AITA: Grocery bagging

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Are grocery store checkers getting paid minimum wage though? I am a pp that worked as a grocery store checker many years ago. We were union, and we were paid approx. 3 times what the minimum wage was at the time. We also had excellent health insurance benefits.

Those days are gone for the most part. Wish they would unionize again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Are grocery store checkers getting paid minimum wage though? I am a pp that worked as a grocery store checker many years ago. We were union, and we were paid approx. 3 times what the minimum wage was at the time. We also had excellent health insurance benefits.

Those days are gone for the most part. Wish they would unionize again.

+1000

A couple Trader Joe's stores have been trying to unionize, and have faced major backlash from the company. Corp is now challenging the votes from at least one of the stores that voted to unionize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I shop at Giant and notice that some checkers just don’t bag. I step in and start bagging myself after all my food starts getting crushed at the end of the conveyor belt. If I’m paying full price for groceries I shouldn’t be bagging or give me a discount.

and I make sure I move as slowly as possible.

Only I had a Giant cashier once start scanning the next customer’s order before mine was fully bagged. At the time I was still recovering from surgery. I was well enough to grocery shop but the stress of loading all of my items on the belt and packing it into bags only to put them back in my cart was too much, not to mention loading them in my car immediately afterwards. The cashier never said a single word to me, and just stared at me when he ran out of room to fit the next customer’s order.

Is bagging not part of their job requirements? They only get paid to scan?

It varies. Some stores have baggers, some have baggers mostly at crowded times, and some expect the cashiers to do all of the bagging themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow- I'm shocked at this. I thought only jerks didn't help bag. Maybe it's regional? I'm originally from Long Island but live here now.

Being a jerk is definitely a regional characteristic in the DMV, and it’s not limited to grocery bagging.

That’s an interesting observation. Perhaps it’s all the transplants?

[Anonymous]

I always start bagging my own groceries automatically. I put refrigerated/frozen stuff in an insulated bag, and other items get grouped together in a way that makes sense to me. Apparently, grocery bagging is one of the few areas of my life in which I am highly organized, ha.

TJ cashiers can be kind of chatty/too familiar for my preference. I don't think there was anything that pushy about the way they asked. If I wasn't inclined to bag my own groceries, I would just politely say I prefer they do the bagging and proceed with looking at email or responding to texts, etc.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you are the a**hole

[Anonymous]

No, unless I'm using self-checkout, they are bagging for me, sorry. That's their job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, unless I'm using self-checkout, they are bagging for me, sorry. That's their job.

For me, it's not the bagging itself, which I'm fine with doing. Anything to get out of there faster.

It's the condescending tone. "We’re going to work as a team" sounds an awful lot like the way you'd convince a 4 year old to help you with a household task, like picking up toys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, unless I'm using self-checkout, they are bagging for me, sorry. That's their job.

For me, it's not the bagging itself, which I'm fine with doing. Anything to get out of there faster.

It's the condescending tone. "We’re going to work as a team" sounds an awful lot like the way you'd convince a 4 year old to help you with a household task, like picking up toys.

+1 agree, sounds condescending
and for what its worth, I actually prefer to bag my own items

[Anonymous]

I think it's kind of mean. Think of how they have to move items ALL. DAY. LONG. for everyone in town who comes through the door. You should have bagged your own stuff.

[Anonymous]

It’s bad enough eggs are 5.00 a dozen and then I have check myself out and bag them myself and return the cart while some grocery store “employee” gets paid to watch me work.

[Anonymous]

“No thank you, I don’t work here”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Good reminder - I’m fine with being firm about bagging responsibilities when cashiers are paid living wages … until then, I prefer to cut them some slack.

OP I can see why you were irritated by the tone but thanks for not reporting the cashier to management - it sounds like other posters here full of indignant outrage would have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s bad enough eggs are 5.00 a dozen and then I have check myself out and bag them myself and return the cart while some grocery store “employee” gets paid to watch me work.

The underpaid cashier is likely exponentially more exploited by the profit-focused corporation that owns the market. Guess what they get paid for? I’m sure they’re pleased to see that the focus of your ire is on the cashier — rather than on their profits and the corners that they cut solely for their own benefit. I guess they can’t make an omelette without $5 a dozen eggs and low paid essential workers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's kind of mean. Think of how they have to move items ALL. DAY. LONG. for everyone in town who comes through the door. You should have bagged your own stuff.

By this logic, everyone should be going up to the delivery drivers and taking their packages off the truck themselves.