Archived Checklane/SCO Cleanliness

[starmaster1000]

When there is downtime, I like to walk around my register and clean the barcode scanner glass, the check-writing platform where the credit card machine sits, the glossy plastic surface facing the customer, the belt, and the bed where the bagged items go for the customer to pick up. I was wondering if anyone did the same.

When I got "trained" (for all of 2 minutes) on SCO, I was told to make sure the lanes are presentable, so I'll also go over there and clean them when no one's using them (I tackle the barcode scanner, the screen, the credit card machine's screen, and the two platforms on either side of the register). Sucks when I take over for someone's break to see a mess, especially when the "resident SCO" cashiers have been there waaaay longer than me, but maybe they don't care lol.

 

[GoodyNN]

OMG YES.

Scanner glass and the card reader keypad get swiped down very frequently, like every 15-20 minutes depending on how busy I am. Anything that develops condensation while the guest is shopping (so basically all of dairy and frozen) leaves a residue, and after a while the glass can become too occluded for the laser to read barcodes anymore. The other hard surfaces are about hourly. I also fill bags and throw out all of those accumulated tabs, which is another thing that nobody else seems to bother with.

SCO is a little more haphazard simply because there's more stations and I have to dart in between guests, but it still gets done several times per shift.

I also wish we had something a little more powerful than windex for cleaning. Plenty of times I've considered just buying a tub of clorox wipes for my own use at the lane.

 

[starmaster1000]

throw out all of those accumulated tabs

Tabs?

 

[GoodyNN]

Tabs?

That top part of the bundle that stays behind.

 

[starmaster1000]

That top part of the bundle that stays behind.

I've only seen these on the little bags and the huge bags. The standard bags don't seem to leave behind anything.

 

[Times Up]

Scanner glass and the card reader keypad get swiped down very frequently, like every 15-20 minutes depending on how busy I am

Scanner glass, yes. Keypad, no. And the bars used to separate the orders, yes. Basically all of the surfaces that "I" touch. And that assumes I get even 20-30 seconds between guests to even do this. I usually don't.

 

[NKG]

What about the cob webs on the lane lights?

 

[starmaster1000]

What about the cob webs on the lane lights?

I always tell myself I'm going to find a stick or something to break them, but then I get a wave of customers and I forget.

 

[GoodyNN]

What about the cob webs on the lane lights?

I don't know that I've seen cobwebs on mine, but that would be a nope fir me. They don't give me tools for that.

 

[starmaster1000]

I don't know that I've seen cobwebs on mine, but that would be a nope fir me. They don't give me tools for that.

Yeah, on my lanes, they seem to make a 45-degree angle between the top of the lane light and the thing with the actual lane number on it (we have the newer lane lights with LED bar and LED backlit numbers).

 

[idkwhattodo]

Honestly, cleaning is such an easy way to pass time when you’re slow. I was never trained to do it, but when I train cashiers, I always let them know they should do it, but most of our cashiers don’t care and are such slobs. It drives me absolutely crazy when I get a cashier shift. Trash in the drawers, bags thrown all over - not stocked up though just crumbled bags laying all over, reshop thrown places not the bin, etc.

Nothing makes me more annoyed than the way our self checkout looks. Back when I SCO’d pretty much every shift, I was so obsessive over it cleanliness. It drives me crazy to cover a break over there and clean up after most of them. It’s not hard to make sure bags are stocked, reshop is gone, the zone looks nice, and there isn’t visible dirtiness on the actual machines.

 

[Times Up]

Honestly, cleaning is such an easy way to pass time when you’re slow.

When exactly do you have time to pass? I honestly don't mean this as a joke.

My store is lower volume, but not actually LV or ULV. I don't get any breaks between guests and it's been weeks since I had a long enough time span between guests to even make the five foot walk to stand in front of my lane to invite a guest in. There is no time for cleaning unless I am THE opening cashier and have about 5 minutes to wipe down the lane and separator bars. And then I've got to get rid of reshop and hangers too before I get a line.

