The Lost Art of Bagging Groceries Logically
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Most likely you've seen me as you enter the grocery store.
No, not the greeter who hands you a cart so you won't have to work it loose from 32 other carts in the line, but the woman off to the side standing over a cart transferring the contents of a half-dozen bags of groceries into two.
Mind you, when I got in line at the checkout, all of the items in those half-dozen bags were in the cart's Kiddie Seat, a space roughly 2.5 feet X 8 inches X 8 inches. I even qualifed for the lane marked "20 Items or Less". I always have 20 items or less. I live on the third floor of a building with no elevator, and whatever I buy has to go up in one trip. Well, it doesn't HAVE to, but after hauling one load up two flights of stairs, I'd rather not do it again any time soon.
Weight is the other consideration. There's a reason I don't buy a gallon of milk, a 10 lb. bag of sugar, and a giant jug of detergent in the same shopping trip. Did that once. Huge mistake. Both arms were an inch longer for a week.
But even if I didn't live at the top of two flights of stairs, it defies all logic for grocery clerks to use so many bags for an order that in the Old Days would've required no more than one paper bag, with room to spare.
Ah, The Good Old Days...
Before plastic bags became the norm, grocery baggers seemed to understand the relationship of mass to space available, and took great pride in fitting your purchases neatly into as few paper bags as possible.
In hindsight, this may've had less to do with good customer service than keeping trips to the storeroom to replenish the supply of those heavy bags to a minimum.
But I like to think they did it for customer satisfaction, because even when the weather outside was crappy, they'd still offer to take the bags out to your car. Now that I think about it, that was also before cart corrals were invented, and if you didn't take the bag boy's offer of assistance, you had to roll the cart back into the store yourself. (That is, if you couldn't park it somewhere near your car where it wouldn't roll into another car after you'd emptied it.)
Depending on the time of day you shopped, the bagger might be a retired gentlemen keeping busy during the day, or the neighbor kid down the street working after school. If the first, you knew the groceries would be packed logically with the weight distributed evenly, owing to years of carrying his own groceries in from the car. And the neighbor kid knew better than to put your eggs in the bottom, under the canned vegetables, or there'd be hell to pay because his mother would've heard about it before he ever got home that night. Which meant you could concentrate on making sure your items rang up at the correct price.
These days, you rarely see the same bagger twice, if there is one.
To shave the almighty bottom line, many stores now require the checker to check and bag. If it's a store where the checker slides your items into the bagging section of the checkout console until they're all rung up, great! But if there is a second person bagging during the ringing up, you have to make like a spectator at a tennis match to be sure you're being charged correctly and the eggs aren't going in the bottom of the bag.
Eggs in the bottom of flimsy plastic bags is why I began re-bagging before leaving the store.
It just got to be a waste of time and breath to explain the physics of a carton of eggs hitting a hard surface if the bag was dropped, which had happened several times (luckily not with eggs) when the handle gave way. Asking very nicely to please put the toilet paper in the bottom "to cushion the eggs", got only a blank stare from one bagger.
It was just just simpler to let them bag any which way, using more bags than necessary, then re-bag it all myself. This also eliminated the need to ask for double-bagging (those two flights of stairs, remember).
There seems to be no logic to bagging anymore
In stores where the checker has a plastic bag carousel and bags everything as it's rung up, there seems to be no logic whatsoever to bagging.
I assumed all had received some sort of training on this subject, and began looking for a common method. I was certain I'd found the key when several checkers bagged items in the order the customer put them on the conveyor.
Alright!
But this was apparently a fluke.
On my next trip to that store, I placed my items on the conveyor in the order I wanted them bagged. Frozen and cold items together (including a half-gallon of milk), then a 3 lb can of coffee with several "dry" items that weighed nothing. Bringing up the rear was a 5 lb bag of sugar and a package of toilet paper.
Well, that checker must've been out sick on Bag Training Day, because instead of taking things in the order in which I'd grouped them, she rang up the sugar and put it in a bag, then the coffee which went it with the sugar, then the milk. Meaning every single heavy item was in one flimsy plastic bag! Naturally, the toilet paper and everything that weighed nothing went into the next bag. Which left the few frozen items, which could've easily fit into space left in the t.p. bag, but noooo...they went into a bag all by themselves!
On the next trip, I bought milk (half-gallon), Febreez, and aspirins. That was it. One bag? Wrong. Three. Because, the checker explained, they're not allowed to "mix" chemicals (the Febreez) with food (the milk), and "medicine" (the aspirins) must also be segregated. Oddly, these rules don't apply if you bring your own bags. Go figure.
Re-bagging hasn't necessarily been eliminated by bringing my own, one insulated bag for cold items, and one canvas for non-perishables. If I'm only getting a few items, I'll put the canvas bag inside the insulated one before handing it to the checker, otherwise (I've learned from experience), she/he will put the milk in the insulated bag by itself and everything else in the canvas.
But the last trip has to take the cake.
