Free Checkout by Anna Sam Page B

play really … after several weeks of effort and a smile for every challenge … if all goes well.
On the credit desk
    I can’t find the courage to describe what awaits you if ever … in short, your mission will be to get your customers into more debt. But if ever you manage to do it you will be bursting with pride for the rest of your life. You will feel a bit as if you work in a bank.
In the Office
    The great privilege of this post is that you will have practically no contact with customers. Nice, huh? The disadvantages: answering the phone, having to count the money in the safe and using the computer to find the bar codes of items when the checkout girls don’t have them, preparing rotas and knowing how to answer any question that comes your way in three seconds. Not for everyone, I know. Especially if the computer gets stuck … but that never happens … well, almost never …

At the culture and/or multimedia centre
    The good news is that this doesn’t exist in all supermarkets. More good news: if it does, the customers are very nice (they almost all say hello and smile) and sometimes ask you for advice. No need to panic. You just have to tell them if the latest Coldplay album is better than the last Oasis one, the latest Bruce Willis film better than the last Harry Potter, the last Harry Potter book better than the latest John Le Carré. OK, giving your opinion is exactly the opposite of what is required of a checkout girl and you’ll need courage, time and a few brain cells to listen to, watch and read a few new releases in this area (don’t be too zealous about it though). But if you manage it, euphoria will light up your life and you will miss your till a little less.
     
    That’s a fairly exhaustive summary of the dangers which lurk. Keep calm. And, I should have said this at the outset – sorry, what was I thinking? – these posts will only be occupied by checkout girls who request them and who are really motivated. Management only uses the best ones (the ones with degrees or who are regularly No. 1 on the league table … or however it is they judge. It all depends on your manager).
    However, there is another kind of promotion (generally short-lived). With a bit of luck and real skill (that your store will be happy to use when it needs it), you can get yourself a proper job: you can work in the aisles or work in the Office to replace someone who’s on holiday for a few weeks or months (accident, maternity leave, long-term sick leave, etc.). You’ll love that. Finally, you get to leave the till to do something you like. But don’t rest on your laurels – when the person you are replacing comes back, there’s no chance of keeping the post that you liked so much …
    These replacements will never last for more than a few months. To be clear, fewer than 5 per cent lead to a permanent post (yup, hurrah, career development for checkout girls in supermarkets is close to zero – heaven forbid that you might actually be given some responsibility). So when it’s the turn of other girls to replace someone, you won’t have any reason to be jealous. They won’t be paid more than you and won’t change status. ‘Till assistant’ will continue to be written on their pay slips. And if they look down on you a bit during the replacement period, once they’re behind the till again they will go back to being the checkout girls they always were.
     
    OK, you can breathe easy again. In the end it’s more frightening than dangerous. But the petrol station? Sorry,that threat is very real, even if you never ask for it. So be aware!
    By the way, have I mentioned the self-service tills (more profitable than even the most badly paid checkout girls) which might replace you altogether one day? We’ll talk about that when you’re feeling better.

GAME OVER
    Have you been working for a few hours non-stop? Do you feel tiredness coming over you? Careful! You are soon going to experience the ‘Little Beep Moment’, a