What it's like to say "Thank you" 500 times a day
For eight years, Anna Sam worked on the tills at the French equivalent of Tesco. Her bestselling book, "Checkout", just published here, dishes the dirt on rude customers, bizarre behaviour in the aisles and what it’s like to say "thank you" 500 times a day.
14 July 2009
Being on the phone at the checkout is very antisocial. Say “hello” to the person at the till and don’t be on the phone.
Maybe I would have been a bad customer. You can’t imagine what it’s like to be a cashier until you are one.
The rudest thing anyone said was when I heard a mother say to her children: “If you don’t work hard at school you will become like her.”
Every cashier I know has heard something like that. I was at university, but even for those with degrees, it’s difficult to listen to.
You can see 1,000 different people in one day. I loved that.
One man came to see me every week for months, and one day he tried to invite me to a restaurant. I couldn’t say yes because I was married and didn’t want to. He was timid and very sad. He never came in again.
Loyalty cards are a scam – there’s no point in having them at all. Nine times out of ten, the things they give you are things you don’t need. It’s just to get you to spend more.
My book’s being made into a film. I’d like to see a young, unknown actor play me.
Many cashiers have read the book, but they don’t all know what I look like. It’s better for me if they don’t recognise me because it means I don’t have to be nice to them. Only joking!
Checkout is published by Gallic, £6.99
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