Bagging Rant

Self scan at the grocery store

I don't know about you, but the only reason I use self scan registers at the grocery store is so I can bag my own groceries without offending or weirding out the bagger at a traditional register.

I used to bag groceries while I was a supervisor at a grocery store about 15 years ago. I was trained to bag by an older woman who took pride in her bagging ability and wanted to pass her torch. I willingly accepted.

Since then, it's been few and far between bags that have been bagged properly by the baggers wherever I shop. In fact, when the rare bagger bags my groceries properly and thoughtfully, I always stop to compliment their bagging ability and thank them.

When self scan debuted at Hannaford, I immediately saw the potential. I could not only scan all my groceries, but I could bag them all, too! The first few trips to the store were great. I'm a fast and efficient bagger, so I never delay the next person in line. My groceries arrived home intact, sanitary (no chicken juice or cow blood on my cheese and lettuce) and in easy to carry bags which held their shape with weight evenly distributed.

My honeymoon screeched to a halt when Hannaford decided to place an older man, most likely a retiree who worked part time, at the self scan lanes. I hoped he was security, just making sure everyone was scanning what they put in their carts and ended up in the bags. But no. He was placed to help move people along more efficiently, by stepping in to bag the groceries self scanned.

The first time this happened, I thanked him for his help and gave him a chance to bag my groceries. Not surprisingly, they were bagged in the usual unthoughtful and uneven manner. I rearranged a few things and went on my way.

The next time I shopped, he was standing there again, waiting to jump in and help. This time, I thanked him and expressed that I would prefer bagging my own. He did the hands off motion, looking somewhat offended. Great. Piss off an old man or go home with poorly bagged groceries.

When another store opened down the street and featured self scan, I jumped ship. For a very long time, they left me alone. I could scan and bag completely independently. They didn't even have the annoying weight sensor under the bags like they have at Wal Mart and the express lane at Hannaford. "Please place the item into the bag". I did. "Please place the item into the bag". Uh, it's in the bag. "Please wait for assistance". This is about the moment I start pulling my hair out.

Anyway, my new store allowed me to scan as much as I needed and only interrupted when the bagging area became too full and would ask me to bag some groceries before continuing to scan. Not today. A "helpful" older woman, again, most likely a retiree, was at the end of self scan. I hoped she was just hanging around for the people who obviously shouldn't use self scan - the ones who don't know how to enter produce, can't find bar codes, have never entered a dollar bill into a slot, etc. Nope. She was a bagger.

I thanked her and told her I prefer to bag my own. She continued to bag my groceries. I thanked her again and told her I had it from there. She said she would finish bagging the bag she was working on. I stood and waited for her to finish. Am I not the customer? Am I not entitled to intact eggs, evenly weight distributed bags to carry up three flights of stairs? Am I not paying for these groceries? If the store needs to employ people to assist with a function that was meant to reduce staff, perhaps these people could be trained?

Here are my principles for correctly bagging groceries:

1. It all starts with unloading the cart. All two liter bottles of soda, jars and heavy items go on the belt first, followed by hard boxes and plastic containers. Then all cold items. Produce, then fragile items at the very end, like eggs, bread, pie crusts, etc. If by chance there is a trained bagger at the register, they can plan the bags and load them appropriately.

2. Create structure in the bag. What does this mean? The bag should be able to stand on its own, not collapse onto itself. Prop up the short ends of the bag with boxes. Fill the center with smaller boxes, cans or jars, keeping in mind to evenly distribute the weight between other bags. If there are no boxes, lay cans on their sides along the bottom to create a solid bottom.

3. Don't place jars next to each other. Put a small box or plastic bottle between them to lessen the chance of glass breakage in the car.

4. Produce all goes together. This helps the cashier (or you if you're self scanning) because produce isn't usually scanned but entered by code.

5. COLD and frozen items all in one bag together or in as many bags as needed, but with no non-cold items.

6. Raw meats and processed meats must be separated.

7. Non-food items, such as cleaning products, paper towels, toilet paper, all go together. If the only non-food item is paper napkins, they can go in with food items, but NEVER put cleaning products or cosmetics in with food. Leaks happen.

8. Lastly, when arranging the filled bags in the cart, put the heaviest and non-squishables on the bottom. A perfectly filled bagged means nothing when it's at the bottom of the cart, below a watermelon. Egg and bread bag in the child seat, too (provided there isn't a child already sitting there)!


What are YOUR grocery store pet peeves?