area. You can use employee lockers to eliminate this  problem. Instruct  your  check-out  employees  that  they are  prohibited  from  smoking  or  drinking  while they  are  performing  check-out  functions.  Make certain  that  check-out  stands  are  washed  daily. If  you  display  merchandise  at  check-out  stands, make   certain   that   the   merchandise   does   not impede  customer  traffic. Spacing   requirements   between   check-out counters   are   outlined   in   your   NAVRESSO instructions.  If  you  think  that  you  have  a  problem with   your   front   end   spacing,   check   your NAVRESSO instructions and take the necessary steps. In stocking your counters, make certain that you  have  enough  bags  available  and  that  the  bags are  the  correct  sizes  and  variety.  Store  all  bulk bags  out  of  the  patrons’  view.  Use  only  bags  for packing  groceries.  You  should  not  use  boxes  for this purpose. You should try to comply with any reasonable customer requests for double bags or separate packing of perishables, frozen foods, ice cream,  and  crushable  merchandise. The  check-out  register  for  the  express  lane should always be the one nearest the entrance to the  store.  By  keeping  the  express  lane  near  the entrance,  you  can  maintain  an  easy  replenishment of  hand  carryout  baskets. Scheduling of Checkout Personnel A   well-trained,   well-supervised   check-out operation   will   not   be   successful   unless   labor resources  are  scheduled  according  to  workload requirements. If the number of customers varies from  day  to  day  and  from  hour  to  hour,  as  it usually   does   in   Navy   commissaries,   and   you schedule  the  same  number  of  work  hours  from day  to  day  and  from  hour  to  hour,  you  are  not adequately preparing the check-out operation to process patron purchases in a timely and efficient manner. The goal for full-time and part-time mix in  the  check-out  function  is  to  achieve  employ- ment  of  25  percent  of  check-out  personnel  on  a full-time   basis   and   75   percent   of   check-out personnel   on   a   part-time   basis.   To   balance workload and labor resources, you must take the following   actions: 1.  Chart  sales  and  patron  transactions  pro- cessed  during  each  hour  of  each  day,  each  day within  the  week,  and  each  week  within  the  month by  means  of  Sales  Event  Record  (SER)  Forms (CS  45)  and  the  Checkout  Operating  Report Summary. 2.  After  considering  this  historical  informa- tion and other relevant factors, such as paydays, sales  events,  forecast  sales,  and  patronage,  assign the  work  force  on  the  basis  of  the  anticipated workload. The employment of part-time workers can be used to assist in the correlation of the work force to the peaks and valleys of patronage. The total  work  force  should  be  scheduled  over  a 14-day calendar period, based upon an employee pay  period. Supervising Check-out Productivity and Accuracy Essential  to  your  achievement  of  check-out operation   objectives   is   your   effective,   efficient use  of  available  labor  resources.  The  degree  to which  you  can  achieve  these  objectives  depends upon  the  adequacy  of  training,  supervision,  and scheduling  and  the  degree  to  which  you  devote management attention to each of these elements. Since   check-out   operations   involve   close attention to detail, interfacing with patrons, and the  handling  and  safeguarding  of  funds,  it  is essential that personnel be thoroughly trained at initial  hire.  In  addition,  commissary  personnel may require continued training for the supervisor to   correct   any   bad   habits   that   may   develop. Register  operators  must  be  impressed  with  the importance  of  their  function  as  it  relates  to  the financial  integrity  of  each  department  and  the store  as  a  whole,  as  well  as  to  the  development of  good  customer  relations. Upon being hired, a register operator should receive  8  hours  of  training  and  1  hour  of indoctrination  before  being  assigned  to  a  cash register.  On  a  continuing  basis,  all  register operators  must  receive  16  hours  of  training every   6   months.   The   training   should   be   pro- grammed  as  follows:  2  hours  of-classroom  instruc- tion, 4 hours of produce recognition, and 10 hours of  register  accuracy  and  speed.  Classroom  instruc- tion  should  cover  the  policies  and  procedures related to the handling of cash and other tender, departmental  recording,  overrings,  voids  and refund   procedures,    and  the  replacement  of “throw” receipt tapes. At commissaries equipped with  electronic  registers,  the  terminals  should always be in the training mode during hands-on instruction.   A   “read”   report  should  be  taken before and after training on the registers. These reports must be secured and verified during sales audits.  These  results  should  be  recorded  on  CS 1.  Since  preparation  for  possible  power  failures or  cash  register  malfunctions  is  essential,  practice 8-21