When I rolled up to the checkout, everything I was buying that day was in the canvas bag. The checker even watched as I pulled each item out and placed it on the conveyor, followed by the bag. After ringing up, she put everything back into it except a rather sturdy loaf of garlic bread, which she put into a plastic bag. Said it all wouldn't fit "comfortably" (her words) in the one bag, but I certainly had no problem making the garlic bread fit...quite comfortably too!...out in the foyer of the store.
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Thanks for the compliment, Jim! Thanks also for pointing out grocery shopping is quite similar on both sides of The Pond. However, I do like the small grocery shops and green grocers in your villages much better than anything we have over here.
Don't know what to tell you about the age and weight issue except take comfort in the fact that if we live long enough, it happens to all of us eventually! :)
Nice one JamaGenee!
Actually I love grocery shopping-- always have, for some reason.
Your comment: "Because, the checker explained, they're not allowed to "mix" chemicals (the Febreez) with food (the milk), and "medicine" (the aspirins) must also be segregated. "
Isn't it interesting that they can put all kinds of chemicals IN processed foods, but have to separate them in grocery bags. (See my hub on salad dressings, and what is in them.)
I recently started bringing my bags-- they are really great-- kind of a nylon mesh that looks like lingere (that's what one checker said) . They fold up into a little attached pouch with a little loop on it so they are faily convenient. Took me a couple of times to figure out that it was a good idea to "unfurl" them and fling them on the conveyer BEFORE unloading the groceries. They are very strong-- easily carry about twice the weight of a plastic bag-- and more. Have to be careful not to overload just so I can still lift them.
I try to sort my items, too, partly becaue I want cold stuff together. In the summer especially, I put those in an insulated cooler in the trunk of the car. I live half an hour from the nearest real shopping, and we have high summer temperatures-- so it is important.
I have been known to do the shopping bag shuffle, myself.
Enjoyed it very much !
A very real trip at the check out counter of the grocery store, Training? I guess it's a forgotten characteristic of the business world in some companies. They have a high turn over and I guess they just gave up.
Your address has made you think about all packages in a logical way, you should write a workbook of sorts and sell it to them for their manuals. I'm sure they have them, as ADP and OSHA require it, even if it ends up being just for looks.
I know senior citizens would appreciate logical bagging too, and cold stuff together??? What a great idea! LOL
Do the workbook and call a major super store...such as Sweetbay, WalMart, or Target. Good Luck =0
Enjoyable hub - and so true! I don't know how many times I've had to keep the eagle eye on the bagger so that the eggs and bread don't end up under the 12-pack of diet coke. Or that the ice cream doesn't get in the same bag with the hot rotisserie chicken. Believe it or not, I've had to tell a bagger not to put the raw chicken in the same bag with the lettuce!
However, my favorite is the question I get as I'm walking away from the checkstand with the cart full - all in the name of customer service, I'm sure, but it comes across more like an afterthought: "You want some help out to the car with that?" I always tell them "no". Because, after all, I've been pushing the cart-full of stuff all around the dang gum store!
Rochelle, I thought of you today when I tried to unfurl my insulated bag for cold items at the checkout! Had to settle for plopping it down in front of the checker instead. I've seen those bags that look like "lingerie"...lol...but at the moment have what could turn out to be a lifetime supply of free canvas ones. At least for this side of The Pond. If I ever get to England again, you bet I'll be snapping up their "lingerie" bags.
Marisue, I hadn't thought of writing a bagging manual, but as you said the stores probably already have them. I'm thinking more along the lines of a 1-page condensed version to hand to the checker on each shopping trip. They hand me the receipt, I hand them "Tips for Better Bagging".
Wow, Pam, I can't remember the last time a checker or bag person asked "You want some help out with that?". Oops, yes I do. The store on the other side of the park from where I live. But then a local chain I detest bought it, fired most of the staff that gave a darn, and I haven't been back.
I very much enjoyed your hub JamaGenee. I for one am a fanatic at the check out and tend to make quite a show of doing the "right way" (my way) but I hazard to say my example will not effect many people in a positive way.
I suggest Marisue has a great idea above. Make a manual and sell it to the biggest stores you can find. Then maybe these wasteful days may be eliminated forever.
Your fan.
Mon.
Glad you enjoyed it, monitor! Who knows? If enough people insist on stores bagging the customers' way, logic might someday return to the checkout. Almost certainly the majority of checkers don't relish making customers grumble by being forced to follow the store's illogical bagging procedures.
Cute article. You haven't seen bagging until you see me bag groceries. I bag by which cupboard or refrigerator compartment the items will be stored when I get home. Not sure if that is the most efficient or not, but it works for me.
Die'Dre', I think you bagging groceries according to where they'll be stored at home *would* be a sight to see! I have a tiny kitchen, so "cold" or "dry" works for me, but I'd say your system is VERY efficient...because it saves you time when you get home! Thanks for stopping!
