Mobile Cashiers – the way forward!

How do you know that it is approaching the holidays?

Well if you are in doubt the ever increasing traffic on the roads and the long lines at most stores should certainly give you a good idea of the season.

The worst part about shopping in the holidays, is the congestion on the roads. To make matters worse, there is also a long line inside the stores.

The lines are not the major problem, it is that persons get extremely irritated when the cashier seems to be overwhelmed by the crowd which leads to them cashing items incorrectly.

The cashiers are only human and when the pressure is on they cash the items so quickly that they make mistakes which can prove costly for the consumer.

Recently I was in an extremely long line at a pharmacy in Kingston and I noticed that the cashier was getting flustered. As a result of this one of the customers being cashed was overcharged.

Of course there are very competent cashiers but often there are holiday workers who might not be as experienced. Therefore it is a good idea to check your receipt so as to catch any errors.

Mobile Cashiers – A solution!

In order to alleviate the concerns of consumers during this time of the year, MegaMart Wholesale Club has come up with a solution!

They have placed ‘mobile cashiers’ in their Waterloo store to enable customers to avoid long lines which can cause frustration.

These cashiers are stationed at selected points throughout the store for those customers who are using their debit or credit cards.

Although it is currently operating as a cash less system, it certainly provides an ease in the discomfort usually faced by customers who have to contend with the long lines especially on the weekends.

In an article published on the Gleaner’s website Christopher Larmond, junior network systems technician at MegaMart, explained that these mobile cashiers are tablet computers that are integrated with a panel scanner and multi-link portable card machines.

This innovation should surely be used by other stores as the wait time to be cashed in some places can actually hinder sales as customers might decide that they do not want the item simply because they don’t have the time to wait.

So what’s your take? Let me hear from you!

Teri Ann Renee Paisley

Gleaner Online writer

Tags: cashiers, lines, shopping