Why, in this economy, do so few retail establishments have enough cashiers?

[sohcrates]

Went to Walmart, they had 4 out of 16 cash registers open.

Went to BJ's Wholesale Club, they had 3 out of 10 cash registers open.

Went to IKEA, (and this one was the worst), they had ONE SELF CHECKOUT LINE open out of 20 REGISTERS. You have got to be kidding me. They must have had 50 people working in the store, and ONE cash register?

Am I crazy, or do stores not understand the basics of business?

Step 1 - Put stuff on shelves

Step 2 - Provide means for customers to PURCHASE IT

Step 3 - Profit?


All i know is that i can't understand how anywhere in this country there is shortage of people who would be happy to make $8 / hour consistently.

Or do stores not care? Can anyone in retail answer this?

 

[JS80]

Did you still buy your shit or just leave?

 

[Titan]

I hate walmart. Glad the lines are near the door and not hidden in some booth. because if I walk in and see how much it sucks and I don't really need what I want, I turn around and don't even bother.

 

[Saint Nick]

Probably some sort of effort to save money.

 

[knawlejj]

Saves money that way

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: sohcrates
Went to Walmart, they had 4 out of 16 cash registers open.

Went to BJ's Wholesale Club, they had 3 out of 10 cash registers open.

Went to IKEA, (and this one was the worst), they had ONE SELF CHECKOUT LINE open out of 20 REGISTERS. You have got to be kidding me. They must have had 50 people working in the store, and ONE cash register?

Am I crazy, or do stores not understand the basics of business?

Step 1 - Put stuff on shelves

Step 2 - Provide means for customers to PURCHASE IT

Step 3 - Profit?


All i know is that i can't understand how anywhere in this country there is shortage of people who would be happy to make $8 / hour consistently.

Or do stores not care? Can anyone in retail answer this?

It's called cost cutting. I didn't think it'd be a hard concept to understand. There are times when the need the most cashiers and they cut everyone until they need them at those specific rush times. Were there extremely long lines where you were at? Probably not.

 

[sohcrates]

Originally posted by: knawlejj
Saves money that way

I understand. And I know that retail is suffering. But i mean, so many people in line were ready to rip the manager's throat's out that you wonder if it's worth it.

Shouldn't cashiers be the lowest paid and therefore the cheapest to have enough of?

 

[sohcrates]

yes, all three times i had to wait 10-15 minutes to checkout. i understand they try to keep costs down but if no one is on hand to jump on a register then there is no way to keep up with the lines.

anyway, retail sucks. but they are going the way of the airlines as far as customer support.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I've walked out of stores on several occasions for having too few checkout lanes open. Would have been a 10-15 minute wait for a small number of items. No thanks.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: sohcrates

Originally posted by: knawlejj
Saves money that way

Shouldn't cashiers be the lowest paid and therefore the cheapest to have enough of?

The way it usually is at retail palces is that they hire a bunch of cashiers, keep them but only give them a couple hours a week and schedule them for the rush hours.

 

[Soccerman06]

People are awfully high and mighty for not waiting a couple minutes to buy stuff. Quit bitching and moaning and do the job if you think they suck so much at it.

 

[joesmoke]

i would have to think it is to save on payroll... making you wait longer costs them nothing.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Originally posted by: Soccerman06
People are awfully high and mighty for not waiting a couple minutes to buy stuff. Quit bitching and moaning and do the job if you think they suck so much at it.

The free market ought to sort these things out. If you don't like waiting at Walmart, shop at Target, where the waits are shorter. You'll have to pay a little extra for your stuff, though. For me, it's worth it. Same with going to the smaller, more "premium" grocery store vs. the big cheap one with very few cashiers.

The other half of your argument makes no sense at all. You think that taking up a job on the side as a cashier will help alleviate the problem of there not being enough cashiers? Last I checked, lots of people were looking for work. People aren't mad at cashiers, they're mad at stores for not providing enough cashiers to handle their customers. You can't make stores give cashiers more hours, which is too bad because doing so would probably help stimulate the economy a bit thanks to cashiers having more money and shoppers being happier with the service (assuming it doesn't hurt the store's financial situation too much).

 

[shortylickens]

Even when the economy was good I never saw one store that filled up all its registers with cashiers. Most I ever saw was half full. Around Xmas I usually saw 3/4 full. Never, ever saw every register being operated at once.

My happy local hangout stopped opening at noon. Apparently their business was so bad that the two waitresses making half of minimum wage was actually hurting them. They moved the opening to 3pm and they dont actually start cooking until 4. Barkeep is there at 3 and waitresses arrive at 3:45. The cook and managers are all business partners so they dont get an hourly wage. They pay themselves if they make a profit.

4 hours. 2 girls. $2.15 per hour. They save $17.20. I cannot guess how many people would have come in during those 4 hours and spent money. I suppose not $17.20 worth of customers. The bar is busy even at noon, but I guess theres a law that requires them to serve food when the bar is open.

 

[miketheidiot]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: sohcrates

Originally posted by: knawlejj
Saves money that way

Shouldn't cashiers be the lowest paid and therefore the cheapest to have enough of?

The way it usually is at retail palces is that they hire a bunch of cashiers, keep them but only give them a couple hours a week and schedule them for the rush hours.

pretty much this.