Oh Gosh-- I am the world's most dis-organized bagger. I'm just happy if nothing rolls out onto the floor before I leave the store LOL
Ah gee, Robie, all this time I thought you were perfect. Now I'll have visions of you chasing a can of peas or a head of lettuce out to the parking lot. LOL
I can't believe I didn't see this Hub until now. The art of grocery bagging, or the lack of it, is one of my greatest peeves.
I'm with Marisue on this, a manual is in order. I've thought about contacting my supermarket chains and offering training sessions in bagging (I have a long career as a communications and training consultant). Nobody wants the grapes under the cauliflower.
I will tell you this. When I go to my supermarket, I bag. The cashier always thanks me, and I thank myself. That way the grapes aren't half grape jam by the time I get home.
Fantastic Hub! I have so much more to say about this, it's burning me up. It's all about lack of training, lack of customer service, and plain disregard for the money we spend to make the supermarkets successful. Shame on them all.
Six thumbs up.
Well, thanks for the thumbs ups, Sally's Trove! Nice to see you here. I only wrote this to get it off *my* chest, but obviously this a great source of stress for many people. Yes, supermarkets should be ashamed. They pay big bucks for all sorts of advertising gimmicks to get you *into* the store, but once the cash is in the register, they don't seem to care what happens to the items you've just purchased. Those ad bucks would be better spent on training employees to bag logically, because *good* word of mouth advertising is FREE.
You and Marisue should get together on that manual.
When I worked at Jewel Food Store in Michigan City they always showed us a video on how to bag groceries. What you do is to build up the side walls in the plastic bag. What you do is place 2 boxes at the inside walls of the bag and you place the can goods in the middle of the bag. Then you put your filler item like sugar or flour on top of your cans and place crushable items like bread etc.at the very top. And you place your jars in the middle of the bag where the bag is strongest so they don't have a tendency to break. When your'e building your walls you can put some small cans or big cans in the middle and place crushable items at the very top so they don't get crushed. Sometimes it's virtually impossible to build walls. Sometimes you don't have the appropriate items in which to build walls with. Each customer and each order is entirely different from the other. Not every buys boxed items. So,you have to improvise and use common sense when you are bagging.
Thanks for stopping by, mvoisinet. It's the common sense part that seems to be lacking no matter what items a customer buys. Just the other day, my purchases were two boxes of cereal, several canned goods, and a loaf of bread. The checker must've missed the second half of "Wall Building", because she placed the cereal on opposite sides of the bag just like you described, but put the bread between the boxes. And even though there was plenty of room for the canned goods *under* the bread - thereby making a protective base - she put them in a separate bag, then *glared* when I pulled out the bread and put it on top of the canned goods, as if doing so was an insult to her "expertise".
JamaGenee:You had every single right to pull that bread out and put it at the top. That checker had absolutely positively no right to glare at you as you pulled out the bread. That is your order and you have every single right to bag it the way you want to. As a customer you do have a right to your personal preferences. As a customer you are paying that checkers salary. Or,did she merely forget that? It's that checkers job to make sure that your order is delivered to you in a quick,efficient and timely manner. And that's her aspect of the job to deliver that service to you. Didn't that checker ever hear the phrase the customer is always right? Or.didn't she receive that instruction in her training as a checker? Did that store have a customer service desk? If it did,then you would have a right to report her for her apparent attitude. That checker needs to be given the pink slip effective immediately.
I'm guessing that checker *did* get the pink slip, mvoisinet. Replaced by the one who came out from behind the register yesterday to hand me a bag of small items that I almost left behind - and smiled as she did it. In theory, ten employees trained the same way for the same position should all perform the same. In reality, they're still individuals who came to the company with different life experiences and attitudes. Some will barely do the job (because they don't care) and some, like yesterday's checker, will go the extra mile no matter where they work. It's the nature of the beast since Mom & Pop stores went the way of the 8-track.
to bag well or just to bag however - that seems to be the question! LOL I also group my groceries (during the rare times that I make the trip) and fortunately, I alwats have my way, ha! if only the bagger or the counter girl would smile a little and this will be a happier world! :D
Personally, my day is brighter if a checker simply remembers to look *pleasant*, not like she (or he) hates the job. Maybe we should smile at them *first*. =)
Great hub Jama! I'm a self proclaimed expert on not only bagging the groceries, but also placing them stratigically into the cart. I've even gotten comments from other shoppers about it.
I bring 1 cart to the checkout, but leave with 3. Drives me nuts. But on the bright side, it forces a bagger to assist me to my van. :-)
JamaGenee, did you ever know a chain called "Sack N Save"? We had one in the town I grew up in. It was just what it said. You bought the groceries in a warehouse-type setting (although not in bulk), pushed your cart to the register, where they put the items back in the cart after ringing them up, then you went to a "stall" where you bagged your own groceries.
This wonderful place had paper sacks of every imaginable shape and size. Each even stated right on the bottom what weight was suggested for each. The fact that they failed to provide a scale with which to weigh your items was a compliment to the customer that we actually knew what we were doing. The checkers were always friendly, my guess, due in part to the fact that they knew up front they didn't have to bag.
