A Humble Request

First, a brief story

Good morning, Imgur. I got up a bit early today to make sure I had time to write this up before work, so with any luck it'll be seen and taken to heart by a few of you. It starts with a brief story but I promise that it has a point. Bear with me.

Yesterday, I went out to the stores to get some Christmas shopping done. It was busy and, as expected, the retail world was jangling with holiday songs and shopping carts. I was able to grab what I needed and head up to the registers to check out. The gentleman who scanned my items asked me the normal upsell questions, was polite when I declined and made some small talk while he bagged them up. I thanked him, he said I was welcome and I left the store.

Nothing terrible happened. No explosions or drama.

For those who haven't worked retail

When I arrived home, I sat down at my computer and looked up the store's website. I wrote a short review about the gentleman who checked me out, letting the store know that he did a good job and was very polite during the short time I was there. It took all of five minutes.

Before anyone begins claiming this is a circlejerk post: it isn't. Put the pitchforks down. Are they down? Good.

I'm telling you this not-so-entertaining story because I've worked in the customer service sector for more than fifteen years, and I can tell you that positive reinforcement from customers is rare to the point of being mythical. For those of you who have worked retail, this is fairly common knowledge. When a manager tells us that one of our customers called or e-mailed the store, we instinctively brace for bad news well before hearing what they had to say. Did we forget to scan a coupon? Are they mad because I've been having a bad day and forgot to hide it? Are they complaining because the person in front of them paid in pocket change?

For those who haven't worked retail, these are the sort of thoughts that fly through our heads because these are the sort of minimal slights that customers will call back and portray as deep, damaging insults to their very character. In general, we don't ever want to hear that a customer took the time to contact the store about us after they left.

Keep calm and carry on

Most of us don't think twice about the brief interactions we have with the people working the cash registers. We're in, we're out and we're home. But on the other side of the counter is a guy or girl who has been standing there for hours. Odds are, that cashier has had to take some level of insult from a customer during their shift that day. Someone blamed them for a price they couldn't control, or made them feel like shit for not being able to use two coupons for the same item. Someone lambasted them for not being able to break store policy just this once, or threatened to never return to the store because they were asked if they had a savers card.

Cashiers absorb a lot of shit from a lot of people having shitty days. It's the nature of a job where you see hundreds of people during an eight hour shift, and part of the challenge is not showing that slow buildup of stress to the next customer. They put their smiles back on and help the next customer.

Give a cashier a good review

So my humble request to you, Imgurians, is to consider giving a cashier a good review. Positive customer feedback is rare, and too rare for this time of year when cashiers take the most abuse. I'm not asking you to write feedback about something that didn't happen, or paint the person who checked you out as the single most amazing cashier on the face of the earth.

Be genuine. Share with whatever store you visit that you appreciated the patience of the person who helped you. That you enjoyed going through their line, or that their smile made your day a bit brighter. Little things go a long way and seemingly minor praise can leave a lasting impact with the person who receives it.

So go make someone's day a little bit better.

Thanks kindly,
GypsyJack

tl;dr: Cashiers have it rough and work hard not to show it. Put in a good review for the next cashier you meet so they have a better day.

FP Edit: Not a big one for edits, but thank you all for putting this on the front page. I hope that it ends up positively affecting the days of a few hard-working people this season. Also, send me dudes. :)