Cashier ringing up the next person in line

[Hawkwatcher]

What is ironic is that the cashier can't really win either way.  I would assume that they have started doing this because people complain about lines being too slow, and now it's going to cause mix-ups (or everyone will be afraid that it will cause mix-ups, or that it's rude because 'you hadn't finished with me') and the whole point of it is to make customers happy. 

Customers need to take responsibility to watch and make sure they get their own stuff, to be as quick and helpful as possible during the paying process, and let the cashier do their job however they are required to do it.  I'm not suggesting any of you here are going to give cashiers grief about this, but I'm sure SOMEONE will- and of course it's most likely another one of those policies over which the cashier has no control.

The reason I asked this was question was not to insult cashiers but to ask about a practice that I had never experienced before.  Now I know that this is a common practice.

As for the possibility of mix-ups, I have worked several jobs where I was required to ring up customers as part of my job duties.  Had I been dealing with more than one customer at the same time, I could easily have seen myself making mistakes.  I would think that the expectation of dealing with more than one customer at the same time would be as stressful for the cashier as for the customer.

At the same time, I think that customers often do try to speed up the process.  I remember a time when many people paid by check at the grocery store, but now I rarely see customers pay be check.  Usually, I see people paying by cash and debit cards.  However, using the debit/credit card reader does require some of the customer's attention.  This is especially true if the customer is entering his/her debit number.  I think it would be easy for the customer to mix up two white plastic bags with the same amount of items.     



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[Suze]

I hate those bag turnstiles.  since you (general you, meaning mostly me) usually just toss the contents of your cart on the belt.  Your bags are not packed very well, and if you are grocery shopping you end up with a million and one bags to shelp in the house.

I ended up one time with not more than two things in a bag, and when i took my cart out of the line and repacked them so I could get them into the house easier.  and I put over half of the bags that I got in the first place in the bag recycle box out front.  Way to pass the savings on to us.

I was shopping for the week/month so I had a trunk full of food and other stuff, so it was quite a handfull of bags that they didn't have to use.

[CoryanderX]

I can definitely understand why some people would feel rushed, but at the same time, I can't fault anyone for wanting to do a better job for the customer, and I do think that's all the cashiers and the store are trying to do. As someone else said, they're damned if they go slow, if they go fast, whatever, and probably most people prefer fast, since a grocery store isn't typically a place you want to spend any more time than necessary.

It's definitely common where I live for them to start checking out the next customer while you're still there; I wouldn't bat an eye. But now that I think about it, it's also common for me to feel rather flustered as I try to put my card away, get all my bags and move out quickly so the next customer can come through. I just take it for granted.