The cleaning that we're expected to do does not get done. There. Is. No. Time. Our front end hours have been whittled away.

 

[CeeCee]

I wipe down all surfaces every two hours at SCO. I also stock bags and check for expired candy when it is slower. If I can get my hands on a swifter duster I will dust the lights and the bullseye displays in the playground.

 

[GoodyNN]

So you grab a couple seconds here and there while you can. You can fill bags or wipe down the scanner area and/or counter tops while a guest is processing their credit card payment. Prep a towel while they're paying so you can wipe down key pads as soon as she steps away. The belt does have to wait until you have a breather in between.

 

[idkwhattodo]

When exactly do you have time to pass? I honestly don't mean this as a joke.

We’re one of the higher volume stores in our district... I’m not exactly sure what we’re classified as though. Opening cashiers and closing cashiers at my store definitely have time to clean up their area/ the checklanes. We have 12 SCOs and a lot of guests just bypass the regular registers late at night/ early morning. Sunday nights after 6 or 7 die down a lot and during the school months less traffic in store after 9ish. Weekends are incredibly rough, so I get the checklanes won’t be looking too good then. Weekdays can get rough too especially with such little hours, but occassionally we have horrible scheduling that give us waaaay too much coverage on like a monday or tuesday and nobody on friday.

And I don’t mean like very detailed cleaning, but if I happen to get a break from guests for a couple minutes organizing and cleaning is a nice change of pace. My biggest gripe with some cashiers at my store is that there is always time to throw trash out in the trash can literally right below the register or make sure bags don’t look atrocious.

 

[REDcardJJ]

Every cashier is expected that when they leave for the day, their checklane is clean. Hangers and reshop taken to Guest Services, bags, receipt paper, FGWP GiftCards restocked, and the checklane wiped down. It is never 100% busy all day (except Thanksgiving/Black Friday, and even then there's downtime) that these tasks can't be completed. I get my cashiers off the checklane about 5 minutes before their shift ends so they have time to do all this stuff.

 

[Anelmi]

I think this all depends on expectations. Older cashiers who started under a different GSTL clean their area; the newer ones who started under a different GSTL don’t. And it’s because those expectations weren’t laid down from day 1. So everyone just leaves when their shift is over and only clean when the belt is noticeably dirty or they have an OCD personality. The coolers look like trash, baskets left everywhere, candy and end caps not zoned, cart attendants also don’t seem to know they should regularly pick up lane abandon. It all goes to expectations of GSTL and communication with the front end.

 

[Times Up]

True on different expectations from different GSTLs. My first GSTL (was with Spot for 20+ yrs.) had you drop off your hangers and reshop and was big on zoning the lanes. But there were a lot more cashiers per day. We schedule with 1/3 of the cashiers we did 4 years ago. ONE THIRD. Now the CA picks up the reshop and hangers, and ONE of the GSTLs ensures there is register tape and stickers, etc. I try to wipe down the surfaces that I touch at the beginning of my shift. Most cashiers don't because they weren't trained to do so. I also keep my bags stocked while guests check out, but again most don't. And no one zones the lanes anymore, they look like crap.

As far as restocking at the end of my shift, no. We aren't given time. We ring out guests til the last minute of our shift and by then I'm ready to bolt. Our front end grid has been reduced to less than 1 page. Our front end staffing has been gutted so there are a lot of things that should be done, but aren't. It's sad.

 

[Anelmi]

We must be at the same store. 😐

 

[starmaster1000]

We must be at the same store. 😐

ASANTS lol

 

[GoodyNN]

ASANTS lol

Or is it ASATS?

 

[jenna]

OMG YES.
I also wish we had something a little more powerful than windex for cleaning. Plenty of times I've considered just buying a tub of clorox wipes for my own use at the lane.

Ask your GSTL if he/she will requisition a tub of wipes for you.

 

[gsa4lyfe]

Ask your GSTL if he/she will requisition a tub of wipes for you.

Have them order sani wipes from sap. I think they’re technically called food sampling wipes but they just look like a pack of baby wipes but are basically Clorox wipes