5 Tips for Grocery Store Baggers

Today I left the store frustrated again.  I do not understand why baggers can’t seem to bag groceries correctly.  I can’t tell you the number of times I have come home with my bananas and peaches bagged with my canned goods.  This has been such an ongoing problem that I called the store manager a few weeks ago to complain.  I gave him several recent examples of my tomatoes being bagged with my canned goods and cleaning supplies getting bagged with perishable food.

 Today I got distracted and forgot to keep an eye on what was going on.  Sure enough, I got out to my car and found my laundry detergent bagged with my marshmallows.  In another bag I found my bananas bagged with a carton of juice, a bottle of creamer, luncheon meat, butter, and some other items.  And in another bag were my eggs and gallon of milk.

Enough is enough and out of frustration today, I have listed a few rules tips that baggers should follow.

1)  Like items go together.  Marshmallows do not go with cleaning supplies.  Produce does not go with canned goods.  Milk doesn’t go with eggs.

2)  Reusable bags are ok.  I can’t tell you the number of eye rolls, grimaces, and sighs I’ve received when using my own bags.  Older baggers sometimes think it’s their duty to tell me why plastic bags are better than my bags.  Reusable bags are sturdy and hold three times the amount of food.  Thankfully, more people are using the bags now and the negative body language is decreasing some.

3)  Heavier items go on the bottom.  This means canned goods should go under my eggs, rather than on top.

4)  Parents shouldn’t need to move their children to a new cart.  My children are older now, but I can remember the frustration I felt at the grocery store when baggers would put my groceries in a cart other than the one I was using.  The could see I had children with me.  I don’t want to unbuckle my child and move him or their stuff.

5)  Avoid personal chit chat with other employees.  Customers don’t need to hear cashiers or baggers talking with one another about the speeding ticket they got, the party they’re going to after work, or any other drama. 

These are five rules that I think should be followed.  Do you have any rules to add to this list?  Have you had any bad experiences?

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