Good Service
Smile and be nice. If you've had a bad day, leave it at home and be polite while on shift, even to the meanest customers. You don't need to be a pushover, but you're more likely to leave your customer happy and satisfied if you're slower but in a great mood than if you're the fastest cashier ever but snappy and rude. If you can't sincerely be cheerful, at least try to fake it.
Ask the customer if "they are having a good day". Actually listen to their response and acknowledge their response. When they are walking out of the store, they will feel properly acknowledged and will likely come back to your store.
Call for backup. If your store has a protocol to call for backup when the line gets too long, call for backup and try not to rush through the entire line yourself.
Stop talking to coworkers when service is required. Customers feel uncomfortable at best and disrespected if cashiers keep chatting around or over them while being served. This is your job, and just as other people don't chat away at work constantly, neither should you. Learn to drop and pick up conversations when it is appropriate.
Good Cash Handling
Get to know the basics of your cash system. Whether it's an old manual cash register or a state-of-the-art computer system, you should know how to do all the basic things that will come up at least once every three or four customers. If your cash register has quick buttons for some cash amounts, like $5, $10, or $20, get in the habit of using them. For the first few days, review your basics constantly while it's not busy, and ask a more experienced cashier to double check you to make sure you're doing everything exactly right.
Count back change. When there is not a long line, get into the habit of counting back the change to the customer instead of just handing them a bunch of bills. This cuts down on mistakes. Good practice in small retail businesses includes calling out large notes so that your coworker hears it. If there is a dispute and a customer claims to have given you more money than they did, you can use this standard practice to show that this is unlikely.
Keep note of how the customer will be paying. Someone paying in cash has to search for change, while someone paying with debit needs to type their pin and wait for the transaction to go through. This is a great time to do something else they'll need done, like bagging their purchases.
Being Informed about Store Protocols
Learn how to do things that come up reasonably often, but not every day. For example, if you only sell a gift certificate once every week or two, it's still a good idea to know the routine by heart. It's also a good idea to know what to do if you make a mistake or a small problem comes up - what's the routine if you give the wrong change but have already closed your cash, if someone wants a refund, or if your debit machine goes on the fritz? If this wasn't part of basic training, ask your manager or a more experienced cashier.
Know where to go for more info if something more rare comes up. You probably can't memorize every routine in the book, especially the ones that might never come up while you work there, but you need to know where your guidebook or user manual is if those once-in-a-blue-moon occasions come up. It's a good idea to at least skim the full guidebook, so you'll know roughly what's in it and where to go if, say, the power goes out and you have to use that dusty manual debit card press in the back.
Know the store's products well enough to make suggestions and compliments. Even if you're only a cashier and never expected to work the floor, you're still an employee and might be asked questions. If you happen to know something is a particularly good purchase, let the buyer know that they just got the first of a brand new product, or that you think that one's the nicest in the store and they made a great choice. Be sincere about this and don't overdo it, but a little compliment can create the perception of added value and make a customer even happier with their purchase.
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