(rant) grocery baggers

chas · Post by **chas** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:28 pm

I have four reusable grocery bags. I don't remember them as often as I ought, but I use them whenever I remember. The stores all give 3 cents off when one uses these bags, presumably because it saves them money both on using plastic bags and taking them in for recycling, which they all do.

There is a certain nationwide grocery-store chain that I won't name, but begins with S and ends with y. I don't know whether they teach their employees to use as many plastic bags or whether they give no instruction at all, but I'm always flabbergasted how I go to S....y and buy maybe six items and come away with four bags. I had thought maybe my wife and I were unique in our horror, until I was in a local chain, G...t (my preferred store, largely for this reason), and told a bagger to put my five or so items in one bag, and he replied, "This isn't S....y!"

So today for reasons beyond my control I go to S....y, with a reusable bag. I have a dozen or so items, including five little yogurts. The checker asks me, and I am not making this up, "You want stuff in this?" indicating the reusable bag. I tell her that I want everything in that. To her credit, she put everything in that bag. But she bagged almost everything before putting it in the damn thing! She DOUBLE BAGGED the five yogurts before putting them in the cloth bag! I can understand bagging the beef roast, but the package of carrots? The two bags of squash? I just don't get it. We counted five plastic bags when we unpacked stuff. So much for saving the environment.

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:42 pm

Safeway got a new orange juice machine, and asked if any of their current employees would like to operate it. A bag boy volunteered but was told "No. Baggers can't be juicers."

missy · Post by **missy** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:42 am

K....r does the same thing - in fact, they don't even have paper bags (which we can put in our recycling here)!!

That's why we go to Biggs!!

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:05 am

At G...t, I usually try to use the check-it-yerself lanes. And bag it myself.
S.....y does use loads of bags. And the extra dumb part is, their bags are smaller than average so you can't use them to line your bathroom trashcan.

I have a whole collection of reusable bags, and generally remember to bring them in at Whole Foods and Trader Joe.

The reusable bag movement is picking up steam. S.....y, of the places I frequent, is the least behind it so far. They'll catch on sooner or later.

izzarina · Post by **izzarina** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:12 am

missy wrote:K....r does the same thing - in fact, they don't even have paper bags (which we can put in our recycling here)!!

That's why we go to Biggs!!

I know what you mean...when we were still in Ohio, and I shopped at K....r, I once asked them for paper rather than plastic. The checkout lady looked at me like I had 3 heads (and I didn't even have all of the kids with me!). She then said "Ma'am, we don't HAVE paper here". I found that absolutely unbelievable.

dwinterfield · Post by **dwinterfield** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:25 am

It's Stop and Shop around here. I rarely remember to bring the reusable. I always tell them to use fewer bags. They tell me I'd be amazed at how many people want multiple layers of bags on everything. I note now that they have small bag dispensers in the meat department so you can individually bag each meat/chicken item. Of course these days the packaging technology is such that individual meat packages never leak.

My mother is 89 and frail. She only wants a few items per bag. I think Stop and Shop trains its baggers to treat everyone like an octogenarian!

Post by **Nanohedron** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:32 am

Why will they bag everything except the milk? Don't tell me it's because the jug has a handle. Please. That mother's cold when you're hauling your stuff up stairs. Especially in winter.

Well, okay. I lied. They will bag milk. I just have to ask to get them to do it.

dwinterfield · Post by **dwinterfield** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:34 am

Nanohedron wrote:Why will they bag everything except the milk? Don't tell me it's because the jug has a handle. Please. That mother's cold when you're hauling your stuff up stairs. Especially in winter.

These days they always ask ne if I want the milk in a bag.

Post by **Nanohedron** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:48 am

dwinterfield wrote:
Nanohedron wrote:Why will they bag everything except the milk? Don't tell me it's because the jug has a handle. Please. That mother's cold when you're hauling your stuff up stairs. Especially in winter.
These days they always ask ne if I want the milk in a bag.

I don't even get asked. Ever. But for me, your post speaks to the question of the handle. It's ergonomically better to have the milk (I buy in gallons, BTW, just so we're clear on ideas of scope) in a bag when you have other bags as well, have to juggle the housekeys, and sometimes it's a tossup which hand will be best to use to do the unlocking. If you're schlepping the milk by the handle, your options are lessened. You can't slide the jug handle onto your wrist or do twisty-turny stuff without calculating whether you'll ever play the whistle again. Ultimately, is it a big deal? I guess it is, and it isn't.

If I was getting just milk, I wouldn't care about a bag.

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:07 am

I just use the last three fingers for all of the bags and the index for the milk.

Post by **Nanohedron** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:17 am

Denny wrote:I just use the last three fingers for all of the bags and the index for the milk.

I hate that. Done it, and all I could think of was, Oh, this is great. One wrong move, and *bang*. Goodbye, music.

No, thanks.

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:33 am

your gallons must be heavier

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:47 am

I loathe those do-it-yourself lanes...you do their job but get no discount for doing it. I have used them on occasion when there was nobody there and the other lines were long, but I get so angry at the talking machine I can hardly be trusted not to do it bodily harm.

Each item you scan must be placed in the bag. Fine. Except that I'm scanning a 40 pound bag of dog food. "Please place the item in the bag." No...I'm putting it back in the cart, thank you. Attempt to scan the next item. No dice. "Please place the item in the bag." No...I already put it back in the cart. Still won't let me scan the next item. "Please place the item in the bag." I pick up the 40 pound bag of dog food and throw it at the bag area. This startles the young store employee overseeing the do-it-yourself area but makes the machine happy and I'm allowed to scan the next item.

Aggghhhhh!!!!

Susan

Post by **Nanohedron** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:56 am

Denny wrote:your gallons must be heavier

That must be it.

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:59 am

Most modern grocery checkout lanes are not designed for using paper bags. There is usually a revolving plastic bag holder that allows the checkout person to bag the groceries immediately after they have been scanned. I was at my store this week, and the woman in front of me asked for paper bags. The store had them, but the checkout person had to go get them. It was a time-consuming process because there was no good place to sit the paper bag in order to fill it. The customer ended up having to fill the bags herself, sitting the bag in her shopping cart. Why, I ask, do I have to choose these lines to wait in?

Even though I have a cart full of produce, sometimes it is faster to use a self-check lane. I'm getting faster at it now than I was in the beginning. At least I don't have to get irritated at the slow people in front of me with an envelope full of coupons and checkout personnel who decide to use this occasion to catch up on the latest gossip.

I have gotten accustomed to using plastic bags for my groceries. I usually can carry several bags with one hand. It is also easier on my back, as paper bags required me to bend over in order to get underneath the bag to pick it up, unless, of course, the paper bag has a handle on it. I use the plastic bags for all kinds of things other than carring home my groceries, and I recycle all of the bags when too many begin to accumulate in my kitchen.