National Adult Literacy Database

April 30, 2007

The following story was written by Anna, from Arthur, Ontario. Anna is enrolled in literacy classes at the Wellington County Learning Centre in Arthur.

A cashier in a small grocery store

by Anna

I work as a cashier in a small grocery store. I've been there almost a year now. When I started it was only for a couple of hours a day. The owner needed someone to help and he asked if I would like. Now I work either seven to ten or ten to seven.

We don't have a machine that scans things, so I have to enter the amount into the cash register. The machine tells me how much change to give back but I like to count it out for myself.

We also sell lottery tickets of all kinds. I have to activate the tickets, enter information into the lottery machine and of course payout money to people who win.

When I start it's seven in the morning. The owner is already there. He opens the store and turns on the lights. When I work until seven at night, I have to cover stuff up, turn off lights and lock all the doors.

In my job, I have to interact with people all day long. It's a small town so most of the people who come into the store are locals. I like to talk to people so it makes my job easy. I've only lived here for five years. Working at the store has made me feel like part of the community.

Since it's a small store I do many different jobs. I stock shelves and I have to serve people at the deli counter. I was really nervous about running the meat slicer but I was shown how to use it and then I tried it.

The health department comes in on a regular basis and gives us information.

[This story was taken with permission, from The Learning Edge, Issue 7, an online newsletter published by the Wellington County Learning Centre, in partnership with AlphaPlus/AlphaRoute.]