I did notice a slight droop in their smiles, however when the lunch-sack-sized frozen food bags were moved to be under their security. They now had to concentrate on more than ringing up an item correctly (YES! This was before the bar code zapping age) and had the added responsibility of monitoring how many of these extra-thick bags were warranted based on each customer's purchase. Too many people ripping off the silly things, I guess.
I now live in a town that has a "small-town" grocery store which offers a friendly "paper or plastic" option upon checkout. The paper bags actually have handles on them. They do, however, come with a warning printed on the side to lift the handles straight up, not out. I tend to assume the handles will hold and find myself, like robie2, chasing after that can of corn that just rolled under three cars before coming to a stop in the middle of the rain puddle. Something like the scene from "Christmas with the Kranks" where she was after the Honey Ham.
It's kind of funny to see people rushing to get out of this store ahead of me just to find them all leaning against their cars outside waiting for the entertainment to begin. They continue these shenanigans by phoning my neighbors that I will be returning shortly to unload groceries. That's when coming home is like being in a parade. There they are, lined up along the street in their lawn chairs, each holding their beverage of choice. I once saw a group of children with sparklers.
Maybe I should take your advice and shop in small increments.
Great hub. Please keep the funny ones coming!
How clever you are, Wednesday Morning, disguising 3 carts of groceries in one...and getting complimented for it besides!...so you'll have to have an escort to your car! :D
Proud Mom, when do you grocery shop next? I want to get in on the neighborhood party when you bring them home. I'll even bring my own lawn chair AND sparklers!
I've heard of Sack N Save. There isn't one in our area, but there's one chain of non-warehouse stores similar to it, with a long waist-high shelf along the front where you bag your purchases. But no stalls per se, and customers have to bring their own bags. Most people just snag the empty boxes that held can goods and such. A win-win for all. The store gets rid of boxes it'd otherwise have to pay to dispose of, customers get sturdy (and free) containers to transport their items.
As for the paper sacks with handles, I love 'em! A store in my neighborhood had them for awhile, but the chain that bought them out doesn't (but *should*, considering how much they raised prices, the reason I don't shop there any more). But I don't remember a warning to pick them straight up. Next time I'm somewhere that uses them, I'll have to look. Are you sure the warning isn't just on the special stack marked "For Proud Mom ONLY"????? LOL!
Very well could be, JamaGenee. Very well could be........
Thanks for making me smile this morning. Makes the fact that I got up early after only about 4 hours of sleep, showered to completely wake up, got dressed and fought the 24 degree temperature out to the car and work, only to find out I'm not due back until TOMORROW kind of worth it.
See what I mean about having to laugh at myself to keep from crying?
I can sympathize. A daughter was invited to a pizza party. I duly circled a date on the calendar. The day came, she dressed, I took her to the place, but there was nobody she knew there. Turned out the party was the NEXT day. I still haven't lived that one down!
My parents both taught at my high school. Dad was my driver's ed teacher, and our class met at 6am. On the final day of driving, he required all students to dress up. Girls had to have heels, boys had to have dress shoes. I guess he wanted us to learn how to drive on Sunday. Anyway, on this final day, he comes roaring in my bedroom, "GET UP!! WE'RE LATE!!!!!"
Being attacked out of a sound sleep does things to your brain, you know? So once I blindly located the toothpicks to pry my eyes open with, I glanced at the minutes on the digital clock to see I, indeed, only had 5 minutes to dress and be at school. Not awake enough to turn on the lights, I grabbed whatever I could reach out of the closet. I probably looked like a mix between Cindy Lauper and Madonna on a VERY bad day (no, I wasn't wearing the metal cones, although they probably would have been an improvement) by the time I got there. You might think in the 80s that would have been a good look, but trust me, it SO WAS NOT!
We got to the school, but no one was there. Trying to be helpful, I told dad I'd walk around to the other doors to see if the other students had migrated to a different entrance. So there I was, twisting my ankle with every other step because in my rush, I was only been able to locate one 3 inch silver strappy heel and one florescent green ballet slipper--AND the hallways were still dark. I checked the last door and decided maybe they had seen us coming and been scared away by my aqua-netted hairstyle that was so tall it required dad to leave the sunroof open, my pink tank top with lace blouse over the top, parachute pants and previously mentioned foot attire.
It was then I heard dad over the PA system asking me to meet him back at his room. When I got there, he asked me to look at the clock. It took me a minute to realize what he was saying. It was not 10 after 6:00, but 10 after 3:00. Yes, 3:00. In the morning. I was at school at 3 in the morning. He was crazy if he thought I was coming back. I went home, went back to bed, and STAYED there.
Just in case you wondered, I still have those clothes--in the attic.
Oh Proud Mom, that story is tooooo funny!
