The bag people.
They're relentless. They love bags and they can't wait to start giving them to us. It has become necessary now to be almost rude to them when they attempt to put a single item into a bag. There are just way too many bags being used. It's a bad habit we've gotten into as a society. Stop and check the number of times people leave a store with one or two items in a bag. What's the bag for? At the very least, you'd think the store would want to save a few cents and encourage their clerks to stop using so many bags.
I walked into the store, picked out the thing I needed and carried it in my own hands to the counter and paid for it. Why then, is it necessary to have it placed in a bag so I can carry it out of the store? I think part of it is psychological - or maybe all of it is.
Leaving a store without a bag constitutes stealing, and we don't like people to think we stole something. "Hey, look at that guy. He's carrying that sandwich out of the store and it's not in a bag. Do you think he stole it?" Of course I did. I steal. Maybe I should wave the receipt like a little paper flag on my way out?
They're quick, the bag people. The product scan and swipe into the bag are a singular motion, and sometimes it's necessary for them to take the product out of the bag after I say, "I don't need a bag." I'm not sure how they feel about it, since I've never asked. It's a skill they must have learned in cashier school or wherever it is that they're taught that everything the store sells belongs in a bag - even products with handles or products that come in their own bag.
At the supermarket, (where I use the dreaded canvas bag) there is some sort of product hierarchy that makes it difficult for the cashier to place soapy products in the same bag with food, and they immediately reach for a tiny plastic bag for the soapy stuff. Both products are wrapped (overly so) but the clerk believes that the thin film of plastic will protect the soapy product from infesting the food product where its natural wrapping will fail. There is a science lesson in there someplace.
"Do you want all of this in the same bag?" they ask, expecting me to incredulously scream "No! My God, how could you put dishwasher tablets in the same bag as a box of cereal? Are you nuts?" Sure, go ahead. Between the layers of product wrapping and my natural immune system, I'll be fine. Get over your bag thing, lady.
I have.
2 comments:
As someone who works in a grocery store, I feel obliged to comment.
You would be surprised at just how anal some people can be. Next couple times you're in a grocery store, watch how the people in front of you are treating the cashier and bagger. And not just regarding bags, either.
Some folks really do not care, if their meat is in with soap, but others will scream bloody murder if bread is put on top of their carton of eggs. At times, when a cashier/bagger puts a little item like batteries or one little soda on the counter for the customer to get, some customers will actually take it and put it in a plastic bag all by itself.
Asking the customer if they want such-and-such in a bag is really the cashiers/bagger's way of avoiding getting yelled at by people like that.
I feel your pain. Search my blog and you'll see stories of my issues with the grocery store.
However, customers need to get over their need for bags. Bread on top of eggs? That sounds like a mental disorder.
I've encountered similar situations in other retail stores, and at this stage, if I can carry two items in my hand to the counter, I can just as easily carry them to my car and into my home.
We should be doing what some other places are doing - charging for bags.
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