Retail cashier interview questions

What this hire must get done

Write the scorecard before you interview, then hire against it. Set the bracketed targets from your own numbers.

What to tell candidates before the interview

Say the hard parts plainly. People who wouldn't stay drop out early, and the ones who stay knew what they signed up for.

• Name the shifts you need, including closing times, weekends and the holiday weeks, and say how far ahead the schedule is posted.
• Explain how drawers are counted, for example with a manager at the start and end of every shift, and that refunds and voids are reviewed under each cashier's ID.
• Say plainly that cashiers never chase, stop or accuse a suspected shoplifter. They tell a manager, and the store's policy takes it from there.
• Tell them that January brings a long run of returns and exchanges, and that the policy, not the customer's mood, decides each one.

How to run the interview

1. Same questions, same order. Ask every candidate the questions below and the same follow-ups. It is the only way to compare people fairly.
2. Two interviewers. An owner or manager and someone who does the work. Take notes on what the candidate says, not on how you feel about them.
3. Score right after each answer. 5 sounds like the strong answer, 3 like the mixed one, 1 like the weak one. Use 2 and 4 for answers in between.
4. Rate alone, then compare. Compare candidates question by question, and talk only after everyone has scored. Big gaps are worth a conversation.

1. Technical · Cash accuracy

   The sale comes to [thirteen sixty-two], and the customer hands you a [twenty]. Walk me through how you make change and hand it back.

   It shows whether they can count money on their own or only read the number off the screen.

   Follow-ups

   • Where is the twenty while you count the change?
   • After you've keyed the twenty, they hand you two pennies. What do you do?
   • What do you say out loud as you hand it back?

   5Strong

   Says the amount received aloud, leaves the twenty on top of the drawer until the change is in the customer's hand, counts up from the total to twenty, and counts the change back to them. Handles the two pennies by counting up again from the new amount.

   3Mixed

   Gets the right change by reading the screen and handing it over in one pile, without counting it back or keeping the bill out.

   1Weak

   Can't work out change without the screen, or drops the twenty in the drawer before the change is counted.

2. Situational · Cash accuracy

   While you're counting back change, the customer asks to swap some small bills for a larger one, then changes their mind and wants coins too. What do you do?

   Fast bill swaps at an open drawer are a known way to short-change a cashier. Finishing one sale at a time is the defense police departments teach.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you do with the drawer while they're talking?
   • How do you know when one sale is finished?
   • When would you call a manager?

   5Strong

   Finishes the sale, counts the change back and closes the drawer before anything else. Treats the swap as a new request, keeps the customer's money on the counter until it's counted, and calls a manager before making change outside a sale, or as the store's rule says.

   3Mixed

   Senses something is off and slows down, but tries to sort out the swaps with the drawer still open.

   1Weak

   Keeps swapping bills to be helpful, or doesn't see why it matters.

3. Situational · Cash accuracy

   At your closing count with the key holder, your drawer is [twelve] short. You're sure you were careful all shift. What do you do?

   Shortages happen. You want the cashier who looks for the cause and reports the number honestly.

   Follow-ups

   • Where would you look for the missing money first?
   • Last week you were over by about the same. What does that tell you?
   • What goes on the count sheet, and who signs it?

   5Strong

   Recounts with the key holder, then checks for a missed safe drop, a bill under the tray, a card sale keyed as cash or a wrong return. Reads last week's over and this short as change-making slips. Reports the final number and signs the count. Never covers it.

   3Mixed

   Reports it honestly but assumes the register made an error, and doesn't look for the cause.

   1Weak

   Would cover it with personal money, hide it, or leave a known over in the drawer to even things out.

4. Situational · Following policy

   A customer wants to return a sweater with no receipt, weeks past the return window. They're getting louder, and four people are waiting behind them. What do you do?

   It shows whether they can hold the policy and stay kind at the same time, with a line watching.

   Follow-ups

   • What can you look up before you say no?
   • What do you say to the customer, word for word?
   • What do you do about the people waiting?

   5Strong

   Stays calm, tries to find the purchase by card or loyalty number, lays out the options the policy gives, like [store credit], and brings in a manager if the customer wants more, rather than deciding alone. Calls for backup so the line keeps moving.

   3Mixed

   Calls a manager right away, without first looking up the purchase or telling the customer what the policy does allow.

   1Weak

   Refunds the cash to end the scene, or argues with the customer in front of the line.

5. Situational · Following policy

   A customer buying [an age-restricted item you sell] looks young. They're friendly and in a hurry, and they say their ID is in the car. What do you do?

   An underage sale can bring the store fines, so the cashier has to hold the rule with someone pleasant.

   Follow-ups

   • What on the ID do you check?
   • They show you a photo of their license on their phone. What now?
   • Their friend, who looks older, offers to buy it instead. What do you do?

   5Strong

   Explains kindly that the item needs an ID check and offers to hold it. Checks the photo, birth date and expiry, won't take a picture of a card, and takes a digital ID only if store rules allow. Declines when the friend steps in, and calls a manager if pressed.

   3Mixed

   Won't sell without an ID, but handles it stiffly: says only "it's the law", doesn't offer to hold the item, and calls a manager for every question rather than knowing what to check.

   1Weak

   Sells because the customer seems old enough or is nice about it.

6. Situational · Speaking up

   From the register, you see a shopper slip a small item into their jacket and start walking toward the door. What do you do?

   Cashiers who chase or grab shoppers get hurt and expose the store. You want one who stays put and tells the right person.

   Follow-ups

   • What, if anything, do you say to the shopper?
   • What do you tell your manager, and how?
   • The door alarm sounds as they leave. What now?