When I worked as a bagger at Jewel Osco in Michigan City IN. I would always keep the bread seperated from the meat. One day a customer bought some hamburger meat and some bananas. I put the bananas in a seperate bag so they won't get contaminated by bochulism. And low and behold Darlene Adams Service Manager tells me it's OK to put the bananas in with the hamburger meat. Well excuse me since when do you put the bananas in with the hamburger meat? You most certainly do not! If you place the bananas in with the hamburger meat they will most certainly rot and they will get contaminated for sure. And the next week Darlene told me that I put the bananas in one bag and the bread in the other and that she said that she was going to retrain me. Well I resigned before she even had the opportunity to retrain me. Darlene said it would be OK to put the bread in with the hamburger. And she also indicated that if it were a pork chop she would of said no. Well excuse me lady but i wasn't bagging bread and hamburger. I was bagging bread and bananas. There is a distinct correlation between the 2. Then Darlene said that a customer complained that she had 6 bags of groceries. Well I don't remember bagging 6 bags of groceries for that that stupid customer. And Darlene had absolutely positively no business at all to make any implications about me unless she can knowingly substansiate them. You don't put bread or bananas or anything else in with the hamburger meat. Nor do you put bread or bananans or anything else in with the wet chicken either. That can contaminate the customers groceries and thus cause bochulism. I had 6 yrs.of bagging experience at Bernacchis Farm Market and 14 yrs.of bagging experience from Jewel Osco. That's a combined total of 20 yrs.of bagging experience. I was always taught by my former boss and good friend Dick Bernacchi that you should never put bananas in with the hamburger meat or they will get contaminated. I say that Darlene was totally wrong when she said it would be OK to put the bananas in with the hamburger meat. Darlene had 30 yrs.or more experience with Jewel Osco. After over 30 yrs.I would never think that she would make such an asanine statement such as that. If anyone needs to be retrained it's Darlene. Darlene resigned from Jewel Osco about 2 or 3 yrs.ago. It's a good thing. And now nobody has to hear stupid rambling all the time.
Jewel Osco always had this stupid 8 items per bag rule. And all it is is just another stupid rule and that's it. Jewel Osco indicated that they just wanted to save money on the cost of bags. Sure bags cost money and pennies can add up to dollars. And you shouldn't waste bags on just a few little items. And 3 or less items should go into smaller bags to help defray the cost of the bags. As far as the 8 items per bag are concerned it all depends upon what those 8 items per bag are. It can mean anything from 8 boxes of toothpicks to 8 packs of chewing gum or 8 tons of brick. The point is that the 8 items per bag rule simply doesn't apply to every situation. All bagging is merely predicated on good old fashioned common sense. You don't want to pile 8 jars of Ragu into one bag now do you? Absolutely positively not! If you do that do you know what will happen? That bag will break under pressure and there will be both glass and Ragu all over the place. And you will have quite a mess to clean up immediately afterwards let me tell you. And alot of customers will become very upset and very aggitated as a direct result of that. And you could lose a tremendous amount of customers in your store as well. Common sense should tell you that you should keep the weight distribution divided equally in each bag. Don't overload the bag ever! And don't fill the bag to capacity either. There are many elderly and disabled customers who simply can't carry an over abundance of weight. So they will appreciate it if you keep the vast majority of the weight divided equally so it won't be so cumbersome for them to carry from their car into their homes. Keeping the bags divided equally will provide easy access to all customers involved. Always offer assistance to both elderly and disabled to their cars in their time of need. Always opt to maintain high customers standards even if it opposes yours or the companys expected minimum.
Great Hub. I have noticed here in California the supermarkets are pushing self service checkout. This means no bagger and no checker. So there I am standing there with a cart full of groceries and they ask, would you like to use the self checkout. Funny thing is, at these stores there is no discount to do it yourself.
So now I shop at a store where you do bag your own and get a discount because of it. Prices are better and the service overall is better. No chance at being let down. And I get to bag it myself, my own logically order. I use much less bags and can catergorize by what gets put where.
Thanks for the good read.
bgpappa, several years ago a chain in my area tore out several checker lanes to install self-service checkout machines, then laid off a dozen checkers at each of their stores so customers would be forced to use them. But no discount for using them. Don't know how much those machines cost, but they certainly aren't paying their way. I stopped patronizing that chain, but the other day, due to bad weather, I had to go to the one near home for milk. The lines in the manned lanes were short, but as soon as I stepped behind the only other customer in one lane, three checkers approached me, saying they'd help me in the *self-check lane* (which I declined on principle).
What does it say for how well those machines are received (or work) when the chain has to hire extra employees to assist people to "self-check". Why not just admit the machines are a failure, yank the blasted things out, and put in regular lanes? (Those self-check assistants, btw, just stood around at the end of the checker lanes, with nothing else to do but offer their services...)
Another chain has self-checkout machines (again no discount), but only one per store, and are intended for peak times or customers in a hurry. Oddly, they work *just fine* without assistance.
I love the idea of a store giving a discount for bagging your own items. This is an idea that needs to grow. The closest we have is a warehouse-type store that's only good for stocking up on canned and paper goods. No fresh veggies or meat. Not cost-efficient for me because it's on the other side of town, and with no kids at home, I no longer have to stockpile food (something you might add to your hub on what they don't tell you about parenting!).
