Supermarket shopping

[mirrorshard]

Does anyone let supermarket checkout assistants pack for them? I suppose it's not so bad if you're using a trolley till, but even then they're likely to use too many carrier bags and pack things in the wrong order, because they have no incentive not to.

Comments

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

I usually try to prevent them - it just slows the process down. Also, I generally have my own bags rather than using carriers.

I think it comes from the American idea of having 'bag boys' at checkouts to pack stuff.

[angelislington.livejournal.com]

In America it is every citizen's god given right and patriotic duty to lazily stand at the checkout while the bag person (or even there isn't one, the cashier) takes 10 minutes to put each item in it's own individual plastic bag. It's practically in the constitution.

*small sigh*

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Craziness.

Mind you, I understand that in America it is still normal to pay things like utility bills and mortgages by cheque, and that one is charged extra for paying bills online with a credit card or by direct bank transfer. Which seems like absolute insanity as far as I'm concerned.

[angelislington.livejournal.com]

Oh yes - I'm an ex-pat and I actually got into an argument with my father the other day about my bank account, because he thought it was foolish and irresponsible not to have a chequebook, and REFUSED to believe me when I said no one actually uses cheques here, especially to pay their bills. It was such a ridiculous conversation. :/

[hellison.livejournal.com]

Two easy solutions!

1. Bring your own bags, hand them over first
2. Unpack your stuff in the order you want so it gets to them that way
3. Profit! Or, a quicker escape to where you have to get to next!

[mirrorshard.livejournal.com]

If I did 1, they'd put things in them, which is one of the things I want to avoid. And I always do bring my own bags; they're right there on my shoulder when I walk past the till.

2 is why I mentioned trolley tills. Even when it gets to them that way, though, I'll want some things put in one bag and some in a different one.

It's easy enough to tell them not to, but it still annoys me that it's necessary.

[megamole.livejournal.com]

I do [2].

[karen2205]

Rarely - usually I prefer to pack myself. Sometimes, if someone is clueful and can be directed into packing helpfully [ie. not putting fridge stuff in the tins bag] it can be useful.

[miss-next.livejournal.com]

They are reasonably clued up in our Sainsbury's. The conversation tends to go like this:

Checkout operator: Do you need any bags?
Mongoose: No, thanks. I've got my own.
CO: That's fine. How many?
Mongoose: This one here *points* and a trolley up at the front. [I park my trolley at the customer service desk - I've got a standing concession to do this because of my minor disability.]
CO: No problem.

And away we go. The only glitch is if they have Boy Scouts or whoever packing bags in aid of some worthy cause; I don't mind giving them a donation, but I always have to jump in quickly and ask them, please, not to go putting stuff in carriers for me. I hate those thin plastic bags!

[purplepiano.livejournal.com]

I have let checkout assistants pack for me on the occasions when I'm on my own with a huge trolley full of stuff, and I haven't even finished unloading everything onto the belt once it gets to my turn. Though I would take over packing myself once I've finished unloading and I have hands free.

The other issue is that regular supermarket carrier bags are flimsy, and tear due to the pressure on the sides if they are overfilled. When I'm packing myself, I tend to overfill bags because of the instinct not to cause waste - and I suspect that may be more wasteful in the long run becase the bags don't last as long. Whereas checkout assistants tend to put not much stuff in each bag. So [the following statement isn't completely serious] maybe it's better sometimes to leave jobs to the professionals!

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

At my local Tesco, it's easier for the checkout assistant to pack the bags for you, as the area for packing bags is much handier for them than it is for the customer and is where their hands naturally end up after swiping the goods. This works fine until you bring your own bags, at which point most checkout assistants seem to assume that means that you're fine packing them yourself, even if you're hanging onto a walking stick and visibly struggling to manage. This generally results in a hold-up while the assistant is patiently holding the next item to be bagged and I'm having enough trouble keeping the fabric bag open, let alone getting stuff into it. (About half the time I end up with the walking stick on the floor and the checkout assistant *still* not helping me pack while I scrabble after it and nearly fall over.) This is presumably because there's a little holder thingy that will keep carrier bags open so that the assistant can just plonk things straight in there, but there doesn't seem to be anything for holding other bags open, as they're a different size. I wonder if any supermarkets have cottoned onto this yet?

I've also noticed that even when I say, "I've got a bag," a lot of people are so used to the routine of packing things straight into carrier bags that they'll go ahead automatically, and you have to say it several times and sometimes put your hand in the way. I think this is why I sometimes have support workers who arrive home laden down with breaking carrier bags when I gave them nice long-handled fabric ones, who end up saying something like, "But they had already started packing the carrier bags and I didn't like to say anything."

Gah, this sounds very grumbly. Things do seem to be improving slightly, and hopefully supermarkets will eventually realise that more needs to be done than simply having a few (generally ridiculously bulky) reusable bags for sale and awarding green Clubcard points for customers who (attempt to) use their own bags. Providing facilities to make it easier to pack fabric bags, selling fabric bags which are actually practical, and training staff would be a start.

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

Oh, and the order they pack things in depends on the order you put them into the basket, but they try to be sensible, spread the weight, put the delicate stuff on top. I've never seen them use too many bags, if anything it's the opposite. The only time I've bought a reasonable amount of food which I had to carry home recently in carrier bags (this is due to disability, folks who don't know me, not laziness!) was in flooding rain and the bag broke just far enough outside Scotmid that I rashly decided it wasn't worth walking back for a new bag.

[friend-of-tofu.livejournal.com]

I actively try to prevent them most of the time (exceptions apply) - generally, I am fussy about controlling packing order. However, I can see the usefulness for elderly, disabled, or short-of-free-hands people.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Yes sometimes, because in the States that's How It's Done and I sometimes forget that it isn't the same here.

Usually I'm at self-checkouts though, so the question doesn't arise.

[mostlyacat.livejournal.com]

Years ago I worked at Sainsbury's on the checkouts. Sometimes I packed bags and I did it very well indeed. :-) Many people wanted to pack their own bags though of course.