Mama-logue, Vol.3

Perhaps I'm asking too much...I'd never want to be an imposition or be pushy.  (Ok...make that pushier.)  Seems like such a simple thing, though, but maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe it's not as simple as it seems...but I've been on the other side, and actually, it is!  It is JUST that simple.  So, to the bagging clerks everywhere...at every supermarket across the nation....

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!  BAG MY GROCERIES CORRECTLY!!!!

I realize there are a lot of grey areas in life.  There are certain situations where there really is no right or wrong answer...not just one way of doing something.  Beloved friends, the bagging of my groceries is not one of these.  There is ABSOLUTELY one way to do it and it's the RIGHT way...which I guess means MY way of doing it.  But it doesn't seem like just my way of doing it.  It seems perfectly logical and nearly a no-brainer type of activity.  Right...no-brainer...I promise you that I doubt the cerebral contents in the skulls of some of the bagging clerks at my local store of choice! 

To make it clear...here's the run down of my preferences. 
  • Under NO circumstances are my fresh produce items to be in the same bag as the canned foods! I'm buying fresh tomatoes because I want fresh tomatoes.  I'm buying cans of tomato sauce because I want it in cans...not leaking out of the plastic produce bag that is under cans of said tomato sauce!
  • Eggs and bread...if I have to explain the fragility of these two items...YOU NEED TO FIND ANOTHER JOB!
  • Things like ice cream, frozen veggies, cold items DO NOT belong in the same bag with the flour, sugar and other dry goods.  Wet+dry=MAD CUSTOMER!
  • Packages from the butcher counter should be wrapped in the plastic bags before putting them in my reusable bags. 
  • Said items from the butcher counter should be in a bag by themselves...I don't care if it's one pack of chicken in one large reusable bag.  I have lots of those...we can use them all!
  • DO NOT put my household cleaners in the same bag as food items....the Spic and Span is not shelved near the apple juice in the store.  I don't want them co-habitating in the same bag.
  • Pay attention to how things are coming down the conveyor belt...if you'll pack them like I'm unpacking them from the cart, all will be well.
OK...gut check...is this too much to ask?  Anyone?  I was a grocery clerk for a few months before Mr. Snark and I married in 1992.  I speak from experience...this is NOT a hard job as long as the one doing the job is paying attention.  I'm paying A LOT for this food...the least my bagger could do is pay a little attention. 

Now, let me pause to say that there are several baggers at my local store of choice who are very good.  I am very happy when I see them at the end of my cash-out lane.  I'm a simple girl...it doesn't take much to make me happy.  Lawd have mercy....that's pathetic.  I get happy when I see my favorite bagging clerks.  I need to get out a little more!  However, there are days, when the slacker clerks cannot be avoided.  I have come close to bagging my own order, just to avoid the pitfalls of badly packed groceries!  I haven't completely taken over...yet...when things aren't going correctly.  I have intervened and provided redirection.  My interventions are not always appreciated, but since I'm the customer and I'm always right (SNORT), I do it anyway.  There are times when I've rebagged things once I'm out in the parking lot, which is just my way of avoiding conflict or attitude.

I admit...this does seem a bit ridiculous but there is truth to it.  If it's a job worth doing, it's worth doing right!  So many people don't understand that notion anymore.  Hard work, full effort, best foot forward....what happened?  Where did those values go?  From the most difficult job, all the way down to bagging groceries...the effort you put in says a lot about who you are.  And if you can't put in the small amount of effort it takes to correctly bag a customer's groceries, the really hard stuff is going to boggle your mind!

Comments

  1. Your are soooo right! I thought I was the only person in the whole world who put likes with likes when I unload my cart!!! They do a good job most of the time but I did have to mention a few times NOT to put cleaning products in with food...thats just nasty...I know there are lots of bacteria in my GI system but it really doesn't need to be "cleaned", the bugs are there for a reason. And ewwwwww fresh meat in with other stuff??? Hello!!!! E-coli anyone??!!! Thanks for making me laugh today!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment