I am a cashier at Wal-Mart.

Several years ago, I was dedicated to never becoming a cashier. But I had no choice. I needed a job, whatever I could find. At first I was happy to have any kind of job, to make my own income and gain financial independence. I started at the end of November, which was just the beginning of the Christmas rush. But the rush was no big deal to me. Even though I was terrible back then, so slow, and not knowing how to work transactions or the PA system, it was never a big deal to me. I wonder why that was?

But as spring and summer came, it all hit me. There were just too many frustrations in this job. Customers always read the wrong signs, then they complained to me about it. So I have to call for a price check. Of all the calls I made, only 2% of the time I get a response. And most of the time, the customers mistake one item for something else. Which can be understandable at times. One time, they had a deodorant up on the shelf by the front entrance, marked for $1 a piece. Well, little did I know that although they were all the same brand, they weren't the same scent. Apparently, only two particular scents would scan at $1. Of course the customers were upset. And I was pretty frustrated. Why the hell did they put all these other scents if only those two would ring up $1? It just didn't make sense. Apparently, scents/flavors/colors mean nothing to the customers. It's all the same damn thing. And I can't explain these things to them either, which makes me look like a complete retard. And that's the last thing I need.

And I just hate the way people wait until the very last minute to do their gift shopping. The night before Easter was one of the worst working days I've ever had. For one, I wasn't even scheduled to close; I had read the schedule wrong. We were busy to the core, and the store was a complete dump once it was all over. But that wasn't the incident that pissed me off most. It was almost closing time; the registers were programmed to automatically reset at midnight sharp. There were some people who were buying fake flower, and one didn't have a UPC. They told me it was 99 cents, while another flower was $1.99. I couldn't just give them a 99 cent flower for $1.99, so I asked a supervisor if we could find a UPC. She told me we could use the UPC from one of the previous receipts, so we agreed. Then I had to count down my drawer and reopen once the registers had reset. However, when I was done, I asked for the UPC. The lady responds, "You never said anything about a UPC." Hey, bitch, I told you twenty times that I can't scan these flowers without a UPC. And she has the nerve to tell ME that I didn't say anything about a UPC??? She also had the nerve to say to me, "This is fuckin' ridiculous." Well, not nearly as ridiculous as waiting until the very last minute to do these damn things. It's a pity they weren't prepared to pay respects to their deceased friend for Easter. Needless to say, the woman complained to a manager, saying that the flowers were identical. Hey, bitch, if one flower was 99 cents and the other was $1.99, how the hell were they identical? She told the manager that she would never shop at this store again. Good riddance! If she just came here to give me a hard time, I don't need her shopping here anyway.

There were more annoying customers, too. One woman came to my register and says to me, "Can I return this? I have a gift card." I wasn't sure how complicated returning an item after paying with a gift card was. I didn't quite understand the question either, so I said, "I'm sorry, pardon me?" She looks at me and says, "Do you understand English?" That question made me mad beyond words. I had a mind to look her in the eye and say, "What planet are you from??" As far as I was concerned, there was nothing "English" about the question she was asking. I didn't want to be rude, but I had to let her know that I just didn't understand. So I took a minute to gather my response. She got impatient, so she says, "Hello?!" At that point, I wanted to say, "Bitch, leave me alone." But I had already scanned her items, so I had to finish.

And other little odds and ends frustrate me about this job. It's hotter than hell in this store. It may be slow during the majority of my shift, but when it's time for me to get off, the customers launch a full-scale invasion. UPC's are just like price checks; when I call the departments, they don't respond. Putting up returns after closing isn't much fun either. Oh, and I've never had a single Saturday off in the eight months that I've been working here. Let's not forget the annoying supervisors. One supervisor had the nerve to announce to everyone that I was "shopping" while we were putting up returns. Why the hell would I shop after midnight, when the store is closed, and the registers are shut down? I'm sure she of all people could figure that out. And why do they make me close one night and come back early the next morning? Considering the store closes at midnight, and we normally don't get out until 12:30 or 1 a.m....I'm so ready to quit this damn job.