The Most Regretted Job?

Today on my Yahoo News front page there was a link to an article on Monster called The 5 Most Regretted Jobs. Now, the only reason I am mentioning this is because the #1 job on the list happens to be the position I held for the past 10-odd years: cashier.

Yes, cashier is the most regretted job with about 46% of cashiers wishing they never took up the position in the first place. Well, I must fall under the other 54% because, while it was far from my dream job, being a cashier was hardly as horrible as it sounds. Granted, if you are not one for dealing with public, then this is definitely not the job for you. But if you do possess even a marginal bit of "people skills," then the job isn't too bad.

Maybe that's why customer service seems to be so retched anymore. If nearly half of the people waiting on me in shops hate working there, then of course the customer is going to be the one to suffer. I know from experience, that an unhappy shopping environment makes for an unhappy customer. It's like blood in shark-infested water - they only need a taste to get the frenzy started.

I'm not saying that the job is easy by any stretch of the word. I hated when customers assumed that even a monkey could do our job. That's hardly true. There is a lot of skill and finesse needed for cashiering - and it's most definitely frowned upon when you throw feces at an unruly customer.

Being a cashier taught me valuable skills like patience, how to be a good listener, negotiation, and public etiquette, just to name a few. These are skills that seem to be lost on most of the world today. And perhaps it was my working environment, because it's rare that I get decent customer service in stores like Walmart. My mantra was always to treat the customer the way I would want to be treated if the situation were reversed. I understand that there are sometimes corporate policies that tie a cashiers hands, but there are always alternatives to just saying "no."

And to the customers out there that enjoy giving cashiers a tough time, you know who you are, think about what it would be like to be in there shoes. How would you feel if someone stood on the other side of the register yelling at you? You can always catch more flies with honey, so try to be polite and not fly off the handle. If you start off by yelling and complaining, the cashier is going to be less - not more - inclined to help you with your problem.

To the 46% of you that regretted your job as a cashier, let me conclude by saying this: Never regret anything you do. Every experience makes us who we are and shapes not only our life, but the lives of those around us. A life of regret is a life not fully lived.