LogFAQs > #986553382

Kallainanna posted...

Another good question is why do we make cashiers stand when their jobs can be done just as well seated?
I know the answer is classism and companies pinching pennies, yes.

The real answer is because many cashier jobs will require the cashier to repeatedly move around from place-to-place, and therefore they'd actually be worse off having to get up and down every time.

It may not be a good answer, but that's generally why.

It depends on the cashier job though. A grocery cashier is theoretically supposed to be helping you bag groceries, and thus would need to move over to do so (and standing allows for a longer arm reach towards items on conveyor belts). A bank cashier will often need to walk to different terminals, talk to different people, or otherwise physically move around a lot. But presumably some cashier jobs could easily be done while seated (or in a wheelchair, if you want to hire someone who is disabled in some way and unable to stand, or at least unable to stand for prolonged periods).

When I worked retail and worked the counter, I sat around 90% of the time whenever no customers were around (I even set up a TV and my Xbox under the counter at one point, and spent a lot of time playing Halo with my boss' son). I only ever stood up to serve customers when they came into the store because a) I would invariably need to fetch things (it was a mostly behind-the-counter business), and b) it's seen as being somewhat disrespectful to just sit in front of a customer and broadcast your sheer apathy for their BS. Standing up at least implies you care.