There's a cart attendant who has been at my store for almost a year now I think and he's still always very anxious about trying to get everything done because he's being pulled in 50 different direction and there's never enough time to get things done in. He still hasn't really grasped the "screw it" mentality which is essential for survival.
I'm not saying deliberately slack off but don't be so anxious about things either. If you don't understand how to do something, feel free to ask. If you think someone is trying to pull one over on you with regards to a fake or unapplicable high-value coupon, call the GSTL for a second opinion. You don't have to (and shouldn't) accuse someone of being disingenuous but it's not going to hurt to ask. Nobody's going to fake $0.35 off of cat food but dubious looking ones worth several dollars (I've seen some pretty crazy ones, not through my lane but ones AP has taken, that are pretty bold). If someone gets aggressive about taking their stack of high-value coupons, it's a good sign they're fraudulent.
But coupon policy says to scan all coupons and now we're even taking expired coupons. I did that yesterday, the guest found her coupon but realized it was expired so I told her that we just started taking expired coupons for the time being. The coupon still popped up as expired so I just plugged it in as a manual coupon for the value ($5).
Don't flash your light unless the Help button complains that the LPDA isn't responding or nobody seems to be responding to the alert (alerts are really flakey and maybe the GSTL set their PDA down). If you flash your light, maybe you're just out of coupon ink but you've freaked out the other people in line into thinking it's now going to take a long time. So think of the light only as a backup when the Help button isn't getting you anywhere. In the same vein, if something is going to take a couple minutes, suspend the transaction (you can't suspend alcohol purchases though) so you can help the next guest.
At least at the Targets I've worked at, they've been the least picky about the drawer being off as any place I have worked. They're not worried about counting out pennies or going to take differences out of your paycheck or anything (and you don't have to take your drawer with you like some places). This is, of course, not to say that if you start pocketing $20s, they're not going to notice (you'll be fired, legally prosecuted and pretty much blackballed from retail -- don't do it). So don't worry there. Count people back their bills though, people appreciate it and I've caught myself wrong either direction a number of times (especially with new bills or when it's getting late).
With regards to things hiding under carts or under baby carriages, most people aren't trying to steal stuff but when you're dealing with three kids, the kitty litter gets forgotten. Just try to notice if something's there. You can ask people if the soda or Goldfish crackers or whatever are already theirs or if they still have to pay for them. The training manual says to make sure you look inside boxes (such as big opaque Sterilite totes or coolers), make sure you catch two-piece things which are stacked together (such as a lamp and shade which are sold separately) and check the bottom of the cart. Also try to notice things that have fallen down next to the baby seat in the cart, makeup and things fall down there all the time (and sometimes it's even from the previous guest).
Try to avoid Paid and Left, make sure people grab their things before you turn your attention to the next guest and feel free to run after people if you remember what they looked like. But it happens so make sure you take it to the Guest Services desk when you get a chance and they can show you how to file it.
With regards to REDcards, we weren't asking for a month anyway but it seems to be back in full force now (or almost there). Sell people on the debit one if they're paying with cash or debit. If they're paying with credit, I ask them about the credit one and if they say "no," I tell them about the debit one. People are also happy that you can now do the debit (or credit) application online with just routing information rather than having to bring in a check. It doesn't help your conversion score but there is another metric that says what percentage of REDcards were used in your lane and anyway, few people carry their checkbook with them. So always specify "debit card" (when people are writing a check, I use the old "check card" name) because if you just say "REDcard," people assume you're talking about a credit card. Anyway, don't worry about your conversion scores, especially right now.
At least at Target, you don't have a choice when it comes to carding for alcohol. So it's far more likely that you'll get a 70 year old that's peeved that they have to show ID to buy beer than a 17 year old (although plenty of older women are happy to be carded). If anybody complains, just explain that we have to card everyone. So you don't have to worry about getting caught not carding someone who turns out to be underage.
With regards to employee discount cards, obviously there are rules and Target doesn't want you passing it around but if someone pays in cash, there's no way that anybody's going to know. So I don't think that's something that you should be worried about.
"Hardlinesmaster" is right though: "You will be okay." How many tens of thousands of guests will come through your lane this year? Way more than you want to think about. So while there's a lot of opportunity for things to go wrong, any single transaction is pretty insignificant.