Thanks for stopping by!
We have a much better system - we take our own bag (usually a rucksack) and pack it ourselves. We often cycle to the supermarket, so plastic bags are not good. And they are wasteful.
Hi, LG! Plastic bags wouldn't be good for cyclers to carry groceries, and they *are* wasteful. Living in a third-floor flat limits the amount of groceries I buy at one time. I have several non-plastic bags I take to the store (not one set up for self-bagging). I know how much each holds, and only buy that amount, but even so, checkers will put a few items in each, then put the rest in plastic. When that happens, I transfer whatever they've put in plastic to my own bags and hand the plastic back to the checker, who never quite knows what to do with it.
I still reckon a rucksack would make it easier for you to carry stuff upstairs, perhaps?
It's not that common to have someone pack your bags for you in the UK - you can ask for it, but it's not automatic.
I totally agree with your comments, observations and analysis JamaGreen. There was once a time of professionalism and pride in the work a person did. Today that has almost dissapeared completely. I lived in the city all my life but you find the same thing, most of the time I'll pack my own groceries to cut down on the waste of using a 8 bags when two or three will do. And to ensure the items are packed in an itelligent manner. There doesn't seem to be an sort of training that is done anymore, add to that is that people don't seem to want to use common sense in even the simplest of task.
Good Hub Pleaure Reading It.
Very true and entertaining hub!
Why does grocery shopping have to be so much work? Not only is the bagging system very poopy, but having the right products sitting on shelves over the right price isn't happening. Sometimes I wonder if they do that on purpose. At least once a week i end up getting overcharged for stuff that is marked on sale, and that adds another 15 minutes to my shopping trip...pointing out the errors, waiting for a manager who then tracks down the products and the sale price, then gives me my money back. Sometimes I take those sales stickers off the shelf and stick them on my grocery cart for proof. They don't like it when i do that. lol!
I separate my groceries when taking them out of the cart too! lol! Not that it does much good. I usually end up with some teenage boy bagging who isn't paying attention to anything but my daughter or any other female with boobs and legs. ;)
This was a joy to read Jama. I always love your stuff. :)
I love Pam's insight: The Bagging system is very poopy. :-)
I really like your writing style and I see a lot more people do, too. Congratulations on a great hub!
The little plastic bags are so annoying to me. It seems like you end up with one item in each bag and are thus left trying to fit 80,000 bags around your hands! My fingers turn blue in about 2 seconds because I always try and carry them in one load. I wonder how much peapod charges? Hmmmm....
xzendor, the only training for bagging seems to be enough to reduce store liability. Hence one bag for a chemical product like Febreez, another for a food product (milk) and another for medicine (aspirin). Gawdforbid the nozzle on the Febreez would open by itself and somehow get into the aspirin or the milk. Or the aspirin get into the milk. Anyone who's struggled to open a new bottle of aspirin knows *nothing* gets in OR out until the myriad layers of security seals (and that irritating wad of cotton!) are removed!
Thanks, Pam! I like your stuff too! Ditto to what Proud Mom said about your description of the bagging system. "Poopy" is the only word that fits - well, in a public forum. ;D The wonder is that most people put up with it. Or maybe that's how it got so poopy. People don't demand better service anymore... As for the sale price on the shelf label not ringing up, I like your method of taking the sales stickers off the shelf for proof! So what if they don't like it! That's an incentive for the manager to get the shelf stickers and computer pricing system in sync!
Guru-C, thanks for the compliment! Alas, I'm not familiar with your writing but will check it out soon as I'm done here.
Scott, I'm with you on how annoying plastic bags are, because they do seem to invite one item per bag, and then you end up with umpteen bags around your hands and blue fingers from the weight. I think not filling plastic bags is psychological. When stores only used paper sacks, a very few sacks were all that would fit on a shelf next to the checker, so two things happened. 1) Very little space in the bag went unused because 2) a checker wasn't about to risk running out during a rush period. With plastic bags, hundreds hang on those carousels, a seemingly endless supply that invites waste. That said, you lost me at "peapod". ???
Jama and PM, thanks for the thumbs up on the poopy. :D ;)
I love the picture on your lens - it is just another reminder why we bought several of those canvas bags for our groceries. So much waste just for paper bags... we couldn't do it anymore. Especially now that canvas bags are only about $1 at most grocery stores (that offer them). Whole Foods even gives the $0.10 bag refund (or donate to a charity) so they've already paid themselves off several times over.
intuitionzone, you just eminded me a couple of stores in my area advertise that they give a 10-cent refund for using your own bags, but I haven't looked at a receipt lately to see if I actually get it. Hmmmmm......
JG, I read this the other day and never commented, i was worried about PM and just wasn't thinking. Anway, on palstic bags I discovered that if I tie a know in them they will not blow away in the wind. More people should od this. Now I use them mostly for picking up dog poo. I also use them for mushroom hunting. If I need to I will recycle them in a bin at our local supermarket.
