im venting too

[n30]

i love to cook. i love to shop. i think grocery shopping is relaxing. until... i get to the checkout. why is it customer service has seriously declined over the years? my first job was at publix, our local grocery store. my "bagging technique" was checked every hour by the mngr or his designee to ensure the boxes, cans are on the bottom of the bag.. cleaning stuff is bagged separately from food items.. no fruits & veggies squashed... etc. ive gotten to the point i have to be forceful to tell the bag person ill bag my own groceries, because my blood pressure goes up if i dont & ill be angry when i get home becuase it never fails: my precious avacados or tomatos are on the bottom, being squished by a can or box.
and its not just 1 store... we have enough to choose from.. pick any one. its the same story. i go talk to the mngr, in uniform even... doesnt change a thing. i was told they watch a "training video". i even suggested well, i should tell our training unit we should stop practicing & qualifying 3 x a year, because watching a video should be good enough. if we do it wrong... well, theres no ne around to correct us.
and, it doesnt matter if its a 16 yr old kid, or a retired older gentleman trying to make an extra buck. they all do it. yes, i admit, i am anal about alot of things, including this pet peeve of mine... however; how difficult can this possibly be? and, its not just publix, its any darn grocery store.

and if you just happen, by some miracle to find a person who you give a shot & they do it right, murphys law kicks in & of course, you never see them again when youre there the next week.

[Kittylynn]

I know EXACTLY what you are saying! We have to watch our bagger like hawks! Especially if we are buying bread products! We always request a paper bag for bread and cereal items, easier to keep separate and less likely to squish or be squished. Paper bags are not first choice though and 9 times out of 10 we have to remind them of our request. Nothing worse than getting home with fresh bread that has been squashed flatter than a pancake or cereal (we get the bagged generic) that has been beaten to powder because its been bagged along with the canned goods!

If I want pancakes I will go to IHOP and if I wanted powdered breakfast products I will buy Instant Breakfast or Ovaltine!

And yes, lets just put those nice perfectly ripe peaches in the same bag as your cans of tuna! By the time you get home you will have peach jelly!

[Terminator]

I agree. It is very aggravating. With your hard earned money you buy groceries only to watch Joe Blow the bagger squash your bread, or other items, and then once they've bagged it, they hurl it into your shopping cart breaking cans/bottles, or further damaging items. It pisses me off. I started working when I was 16. My first job was Joe Bloe the bagger. I cannot imagine doing what the baggers do today.

[Willowdared]

I actually put my stuff on the belt in an order that lends itself to proper bagging. All the heavy stuff first, all the cold stuff in a group, and all the fragile stuff at the very end.

[MacLean]

It pisses me off when they mix up stuff that shouldn't be mixed up - meats and bread, etc.

Milk in with the potato chips so they end up as crumbs.

[Terminator]

I actually put my stuff on the belt in an order that lends itself to proper bagging. All the heavy stuff first, all the cold stuff in a group, and all the fragile stuff at the very end.

I do too. It's habit from my old bagging days...and they still fuck it up.

[Buttercup]

I actually put my stuff on the belt in an order that lends itself to proper bagging. All the heavy stuff first, all the cold stuff in a group, and all the fragile stuff at the very end.

I do the same thing although there are only a couple of supermarkets here that will always bag for you - at the others you have to do your own bagging.

[mavriktu]

I actually put my stuff on the belt in an order that lends itself to proper bagging. All the heavy stuff first, all the cold stuff in a group, and all the fragile stuff at the very end.

I do this also,but as Term said ,they still screw it up.I partially blame the damn plastic bags.While the stuff is being bagged(supported on the bottom while in the little rack) it is all good,than they take the bag out and everything shifts.

[Five-0]

I agree. It is very aggravating. With your hard earned money you buy groceries only to watch Joe Blow the bagger squash your bread, or other items, and then once they've bagged it, they hurl it into your shopping cart breaking cans/bottles, or further damaging items. It pisses me off. I started working when I was 16. My first job was Joe Bloe the bagger. I cannot imagine doing what the baggers do today.

You know why Term? Because when we were bagging groceries customers would let you have it for messing up. Managers would support their customers (as they should). There are so few young people with a decent work ethic is pathetic. People have become so non confrontational when it comes to basic service. Back to the minimum wage arguement....businesses actually have to pay these baggers more for less quality WORK!

[mack]

I actually put my stuff on the belt in an order that lends itself to proper bagging. All the heavy stuff first, all the cold stuff in a group, and all the fragile stuff at the very end.

I do the same and as Term said it still gets messed up. I usually try to bag my own groceries. Here in Kentucky they hire handicapped people to do the bagging, so it makes it difficult to correct them cause then your looked at like your picking on them.

[Donut Aficionado]

I go through the same thing, I was taught to have pride in what ever job I did. I used to take pride in bagging groceries and cleaning the bathroom just the same when I worked at a grocery store ( i washed my hands between jobs!).

What really pisses me off is those damned ring it up your self lanes, there are getting to be more of them than there are registers with cashiers! And if you have a few items they try to push you into those lanes...one little snotty girl even offered to walk me through it the first time.
If I wanted to ring up my own groceries I would buy a Kroger store. I dont think I should have to drive to the store, walk around and fill up my cart and then ring up and bag my stuff to all while paying full price and keeping somebody out of a job at the same time! Everytime you ring up your own stuff thats one more person losing a job!

[pac201]

ring it up yourself?!!! if I wanted to do that I would've opened a store...

I left a cart of stuff before because they said that I was supposed to ring it up myself...

[nsb22]

The only time I'll use the ring-it-up-yourself shit is if I have one thing, and every normal line is full of people.

[Five-0]

The only time I'll use the ring-it-up-yourself shit is if I have one thing, and every normal line is full of people.

Same here. That one item is usually beer........so they have to come and punch in a code saying they IDed me then.

[irishmick]

I tend to go to the store in the middle of the day. Usually, the people with the most seniority are working then and the checkers also do the bagging. I've not had any problems and it seems to work well for me.

[Kittylynn]

I like to go to the store just after they open. Usually there will still be a few extra people there, stocking some last minute things on the shelves. They are glad to help you find what you want and once you are checking out, they or the cashier are the ones bagging. They don't seem as careless or deaf when you state special requests or preferences. Its also not as busy.