every child should be required to work in a store

Dec 15, 2023

I’m grateful for the time I spent as a kid working in the parent’s grocery store. I learned about the public, customer service and how to make change. I understand that not everyone has family who owns and operates a business. In light of that, wouldn’t it be a good idea for all schools to offer a semester class based upon retail? Make it required!

In the time Katie and I spent shopping, we encountered two challenges pertaining to money.

  1. Making a purchase with cash, my total was something that ended in .61 cents. Chick had no pennies. Katie handed over a penny and we had to tell the cashier that all she had to do was give me .40 cents. She gave me 4 dimes because she didn’t know she could give me a quarter, a dime and a nickel.
  2. At another store, my change from the cash purchase was 1 penny. The cashier took out a dollar instead of a penny by mistake. (Der.) I didn’t care about the penny but she said it would make her short by .99 cents. Her drawer was closed so she couldn’t trade the $1 for a penny! Oh my! She called the young, stoner manager up who started talking about entering her numbers to void the transaction. I said, “Why don’t you just ring her (meaning Katie) up and when the drawer is open, switch the $1 for a penny?The manager thought I was a genius! 🙄

Cashiers can’t make change & aren’t trained to treat customers like they matter.

Perry mentioned that at his store, his cashiers can’t make change either. If the amount is not on the register, they can’t figure it out.

It wasn’t my fault the cashier in example #1 didn’t have pennies, but you’d have thought it was. The 2 goofy girls in example #2 talked between themselves on how to remedy their challenge and not once said they were sorry we had to stand there 10 minutes.

Again, wouldn’t it be a good idea for all schools to offer a semester class that teaches how to make change, how to treat customers, and how to deal with the public in a positive manner?

It’s a good thing I’m about finished shopping — not sure I could take another shopping spree.

Now you know: Monkeys in Ethiopia have managed to “domesticate” wild wolves by helping them hunt small rodents. The wolves now coexist with (even baby!) monkeys without ever attacking them, instead going for smaller, harder-to-catch prey!