Do grocery store employees secretly hate re-useable bags

[PeterPan]

24 minutes ago, scholastica said:

Those snazzy plastic bags are actually reusable. Ours has a sign up saying they’re reusable for x number of times. I forget the number, but they definitely wanted us to know they are reusable.

I wondered! I folded them up and saved them because they were so impressive. I hadn't seen a sign saying to, but it makes sense. I'm just not sure right now they want you bringing them back. At our TJ they used to let you help bag to speed things along or even expect you to bag, and now they have two employees and shoo you away.

[PeterPan]

19 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

People in the UK mostly pack their own bags in supermarkets anyway.

We have budget chains like Aldi that require that, but I think it's not popular in general. Besides, chains that use baggers are often hiring people with disabilities. Even Walmart, which doesn't hire baggers but has the cashiers bag, is known for creating jobs for seniors (as greeters). But our chain with baggers is well known for supporting the disability community with their hiring. So win-win I guess.

My impression is sometimes in Europe people are shopping more frequently, which would make bagging your own less of an issue. We have self checkout lines for that. But if you have a lot and go through the full checkout, you'll get service.

Edited January 22, 2021 by PeterPan

[LuvToRead]

I really appreciate all the responses.  My bags don't stink, although I think I may start cleaning them more.  My procedure is I unload my groceries, clean as needed, then put back in my car.  So I don't even touch them the 2 or 3 days prior to using them again.  I guess in my mind I thought if even Covid germs did get on my bags they were able to die off by the time I used them again.

Also, I can't imagine speed being an issue.  There are both a cashier and bagger and by the time I pay the bagger is waiting for me.  This isn't a case of a cashier also bagging the groceries.

I don't have small bags.  The produce bags aren't to be used to bag groceries in, and the baggers generally ignore them.  I have plenty of bags, so they aren't necessary to use. 

I know he was not insulting me personally, it just felt like he was.

I am going to keep using my bags because it generally isn't an issue.  If the store wants the customer to bag their own re-usable bags, they should tell the customer!

 

[PeterPan]

7 minutes ago, LuvToRead said:

I know he was not insulting me personally, it just felt like he was.

I think don't take it personally. At our stores, baggers often have disabilities. So maybe he had a reason he wasn't phrasing things the most polite way. My ds would probably say some shocking things if he were a bagger, lol. (He has ASD2.)

[Matryoshka]

16 hours ago, Plateau Mama said:

Every bagger I have ever talked to dislikes them.  They don't like that there is no uniformity and it slows them down bc they can't really have a system has to how things will fit etc.

Other than Trader Joe's, where the baggers have ninja bagging skills, I'd love to know where else has baggers with a 'system' - everywhere else I go, they just toss something like 2 items in each bag, and get all freaked out if I tell them to fill the %#@ bag.  "But it'll be heavy!" 🙄  And if I do get them to put more in, I have to instruct them on the "heavy on the bottom, light on on top" strategy.  And for heaven's sake, put the cold/frozen stuff together!  I usually end up re-bagging most of it when I get to my car.  And/or start tossing lighter stuff on the conveyer belt into bags they've already put back in my cart.  This is not. rocket science!

TJ's does all of this without asking.  They should be running bagging seminars. 

I haven't been using reusable bags since last March, all of this poor bagging is in their own darn bags.  The stores are allowing them again, but I've gotten out of the habit for the time being.

9 hours ago, PeterPan said:

I'm surprised they're letting you use them. Our stores that had been saying they were going to go reusable only to save the world have had signs up since covid started saying you CANNOT bring in reusable bags. And our Trader Joes, which is always so into the reusable, went from paper (which seems more planet friendly to me) to these really snazzy plastic (not reusable) bags. Blows my mind.

Thats blows my mind too.  I wonder why?  It's not corporate; I go to two Trader Joe's, in two different states - both are still using the regular paper bags they always have.  They are also allowing reusable bags again, after a brief hiatus.

My local grocery, on the other hand, somehow snuck the cheap plastic bags back in after our town had recently banned them.  I couldn't figure out why Covid would mean they now get to use plastic again.  A few months ago, though, the plastic re-disappeared.  I think they just didn't like having to use paper and were trying to make excuses...    They also since the cheap plastic ban have been selling the snazzy ones as an alternative to paper.  The thicker ones are considered reusable, so that's why they're allowed.  But let's face it, most of us don't reuse those.

[skimomma]

I was just thinking of this now that our stores are allowing reusable bags again.  I have canvas bags that I have been using for 20+ years.  The variation on attitudes over the years, stores, and geographic location is wide.  When I first started using them, baggers often complained.  Sometimes they made me bag my own (which I prefer anyway) and other times I just had to listen to them grumble.  Now, I still get occasional grumbles at the bigger chain stores.  I rarely see other patrons using them and the baggers are clearly annoyed.  I do most of my shopping at a small coop, where reusable bags are encouraged, and I always bag my own there so no issues there.

