled our cart with just a little too much stuff and realize, maybe that dress from the 70% clearance rack is still $10 on top of what you were supposed to spend, or that Archer Farms Chocolate Truffles for $8.49 may be a just little over the top for this week's budget. It happens, we get it. The way you handle it, however, is entirely up to you. You're not going to Target-jail, for not wanting something you picked up, but don't go and chunk it behind the magazines or in the shelf with the kids candy in your checkout lane. Go ahead and hand it to your cashier. Trust me, no cashier will tear your head off, --quite the contrary! We're grateful that we don't have to go on a misguided treasure hunt in our lane when we have downtime, trying to track down the creative hiding spots you have figured out, while waiting on little old Rosemary from Century Village to pick out every last penny to make exact change. (If a cashier gives you attitude anyway, say, you didn't just want to chunk your stuff somewhere, they'll check their attitude right away and remember that you're doing them a favor.)
#2: Don't bite off more than you can chew:
That being said about handing your items back to the cashier, did you know that ANY AND ALL perishables, that includes any frozen food, meat especially, and other stuff, get thrown away if you bring them to the checkout and then decide not to buy them? Yes, this is a food safety issue. We don't know how long you've been browsing, neon-panties and cute sandals, while your ground turkey was turning old and grey in your cart. Please, this hurts my heart every time, please make up your mind beforehand on those items, Target has to throw them away, rather than risk someone getting sick. Guys, it's not just about the money, it's about the food that gets thrown out. Don't be so selfish, please think before you grab.
#3: The Speed Score:
Every cashier at Target gets evaluated by his or her checkout speed. After all, Target's motto for all their employees is fast, fun and friendly. Look at the register when you get there, you will see a percentage score, which is you cashier's "grade" if you will. This is important to understand, so I'll write it in caps CASHIERS GET WORK HOURS ACCORDING TO THEIR SPEED SCORES. The faster we are, the more hours we get. The more hours we get, the more we get paid. You may not realize this, but, your speed as a customer, directly affects the cashier's speed score, which subsequently directly affects a cashier's paycheck. I'm not asking you to greatly inconvenience yourself on account of a cashier, but understand how these things affect someone's life:
-getting out exact change, in pennies to get rid of them
-writing checks
-being on the phone, not paying attention
-walking away before all the questions on the credit/debit machine are answered
-taking a long time to decide at the register whether you want something or not
-trying on shoes at the register
-price checks
-running back in the score because you forgot something while you're already checking out
all these, happen almost daily and they will lower your cashier's speed score and hence THEIR PAY ! Please just give it some thought and just go to the register when you're ready to actually check out.
#4: Get a Red Card
Just as you're almost done checking out the cashier will get a prompt to ask you if you want to open a Target Red Card, which saves you 5% (which is just under what tax costs you in the State of Florida) on every purchase, every day at Target. Most customers will not even listen, granted they probably hear this question in every darn store they go to and are frankly quite fed up and tired of it. Again, I'll put this in caps, because it's important THE RED CARD IS NOT A CREDIT CARD, UNLESS YOU WANT IT TO BE. It comes as a debit card, just like your other one from Bank of America or Whatever bank you use, just that this one saves you 5% at Target every time you shop. No catch. That is just about $5 for every $100 you spend at Target. There is positively NO REASON to not do that. AT ALL. And once again, what helps you, helps your cashier, we don't get commission, but we get recognition and the occasional soda, candy bar, lunch or even a Target T-Shirt to work in when we get a lot of red-cards. At $8 an hour, that pretty much makes your day. Think about that, dear readers, no harm to you, saves you money, big difference for your cashier.
Know your power as a consumer and please do not abuse it. You literally have an impact on a person's life. Figuratively speaking, not in a if-you-don't-do-all-the-above, a person dies kind of way... But just thinking about the person behind the counter once in a while, will make them feel appreciated. Saying their name, asking how they're doing or simply "Thank you for your help today", can really make someone's day and it costs you nothing...
Working in a retail store, whose main goal, naturally, is to make more profit by offering ever longer hours, more service and more convenience, is not a hard job judging by your job description. A trained monkey can run a register. What makes it hard though, is to sacrifice your life for $8 an hour. Weekends are basically non-existent; if you have a family or even just try to have a life, you can't. You work when everyone else with regular jobs and money to spend, doesn't,-- and is having fun, seemingly at your expense, because they are just taunting you with their sun-lotion, beer and fun-noodle purchases. It really gets messed up, if you're actually doing a good job and subsequently get scheduled core hours, like Friday 1-10 or, all day saturdays and sundays, and especially Holidays. In a way, all that doing good work gets you, is being punished by even more hours, during times when others are having fun.