   5Strong

   Doesn't chase, block, touch or accuse. May offer service, like asking whether they'd like that rung up, if store policy allows. Tells the manager quietly with a description of the person and the item. If the alarm sounds, follows the store's alarm script and lets them go.

   3Mixed

   Stays put and says nothing to the shopper, but waits until the shopper has gone to tell anyone, so the manager hears it too late to act.

   1Weak

   Would confront, chase, block the door or grab the bag.

7. Situational · Speaking up

   A customer wants to buy several gift cards for a large total. They're on the phone, someone on the call is telling them what to buy, and they look nervous. What do you do?

   Scammers often have people pay with gift cards. A cashier who notices and speaks up kindly can save a customer a lot of money.

   Follow-ups

   • What would you say, word for word?
   • The customer says it's for their bank. What then?
   • When would you bring in a manager?

   5Strong

   Stays polite and mentions, without accusing, that no real business or government agency asks to be paid with gift cards, and suggests checking before buying. Follows the store's gift card policy and brings in a manager. Doesn't lecture or shame the customer.

   3Mixed

   Notices the warning signs but rings it up without a word, then tells a manager after.

   1Weak

   Doesn't notice anything unusual, or refuses the sale rudely without explaining.

8. Behavioral · Keeping calm

   Tell me about a time, at a job, at school or as a volunteer, when someone was upset with you over something you didn't cause.

   Cashiers take the blame for prices, policies and waits they didn't set. Past calm is the best sign of future calm.

   Follow-ups

   • What did they say, and what did you say first?
   • What could you fix, and what couldn't you?
   • How did it end?

   5Strong

   Gives a specific case. Listened without arguing, said they understood, fixed what they could and brought in someone else for what they couldn't. Can say how the person left.

   3Mixed

   Stayed polite, but mostly waited for it to blow over or handed it off at once.

   1Weak

   Argued back, or says it has never happened.

9. Behavioral · Asking without pushing

   Tell me about a time you asked people to sign up, donate or buy something, at work, school or for a cause. How did you ask?

   Loyalty sign-ups are part of the job. This shows whether they can ask in a way people say yes to, and take a no gracefully.

   Follow-ups

   • What did you say, word for word?
   • What did you do when someone said no?
   • What made more people say yes?

   5Strong

   Asked each person once, tied it to something that mattered to them, accepted a no right away, and noticed what got more yeses.

   3Mixed

   Asked everyone the same way and took no for an answer, but never changed the approach.

   1Weak

   Kept pushing after a no, or avoided asking at all.

10. Behavioral · Speaking up

    Tell me about a mistake you made that cost someone money or time, at work, school or anywhere else. What did you do once you noticed?

    Mis-rings and wrong change happen. You want the cashier who tells a manager the same day.

    Follow-ups

    • How did you find out?
    • Who did you tell, and how soon?
    • What habit did you change after that?

    5Strong

    Names a real mistake, told the right person quickly, helped fix it, and changed a habit so it wouldn't happen again.

    3Mixed

    Fixed it but didn't tell anyone, or told someone only after being asked.

    1Weak

    Can't name a mistake, or blames someone else.

Work exercise: register drill with play money

Give finalists a drawer of play money, a made-up price list and a printed return policy, and allow [15] minutes. They count the starting drawer, ring [three] sales and count back change, one where the customer hands over extra coins after the total is keyed. Then an interviewer plays a customer returning an item with no receipt, past the window, and another buying [an age-restricted item] with an expired ID (skip it if you sell none). Use a training register or paper, never a live one.

Use made-up materials, never real customer work, and keep it to the time shown. Follow your own safety rules for anything hands-on.

Reference check questions

Tell finalists you'll call a former manager, and get their permission first. Ask about what they did, not whether they were nice.

• When their drawer or count was off, what did they do about it?
• Tell me about a time they had to tell a customer no. How did the customer take it?
• How did they do with showing up on time and giving notice when they needed a shift covered?
• Would you put them on your busiest register again? What would you want them to work on?

Questions to skip, and what to ask instead

Ask only what the job needs. Questions that touch age, health, family or pay history can break federal, state or local law, even when you mean well.

• SkipWho watches your kids when you close?

  AskClosing shifts end at [your closing time], and we need [two weekends a month and the holiday weeks]. Can you work that schedule?

• SkipYou'll be on your feet all day. Are you up to that physically?

  AskPut it to every candidate in the same words: this job includes [standing at the register for most of a shift and lifting items up to 25 pounds]. Can you perform those tasks, with or without reasonable accommodation?

• SkipHow old are you? What year did you finish school?

  AskIf your state sets a minimum age to sell [alcohol or tobacco] or to work your closing hours, ask every candidate the same way: are you at least [18]? Don't ask for a birth date or a school year.

• SkipHave you ever been arrested?

  AskSay when your background check happens, if you run one, and follow your state and city fair-chance rules on timing. California's, for example, bars questions about convictions until after a conditional job offer for most jobs.

Common mistakes when hiring a retail cashier

• Hiring on availability alone

  Open weekends are easy to see on an application. Accuracy isn't. The register drill takes fifteen minutes and shows who counts carefully before you hand them a drawer.

• Charging short drawers to the cashier

  Federal wage rules say a shortage can't be taken from a cashier's pay, or paid back in cash, if it drops them below minimum wage or cuts into overtime, even when they were careless. Many states go further: California allows it only for a dishonest or willful act or gross negligence. Coach first: recount with them, retrain and watch for a pattern.

• Praising the cashier who chased a shoplifter

  It feels like loyalty, but it teaches the rest of the team to take risks. State laws and your policy decide who, if anyone, may stop a suspected shoplifter, and how. Thank the cashier for the description instead.

Retail cashier interview FAQ