Grumbles or not, I use them anyway.  I have a pretty long walk from where I park to getting inside my house so disposable bags are a real pain as I cannot load them as full (more trips back and forth) and there is a higher risk of bag breakage.

I am in LOVE with the boxes people are posting.  I may have to upgrade after 20 years.  My old canvas bags get washed frequently but they are for sure stained and beat up.

[J-rap]

I only use them at Trader Joe's (we've only recently started using them again there).  Because most people who go to our Trader Joe's seem to shop there regularly, the bags they use are generally TJ's very own reusable bags.  Checkers are really good at packing them, like a jigsaw puzzle.  I can see if they got other types of bags in different sizes or that didn't stand up well, it could slow things down.  I probably wouldn't like dirty smelly ones either.  I've never heard anyone complain.

[Dmmetler]

8 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

They are mandatory where we live (there are reusable bags available but you pay 20c each). I don’t have any cash register experience but I think they do dislike them somewhat.  I know mine often look a bit mucky because they go in the back of a car that also transports chicken food, kids bikes, etc etc and that doesn’t get vacuumed enough.  They aren’t very washable so it’s hard to get them back to pristine.   I also think it would be annoying to pack because they’re not always the same and they aren’t the right size to hook onto the handles to hold the bags open and the new ones are quite rigid but the older ones go floppy over time.  Plus you never know if a client left a loose grape or something in last time or if the cat sleeps on them or something crazy.

We brought back the ones we bought in Australia and NZ because they were a nice size and pretty sturdy. Of course, we only got to use them two months before COVID, and I haven't been in a grocery store since!

[wintermom]

I've never had anyone complain about my re-usable bags. If a cashier did say anything I would simply point out that self-checkout is on its way in and then he won't have to worry. He also may not have a job and I'll have to do all my own bagging. 😉  I try to avoid self-checkout because I like cashiers having jobs. 

[KungFuPanda]

15 hours ago, PeterPan said:

We have budget chains like Aldi that require that, but I think it's not popular in general. Besides, chains that use baggers are often hiring people with disabilities. Even Walmart, which doesn't hire baggers but has the cashiers bag, is known for creating jobs for seniors (as greeters). But our chain with baggers is well known for supporting the disability community with their hiring. So win-win I guess.

My impression is sometimes in Europe people are shopping more frequently, which would make bagging your own less of an issue. We have self checkout lines for that. But if you have a lot and go through the full checkout, you'll get service.

I love bagging my own groceries so I can sort them into categories.  Aldi's is great for that with the bagging counter.  I can't do a big haul at Lidle.  It's too much pressure to be in the way and still bagging if the person after you finishes bagging their side of the belt first.

13 hours ago, skimomma said:

I was just thinking of this now that our stores are allowing reusable bags again.  I have canvas bags that I have been using for 20+ years.  The variation on attitudes over the years, stores, and geographic location is wide.  When I first started using them, baggers often complained.  Sometimes they made me bag my own (which I prefer anyway) and other times I just had to listen to them grumble.  Now, I still get occasional grumbles at the bigger chain stores.  I rarely see other patrons using them and the baggers are clearly annoyed.  I do most of my shopping at a small coop, where reusable bags are encouraged, and I always bag my own there so no issues there.

Grumbles or not, I use them anyway.  I have a pretty long walk from where I park to getting inside my house so disposable bags are a real pain as I cannot load them as full (more trips back and forth) and there is a higher risk of bag breakage.

I am in LOVE with the boxes people are posting.  I may have to upgrade after 20 years.  My old canvas bags get washed frequently but they are for sure stained and beat up.

I have never heard a bagger complain about my bags once.  It might be because my town is crunchy and some off these people have been bringing their own bags since the 70s. 😄

13 hours ago, Seasider too said:

I always unpack mine right away and wipe down if something spilled. If I don’t put them back in the car right away, I’ll forget them next time. 
 

My only complaint with TJ baggers is that sometimes they jigsaw-pack a little too much in the paper bags, I think they’re packing them like they pack the reusables. But those paper bag handles don’t hold the weight like the durable bags do. 

I'm afraid of the handles on paper bags.  I never ever hold a them by the handle.  I have trust issues.

On 1/21/2021 at 4:31 PM, Pawz4me said:

I use those for organization in my chest freezer. I puffy heart love them.

Are the boxes you use in your freezer woven or plastic?  The ones I shop with have a cloth-like woven exterior, but I'm not sure it they would get soggy in the freezer or not. 

[Pawz4me]

6 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

 

Are the boxes you use in your freezer woven or plastic?  The ones I shop with have a cloth-like woven exterior, but I'm not sure it they would get soggy in the freezer or not. 

They're the same ones you posted a link to. I have six of them (three across, two high). The last ones I bought were purchased in August, and I've been using the first set since about May. They don't get soggy at all.