Counter and Rental Clerks

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Compute charges for merchandise or services and receive payments.
• Receive orders for services, such as rentals, repairs, dry cleaning, and storage.
• Provide information about rental items, such as availability, operation, or description.
• Keep records of transactions and of the number of customers entering an establishment.
• Recommend and provide advice on a wide variety of products and services.
• Allocate equipment to participants in sporting events or recreational activities.
• Prepare rental forms, obtaining customer signature and other information, such as required licenses.
• Answer telephones to provide information and receive orders.
• Provide information about rental items, such as availability, operation, or description.
• Advise customers on use and care of merchandise.
• Greet customers and discuss the type, quality, and quantity of merchandise sought for rental.
• Compute charges for merchandise or services and receive payments.
• Rent items, arrange for provision of services to customers, and accept returns.
• Reserve items for requested times and keep records of items rented.
• Reserve items for requested times and keep records of items rented.
• Recommend and provide advice on a wide variety of products and services.
• Greet customers and discuss the type, quality, and quantity of merchandise sought for rental.
• Rent items, arrange for provision of services to customers, and accept returns.
• Inspect and adjust rental items to meet needs of customer.
• Explain rental fees, policies, and procedures.
• Answer telephones to provide information and receive orders.
• Receive, examine, and tag articles to be altered, cleaned, stored, or repaired.
• Prepare merchandise for display or for purchase or rental.

Skills

• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

Abilities

• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.

Knowledge

• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

Education

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

47420/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

22.8/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

16,210

Yearly Projected Openings

2170

Personality

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

• Social Orientation
• Dependability
• Cooperation
• Attention to Detail
• Integrity

Tools

• Adjustable widemouth pliers
• Adjustable wrenches
• Bar code reader equipment
• Cash registers
• Delivery trucks
• Desktop computers
• Digital cameras
• Hand trucks or accessories
• Magnetic stripe readers and encoders
• Nut drivers
• Personal computers
• Screwdrivers
• Security cameras
• Still cameras
• Stripping tools
• Wire cutters

Technology

• Data base user interface and query software
• Electronic mail software
• Inventory management software
• Office suite software
• Point of sale POS software
• Presentation software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software