I was a bagger in my youth and we knew how to bag or the checkout women would give us what for. They trained us. No girls did that back then. Good hub
Don't you just hate the plastic bags? I mean really, who thought of them? Plastic's only great for small items that don't weigh anything. Sure they have handles, but honestly, they aren't good for very many items at one time.
Hi, Cindy! I've hated plastic bags from the time stores began using them! Would get the strangest looks from checkers when I'd announce "We can grow more trees [for paper bags], but we can't grow more oil - give me paper, please". Plastic is made from a by-product of the oil refining process. When the oil runs out, no more plastic! Hard to think of a plastic bag being an artifact in a museum, but that's what they'll be. Never mind the billions of bags buried in landfills that'll be intact when archeologists dig them up 500 years from now. Would love to be around when they try to figure out what they were used for!
Ha ha, here in Finland we don't have baggers (unless it is some kind of a special occasion) but I hear you about planning the groceries. I don't own a car so I have to walk to the store and I often bring a backpack.
I remember the good times when I bought 10 pounds of oranges because they were on sale along with 10 pounds of bananas and a whole bunch of other stuff.
After that I had to walk a few miles to my house.
All I have to say is... I guess I got some good exercise :D
purpleb, I had a fit of "thrifty" a couple weeks ago and bought a 10-lb bag of sugar. Didn't seem to weigh much in the cart in the store, but sure "gained" weight the farther up the stairs I got to my flat! I too chalked it up to "good exercise"! ;D
Finally someone discussing this issue of poor bagging. My husband complains all the time to the manager, yet nothing seems to ever really get done. It's all common sense! Jeez! I absolutely refuse to let them bag my groceries. I was absolutely fuming one day and said, very loudly, "You know what? Perishables with perishables, soft with soft, hard with hard, delicate with delicate, not too heavy, not too light, meat with meat only and double bagged. If you don't have the common sence you were born with, I'm taking over. I'm the bagger from now on." And made him step away and I rebagged my 350 dollars worth of groceries (I have a large family and don't like to go shopping often) and I got it right and everything was in tip top shape when I got home. It felt so good that I do it every time now. The only place I've not had a problem with in the bagging department is Whole Foods. But that's it. Oh, that felt so good to share. Great hub JamaGenee and very well written as usual. Gave you a much deserved green thumbs up for this one. Thanks.
You've kept that inside for way too long, Frieda! Thank goodness Jama gave us the freedom to vent, huh? :-))
Frieda! Feel free to drop by and vent any time! Yes, common sense went out the window when plastic bags came in. I wish more stores would get the hint and re-configure checkout stations for self-bagging. That would be a win-win. Happy customers because items would be bagged **sensibly**, and happy checkers because they wouldn't have to suffer cold stares or customers venting about the bagging. Saw a new twist last Saturday, the day I take my friend with MS grocery shopping. She buys mostly frozen dinners that she can nuke and not have to wrestle with pots and pans on a hot stove. I was horrified when the checker, instead of placing the frozen dinners side by side as usual, instead put the first one crosswise (flat) in the bottom of the plastic bag, then stacked the rest on top. Each box was a four-cornered bag-tearer waiting to strike. Would like to meet the suit in the home office that came up with this one! Obviously someone who doesn't understand the physics of heavy objects with sharp corners poking holes in thin plastic! (Or someone who doesn't do his or her own grocery shopping!) Naturally I had to re-bag everything in the entryway rather than risk doing a Proud Mom in the parking lot. Frozen dinners don't roll like cans of corn, but they can *slide*. Yeah, trying to retrieve a couple of FDs from under a vehicle is *my* idea of fun when the wind chill is around 10 degrees!
Hey, PM! Sorry, but I have to pass up your grocery shopping this week. Have to re-web the lawn chairs, after I get a new roll of duct tape, that is. The one I had went out the door on Uncle Festus and Cousin Ethyl's "luggage". Could we take up a collection at the next family reunion - uh, *convention* - and get them a few rolls for their very own? btw, Uncle F liked to never stop pouting after he saw the underside of the one kitchen cabinet was plastered with duct tape to make it fire proof. Got his shorts all in a knot over that one...kept saying I should *know* he wouldn't be fool enough to try to cook pork chops in the toaster *again*. What is it with him and small kitchen appliances anyway? You'd think he wouldn't go near them after he turned that pair of socks into mush because he thought the food processor was a mini-washer. Ethyl was tickled pink when I gave her the processor as a "gift", but keeps asking why everything she makes tastes like Tide... ;D
Personally, as a cashier/bagger, I find this somewhat offensive. Complaining about the fact that there may be baggers and may not be has to do with managment. Managers are not going to place people on the schedule simply so they can bag. Thats foolish and a waste of money. Generally, the customer can bag is he/she wants to. Just say the words: I'll bag! Butseriously,if you have people behind you in line and your stadning there, and watchig the casheer bag your items, help! Don;t let lazyness keep the rest of the customers waiting. Also, as a side note, not everyone bags the same as you. Some would prefer multiple bags for organization, others would prefer as few as possible to save multiple unloading. It's honestly as simple as asking! Ask to bag yourself, or to place certain items in a bag. Ask to check prices to see if they are correct. If the casheer has a problem with it, phone the manager. Just don;t expect to have 10 people in line, and have the bagger know exactly how you want things bagged without telling him. Rebagging is somewhat of an insult, as it makes people impatient. There is no official code on bagging, its common sense! We aren't told to spare or save bags because ofmoney constraints. Do the cashier, yourself, and everyone else a favor by doing it yourself or asking.