Hence, I want to bring your attention to a few facts that most Target Shoppers either aren't aware of, or have so far willingly or subconsciously ignored. The way I see it, if I can even convince one of my readers to give a second thought to your shopping behaviors, I've done a good deed for generations of future cashiers.
#1: Hand your "No's" to the cashier:
We've all done it, we get to the register, maybe filled our cart with just a little too much stuff and realize, maybe that dress from the 70% clearance rack is still $10 on top of what you were supposed to spend, or that Archer Farms Chocolate Truffles for $8.49 may be a just little over the top for this week's budget. It happens, we get it. The way you handle it, however, is entirely up to you. You're not going to Target-jail, for not wanting something you picked up, but don't go and chunk it behind the magazines or in the shelf with the kids candy in your checkout lane. Go ahead and hand it to your cashier. Trust me, no cashier will tear your head off, --quite the contrary! We're grateful that we don't have to go on a misguided treasure hunt in our lane when we have downtime, trying to track down the creative hiding spots you have figured out, while waiting on little old Rosemary from Century Village to pick out every last penny to make exact change. (If a cashier gives you attitude anyway, say, you didn't just want to chunk your stuff somewhere, they'll check their attitude right away and remember that you're doing them a favor.)
#2: Don't bite off more than you can chew:
That being said about handing your items back to the cashier, did you know that ANY AND ALL perishables, that includes any frozen food, meat especially, and other stuff, get thrown away if you bring them to the checkout and then decide not to buy them? Yes, this is a food safety issue. We don't know how long you've been browsing, neon-panties and cute sandals, while your ground turkey was turning old and grey in your cart. Please, this hurts my heart every time, please make up your mind beforehand on those items, Target has to throw them away, rather than risk someone getting sick. Guys, it's not just about the money, it's about the food that gets thrown out. Don't be so selfish, please think before you grab.
#3: The Speed Score:
Every cashier at Target gets evaluated by his or her checkout speed. After all, Target's motto for all their employees is fast, fun and friendly. Look at the register when you get there, you will see a percentage score, which is you cashier's "grade" if you will. This is important to understand, so I'll write it in caps CASHIERS GET WORK HOURS ACCORDING TO THEIR SPEED SCORES. The faster we are, the more hours we get. The more hours we get, the more we get paid. You may not realize this, but, your speed as a customer, directly affects the cashier's speed score, which subsequently directly affects a cashier's paycheck. I'm not asking you to greatly inconvenience yourself on account of a cashier, but understand how these things affect someone's life:
-getting out exact change, in pennies to get rid of them
-writing checks
-being on the phone, not paying attention
-walking away before all the questions on the credit/debit machine are answered
-taking a long time to decide at the register whether you want something or not
-trying on shoes at the register
-price checks
-running back in the score because you forgot something while you're already checking out
all these, happen almost daily and they will lower your cashier's speed score and hence THEIR PAY ! Please just give it some thought and just go to the register when you're ready to actually check out.
#4: Get a Red Card
Just as you're almost done checking out the cashier will get a prompt to ask you if you want to open a Target Red Card, which saves you 5% (which is just under what tax costs you in the State of Florida) on every purchase, every day at Target. Most customers will not even listen, granted they probably hear this question in every darn store they go to and are frankly quite fed up and tired of it. Again, I'll put this in caps, because it's important THE RED CARD IS NOT A CREDIT CARD, UNLESS YOU WANT IT TO BE. It comes as a debit card, just like your other one from Bank of America or Whatever bank you use, just that this one saves you 5% at Target every time you shop. No catch. That is just about $5 for every $100 you spend at Target. There is positively NO REASON to not do that. AT ALL. And once again, what helps you, helps your cashier, we don't get commission, but we get recognition and the occasional soda, candy bar, lunch or even a Target T-Shirt to work in when we get a lot of red-cards. At $8 an hour, that pretty much makes your day. Think about that, dear readers, no harm to you, saves you money, big difference for your cashier.
Know your power as a consumer and please do not abuse it. You literally have an impact on a person's life. Figuratively speaking, not in a if-you-don't-do-all-the-above, a person dies kind of way... But just thinking about the person behind the counter once in a while, will make them feel appreciated. Saying their name, asking how they're doing or simply "Thank you for your help today", can really make someone's day and it costs you nothing...
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