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Barista vs cashier

The differences between baristas and cashiers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a barista has an average salary of $29,528, which is higher than the $28,144 average annual salary of a cashier.

The top three skills for a barista include cash handling, food products and punctuality. The most important skills for a cashier are front end, cash handling, and basic math.

Barista vs cashier overview

BaristaCashier
Yearly salary$29,528$28,144
Hourly rate$14.20$13.53
Growth rate14%-10%
Number of jobs93,290456,110
Job satisfaction-4.2
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 43%High School Diploma, 45%
Average age2334
Years of experience--

What does a barista do?

Baristas are employees who work on assembling drinks available in the restaurant cafe. They are expected to be familiar with the menu offerings related to non-alcoholic beverages, such as coffee, tea, or chocolate, available in the restaurant. They are also expected to be familiar with the ingredients needed to make such drinks. They are in charge of managing the inventory and ensuring that the ingredients needed are readily available. Baristas are also expected to be able to make drinks in a quick yet accurate manner.

What does a cashier do?

A cashier is one of the most visible positions in the retail industry. Cashiers are the last direct point of contact with customers and play a key role in service, retail, and wholesale establishments. They leave a long-lasting impression, which helps encourage the customers to go back. The most common tasks for cashiers are to scan items, conduct price checks, and collect payments. They may deal with a great amount of money on a daily basis, so this position requires them to be honest, reliable, and trustworthy employees. They also need to have great skills in customer service as they may handle customer complaints from time to time, assist in answering questions, and process refunds or exchanges.

Barista vs cashier salary

Baristas and cashiers have different pay scales, as shown below.

BaristaCashier
Average salary$29,528$28,144
Salary rangeBetween $22,000 And $38,000Between $21,000 And $36,000
Highest paying CityPortland, MEWashington, DC
Highest paying stateMaineMassachusetts
Best paying companySt. Jude Children's Research HospitalDeloitte
Best paying industryRetailRetail

Differences between barista and cashier education

There are a few differences between a barista and a cashier in terms of educational background:

BaristaCashier
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 43%High School Diploma, 45%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Barista vs cashier demographics

Here are the differences between baristas' and cashiers' demographics:

BaristaCashier
Average age2334
Gender ratioMale, 30.3% Female, 69.7%Male, 27.1% Female, 72.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage8%5%

Differences between barista and cashier duties and responsibilities

Barista example responsibilities.

  • Used Microsoft excel and QuickBooks to manage payroll, receive orders and payments, create invoices and update customer accounts.
  • Supervise a team of employees and run store operations while
  • Provide excellent customer service, keep shop/equipment cleanliness, order/stocking of coffee/food/drink items.
  • Recognize by supervisors and customers for excellence in customer service, punctuality, and positive attitude.
  • Provide legendary customer service and cultivate relationships with customers all while creating handcraft beverages up to Starbucks standard.
  • Provide customers Starbucks quality service by interacting with customers, making quality beverages, and maintaining an excellent store environment.
  • Show more

Cashier example responsibilities.

  • Manage employees by making schedules, doing payroll, and maintain an all around comfortable working environment.
  • Develop, implement, and update standard operating procedures relating to daily operations, financial transactions and management, customer service.
  • Demonstrate basic math skills and record daily earnings without error.
  • Perform basic math computations, such as addition subtraction, and division.
  • Provide customer service by scanning and packing groceries, processing customers transactions and answering any questions about food products
  • Work at home depot as cashier.
  • Show more

Barista vs cashier skills

Common barista skills
  • Cash Handling, 27%
  • Food Products, 18%
  • Punctuality, 11%
  • Presentation Standards, 6%
  • Operational Policies, 4%
  • Customer Service, 3%
Common cashier skills
  • Front End, 14%
  • Cash Handling, 10%
  • Basic Math, 10%
  • POS, 10%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Customer Complaints, 5%

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