Also, Fireda Babbley, thats a real asshole move on your part. They are not your slave, and cerainly are open to constructive criticism. Insulting them because of your introvertedness is no excuse. If you can not ask questions or ask for a certain way of bagging, why are you shopping? It helps no one by insulting them, instead try being civil and offering adivce. The nerve some people have!
Dan, the store where I routinely shop is not set up for self-bagging. If it were, I *would* do it myself. Since last summer (months after I wrote this), I shop with a friend who has MS and is in a wheelchair. I *never* re-bag our groceries at the checkout, only in the entryway of the store, or as I'm loading them into my friend's van. We have gotten into the habit of shopping during the hours a certain manager is on duty, who to his credit notices when we're in the store and comes up front while we're checking out. Most checkers now know we know him "personally". Can't speak for other customers, but *we* no longer get rude checkers. Imagine that.
As for your comment to Freida, Dan, I suggest you find another line of work that doesn't involve direct contact with customers. Apparently you do not understand the concept that as long as you're behind that register, you *are* our slave. We are the reason you punch that time clock. We do not *have* to be nice to you. Common courtesy says we *should*, but we don't have to be.
Oh indeed, Dan. I agree with your last sentence. The nerve some people have - of being so lazy and simple minded as to not give a crap about how someone elses groceries are bagged. There is a right way and a wrong way. We all have our days, but repeated days while on the clock (oh yes, you are paid and on the clock for bagging, that's why my milk costs 10X more than the poor dairy farmer gets paid, and no I don't need to be nice to you, JamaGenee made that point perfectly clear) is inexcusable. As for my rudeness, good for me. Perhaps it taught him a lesson that couldn't seem to be taught to him any other way. It's not like I yelled, quieting the grocery, nor did I curse. I offend when I get there first and start my own bagging and they try to take over lest they get in trouble because may I say again that you DO get paid to bag, and our baggers are painfully aware of this despite the fact that they are union and get paid well over minimum wage to throw stuff around. I am an excellent bagger, quick and efficient. If I can do a better job than the baggers then I don't see why I shouldn't be able to. You say so yourself. But managers here don't like to see that. Oh well, I do what I want as I am paying for what I'm buying and i'll be damned if I bring home spoiled goods I have paid for with hard earned non union monies. I hope that you take more pride in your work than the ones we used to have did (fortunately there has been a nice change as more people than just my husband and I had a lot to say about the incompetance of our grocery's baggers. Hopefully you take critisisms and advice and don't roll your eyes and act like a baby when old ladies and mothers with large families and people with important places to go and things to do, offer theirs to you with a smile as I had done once upon a time to no avail.
Nicely put, Frieda! ;D
Indeed, we are your slaves. You can be rude if you want, thats a personal choice. What would you rather have: the abusive parent who tells you that your bad without anything that you can take from it, or the parent who tells you what you did wrong, and how to fix it? I guess I let my morals get in the way of me sometimes, or maybe I just know that assertive behavior is more powerful than aggressive. Yes, I take constructive crtcism when offered, but it was quite evident that you directly insulted the boy. Managers do not mind if customers bag, ever. We do not hire people just for bagging, baggers are also cashiers or stockboys who have completed thier work. Therefore, no, baggers do not get paid as it is more of a courtesy to the cashieer. As for rebagging outside, thats fine. Its obvious that either my location or my store is vastly different than yours. (As a side note: What store doesn't allow you to bag your own groceries? That's odd that they don't have that.)
Very worthwhile rant. I usually carry my groceries home, so having just two bags -- with the weight nicely balanced between them -- is rather important. I re-bag as soon as I get out of the store, and I don't let anyone's stares stop me.
Frieda Babbley is a very rude person
nobody should have to be insulted by her becaused of not
bagging like she bags and her husband must be a real winner
because my husband camplains ALL THE TIME.
after 50 years of working i retired,after two years i got bored and now started bagging,something i never done.please don't shop were i work.i wonder when people like you and your husband avery said something nice about someone.
jim1307 says:
17 months ago
Yes, I can remember those days well. And, I do see your point. Nowadays, mostly, there is no effort on behalf of the checkout operator. Everything is bagged into several carrier bags for ease, so that the shopper leaves quickly and they can serve more customers to make more money.
I too, usually carry two bags, both holdalls -and everything fits. My problems now are age and weight. I simply cannot carry what I used to. That leaves the final option - more trips to town to finish the shopping, carrying less weight so that the old bones and shoulders don't suffer.
It was a lovely read, and a good reflection on past times - well thought of and written. :))