Archived Cashier at target vs. other minimum wage jobs

[NickVo]

Hey guys, I don't mean to be a hater or anything, I have nothing against target. I just got thinking the other day though, and I thought I'd share it here.

What are the cons of working as a cashier at target vs other minimum wage jobs, like bagging at a grocery store? Think about it.

At target, I have to bag items including groceries and whatnot. I also have to deal with scanning items, talking to all the customers and dealing with their issues. Plus I've got to sell redcards, help at guest services, cross train for sales floor, etc.

Now as a bagger at my local Jewel all I'd have to do is bag groceries! Maybe stock things, push carts and etc., but even so far less work then target. And I get paid the same either way! So why should I work at Target?

I guess I'm asking you guys to convince me why Target is a better idea. I've spent a puny amount of time at Target so far, but from what I've seen I don't see the cons, really.

 

[The Dude Abides]

If all you are looking for is a part time minimum wage job there are a lot better places to work than Target.

 

[DMNDZ bruhh]

i agree^^ my friend works at a stater bros and he gets around 40 hours a week just to bag groceries, and occasionally push carts and help on their sales floor, plus stater bros is alot smaller than target so im sure its alot easier.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Here is a link that may help:
http://www.thebreakroom.org/showthread.php/4905-Red-Cards?highlight=Red+card

 

[anathema]

I'm...not sure anyone is really going to be able to convince you of that. Cashier is the last position I'd want to work at all, let alone Target.

Especially with my GSTL, ech.

 

[looseseal]

They'd probably give you more than a 26 cent raise for doing all of those things well too, which shockingly and depressingly enough is considered a "good" raise here at Target... :/

 

[Softlines Owns My Soul]

I used to work at Rite Aid before as a cashier and it wasn't very busy. We would do nothing often.

 

[RedDog]

Their was time when people would be able to give you lots of reasons. Target however has gone so completely down hill that an alternate position at any other store or retailer is more likely to pay better and be a better place to work. And that goes for all levels in a store. Used to be a great company with lots of talented loyal employees. Now its just a place to stop while you find something better.

 

[konk]

I don't remember being able to get health insurance and other benefits at other places when part time. I could be wrong though. Only reason I stay at Spot. Along with the wage I've worked up to.

 

[commiecorvus]

I don't remember being able to get health insurance and other benefits at other places when part time. I could be wrong though. Only reason I stay at Spot. Along with the wage I've worked up to.

Starbucks (the ones not in Target) offer part timers health insurance.

 

[sher]

Target cashiers only make minimum wage!? Worst job in the store (okay, maybe not... I might be the only person who hates going up there) and they make the least? Thaaat sucks. Yea, no. I'd be lying if I said anything that could sway you to stay with Target.

Also, I think you meant to say you don't see the pros (positives)? Because not seeing the cons would mean you love Target and there's nothing negative about it...

 

[pellinore]

I'm not sure that Target is the best place to be, but they do have some really good pluses:

1) Vacation time.
2) great place to learn the business before moving to another retail store. (where you can get a management job more easily because of Target.)
3) Health care is available....may not be the world's greatest, but it is offered.
4) 401K program.
5) Being fully vested in the 401K program the moment you can enroll. (This is not true of most businesses...retail or not.)
6) Having an EAP....employee assistance program.
7) The ability to get discounts from other businesses (concert tickets, movie tickets, vacations, computers....got the idea?)
8) Generally speaking you get your breaks and lunches.
9) What other business gives you the chance to personally contact any employee?
10) We get the TM discount on ALL items.....food, merchandise, clearance items.

Just a few items....and remember, as Hardlinesmaster often says....."Not all Target stores are the same."

 

[cihyfthedoor]

The red card thing is exactly why my girlfriend left a couple of years ago. Not paid anywhere even in the general galaxy of "close enough" to hustle red cards. The stress wasn't worth it. Not for 8-something.

 

[sher]

I left macy's over their card lol. When I was interviewed, the ETL told me they didn't make a big deal out of their cards... hah!
A lot of companies offer those corporate discounts for other companies, though. My cell service is still through my macy's discount... and I'll probably use them for my next wireless choice just because it's a lot easier to get to their website on my computer.

 

[OyeShopgirl]

Ah. A thread after my own heart.
To be brutally blunt about it, at almost any job/chain/business/etc., the position of "cashier" is almost always the least respected, the most ( or one of the most ) underpaid, and one of the most difficult ones to get away from if you are proficient at it and don't have a lot of "ins" to other departments/fields of work...

That said, although my time as a cashier at Target has mirrored my time cashiering in many other settings in many other ways, unfortunately, it also has the standout role of combining almost everything I didn't like about cashiering at every other place, EXCEPT that as a cashier at target I have had to do far, FAR less multitasking than I used to ( e.g., checking out customers while answering phones and also greeting customers walking in the door while also processing all returns and exchanges and sorting all returned merchandise for repacking or defecting them out...oh, did I mention I was also to count my till each shift at the start and also at the end, AND be accountable for its contents EVEN if I was not the only person on said till? )

 

[OyeShopgirl]

Mind you, ALL THAT said...

Yes, for the wages, and the chances at advancement, the hassles, the opportunities for cross-training..

You could even still in this day and age do better than Spot.

How much better?

And at what cost ( i.e., commute time and cost, employee discount, etc. ), is up for debate..

Do your research.

Hit up sites like Glassdoor, Indeed, or just do your own independent research about the companies, or be your own personal, ahem, "mystery shopper"...

Things are rarely what they seem, and one man's soul-crushing, mind-numbing grind can be another's fresh new path for opportunity and growth.

 

[konk]

I was a cashier at an office supply store for almost a year, but whenever I go up for backups at Target, I still get kind of nervous and uncomfortable. When I applied at Target, I knew I didn't want to be a cashier.

I can think of many retail stores where I would rather work. More upscale grocery stores are at the top of my list, but I should be out of retail soon enough.