Constantly making stupid mistakes at work.

DaftChris

I honestly think I might get fired from my job.

I work as a cashier in a big box retail store and I keep on making mistakes that someone who is brand new would make (I've been there for about 8 months). A while back I messed up with coupons, as I kept on accepting coupons that, upon closer inspection, either went over retail price or were expired. I admit that was my fault and there was no excuse for such a thing to happen.

Last week I rung up an item with "spider-wrap" ( black wire that require to be opened by a magnetic key) and it was about $20. I finished the transaction and the customer left. A couple of days later I was told that the guy switched the bar codes and only paid $20 for a $300 item.

And just today I got scammed from some money from the register. The guy did the thing were he gives the change back, plus difference to make it the amount he paid, and I "made change" again. I think that my register has $100 less than what it should have.

I don't know why I keep making these stupid mistakes. There is no excuse for them to happen and I think I'm going to get fired because of them. My mind is always going a mile a minute and, lately, I've had difficulty focusing.

Sorry, I just had to spill my guts.

karasti

Try to just slow down, and do one item, one transaction, one customer at a time. Make it the best experience you can for yourself and the customer and don't worry about the one you just finished with or the ones coming up. I hated cashiering when I had to do it and I just made it my goal to move to another department/job title asap, but to do that I had to do as good as I could with the cashiering. The more you worry the harder it'll be to focus.

Another thing you could try is talking to your supervisor/manager. Explain what you did to us, and maybe they have another training session or something you can go to, or have someone shadow you to give you tips and help you focus and slow down. If you are proactive and go to them with the problem, it'll show you are trying to fix it and want to keep your job and want help in figuring out how to fix the problem.

Cloud

You could try remaining mindful of your breathing throughout your work-day. It helps keep the mind focused, perhaps will keep it from running a mile a minute. And take your time, I'd say. Don't feel that you need to rush. It doesn't sound like a factory job where you have to keep up with a production line.

Sabre

Oh well. We all make mistakes. That's the way things are. Even if you are super mindful, these things can happen. Try to find anyone who never made a mistake at work.. you won't find anyone.

I recently made a mistake that costed me about a months work..

federica

You didn't make mistakes. you were scammed, twice.
Your duty is not to necessarily be more financially vigilant, it's to know your products, and to not let the client dictate what happens.
Once the transaction procedure has been carried out in the till, that's the way it has to unfold.
so if a client says that ..."hang on, let's do it this way..." you can simply reply, "I'm sorry sir, the transaction has been logged, I have to proceed as i have entered it. But thank you for your gesture!" How can they then possibly insist...? If they want to insist on altering the way they pay, get a second staff member to witness it - "two hands are better than one".....

Speak to Management. Tell them you are concerned yourself, over your performance, and that you believe you need to familiarise yourself with some procedures, because in your own eyes, you've made a couple of "unforced errors". Submit a letter to this effect.
That way, if they try to fire you, you have evidence to show that you yourself, sought to remedy the problem.