Beep, Beep, Beep. A steady stream of groceries is pulled closer by a belt. The red light catches the unique pattern of black lines. Food is stacked up like Tetris blocks inside bags. Secretly, I judge what you are buying in my head.  “Have a nice day!” This is the life of a Wegmans cashier. 

Wegmans is a grocery store chain across the North East United States, primarily focused in New York. They are known for their name brand, steeper prices, and ranking in the top three of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies. They employee a massive work force and spend over $50 million a year on training and development of these employees. A part-time cashier such as myself makes a large portion of that work force. 

The Beginning:

Although being a cashier is not a strenuous job, there are still many challenges that come with the job. Before even touching a cash register, newly hired employees must go through an extensive computer training. This ranges from how to properly pick up heavy objects to how to handle a blood spill. The training even teaches you how to handle situations outside of your department to ensure safety is always maintained. I felt like I was taking a class in school, learning the safety protocols. 

The General Population:

The greatest challenge of being a Wegmans cashier is having to deal with the general population. If you are unfamiliar with this issue, basically, there are a lot of frustratingly idiotic people that live around us. This is common among all retail stores, but because of the popularity of Wegmans, this issue is intensified. It is common to  encounter over 25 different customers in an hour. Unlike other grocery stores, Wegmans cashiers are required to bag everything themselves. This can be an issue because everyone seems to want their items bagged differently. Some customers prefer the cashier to “bag heavy” to save the plastic bags. Alternatively, some customers want a bag to separate the cereal boxes from the baby carrots. It is impossible to assume what anyone wants. 

Babies:

I lied in the last part. The truly greatest challenge I’ve encountered is crying babies. There is not a more gut-wrenching, skin-curling, soul-twisting sound. The scariest part is that babies are like a ticking time bomb, just waiting to start screeching at the slightest discomfort. From my experiences working as a cashier, I never want to have a baby. They are little demons that excel in ruining your day. 

Conclusion:

I enjoy my job. I’ve been working for three years and plan on working through college. It’s not the most exciting or most dangerous job. There are many little things that annoy me, but overall, I enjoy meeting new faces. The life of a Wegmans cashier is pretty good.