Cash Register Systems

I used to be pretty freaked out about working at a cash register. You hear so many old timers these days talking about how they counted back change and how nobody does it right anymore. So, when I got a job at McDonalds, working the register, you can imagine I was a little freaked about that! But, I soon found out that cash registers and indeed other restaurant equipment are different today than they were 'way back when.' They actually tell you how much change to give back and you don't have to worry about the correct way to hand the money over. Just plop in the hand and say '9 dollars and 95 cents is your change. Thank you, have a nice day!'

One thing I did struggle with was that the registers were completely run off the screen. There is no keyboard or external buttons in site. You have to touch the screen to click on what you want. The problem was that the screen wasn't always sensitive enough to feel the pressure of the finger on it, and sometimes it would take awhile longer to get an order going! I went to the local nail salon and got a full set of nails artificially attached to mine. These nails seemed to be able to handle the pressing of the buttons a lot better! And I was able to get my orders processed in double time!

Of course, no system is perfect. There were many times that I would get a disgruntled customer come through and tell me that they gave me a 20 and I only gave them change for a 5. More likely than not, they were just lying to try to get more money out of me and my register. But, mistakes did sometimes happen. We had to empty the register, take it to the back room and count out the cash. Then we would either relay to the customer that the drawer was perfect and we couldn't hand them money. Or, we would bring them their correct change and apologize for the mix up.

In the end, I loved working the register. I may have got pushed around a bit. But, I also got to meet cool new people everyday! We would start chatting about purses, the weather, and our children. The register was almost a connection between us. Because it housed the money they had given me, it was our link to a cool conversation.