What cashiers need to know

Cashiers and baggers are the last stop for shoppers and this final interaction can often make or break a consumers’ supermarket experience.

The Supermarket Cashier: friend or enemy? Cashiers and baggers are the last stop for shoppers and this final interaction can often make or break a consumers’ supermarket experience. Recently, I attended the Association of Coupon Professionals annual symposium in New Orleans, where there was a consumer panel made up of coupon users. This panel discussed what they liked and didn't like as well as the future of couponing. A discussion that surprised me was how these six female shoppers all agreed that to them, the cashier was “the enemy.” Why you ask? Well, they all shared similar stories of head to head arguments over coupons. One panelist had presented a coupon which was clearly marked “good on any size” of a particular product, but the photo showed only one size product – so the cashier demanded that it was only valid on that size. After a few minutes of frustrating arguing, the shopper left with her coupons to go to another supermarket, and has not returned. Another panelist feels that most cashiers she encounters don't know how to scan coupons that are downloaded to her mobile device. Another shopper is angry that she spends time downloading coupons from CPG brand websites, only to find stores that will not accept downloaded coupons.In their experience, cashiers seemed not to want to redeem coupons or take the time to read the fine print. So what did this panel suggest as a solution? Surprisingly, it’s not to eliminate cashiers altogether, but rather, to improve the checkout and couponing experience and not to be made outcasts by their use of coupons. Perhaps it is time to add another module of training for cashiers?