Of course they cost the store $$$. And you asked her for extras because you needed the paper bags for????

I understand your dilemma, but also understand the employee. Maybe you need to be less conspiques? and ask for some of your stuff to be double bagged?

I hardly ever have plastic or paper bags anymore. Real dilemma for me, as I use them as trash bags.

I just ask friends for their cast offs instead. :)

Moni

Well, store costs and policies aside, there was no reason for the employee to be rude to you. It's not like you stole them when they weren't looking - they were given to you. I would report it to the store as they are usually interested in such occurrences.

When I need paper bags for whatever reason, I make sure to hit up Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, or Target if I need plastic ones. I usually bring my own but there are exceptions when the disposable ones come in handy. Sorry you had to go through that.

I have heard of some stores charging for bags, but not 50 cents.

I say shame on the employee for grabbing the bags out of your cart. Did she even ask if you'd paid for them before snatching them away? How would she know if you paid for them or not if she didn't know who gave them to you. I am personally really tired of rude staff at the grocery store.

When I worked in grocery stores many years ago, we were taught about the importance of courtesy & pleasantness in retaining customers (be nice or they won't come back, & there goes your/my/everybody's job!)

There's no excuse for a supermarket employee to confront, harass, or accuse a customer;
if she thought you were stealing, she should have informed teh manager (I'm figuring she isn't the manager).

I can't imagine any of our managers charging a regular customer for a few paper bags for her re-cycling, & if any of them had witnessed any employee acting like this woman did, she'd likely be gone the next time you came to the store.

Good grief.

...........

just had this thought:
Had any of our managers realized that a customer had problems with her hands, they'd have made sure that everyone on the "front end"-cashiers, sackers, carry-out people-would know to make your grocery shopping as easy as possible, for instance packing your grocery bags a little lighter.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I don't see that it is the store's responsibility to provide you free of cost, with extra paper bags for recycling from your home, which has nothing to do with the store.

Aldi charges 5 cents for a paper bag. Likewise, my stores give a 5 cents credit if you bring your own re=usable bag. Maybe you could have offered to pay for them? But there is no reason to be treated rudely by an employee. I would have gotten her name and reported her.

Relax, Wantoretire. Why so angry?

Wantoretire, nowhere did I say it was the store's responsibility to provide me with free paper bags for recycling. If the cashier had said, "We charge for these," I would have agreed to pay--but not 50 cents apiece. I think a nickle or dime would be more reasonable.

My gripe is with the unpleasant employee. I was unaware of the policy she cited, but I don't automatically believe her statement that the store charges that much for them.

How would she know if you paid for them or not if she didn't know who gave them to you.

Good point, Alice. She had no idea whether or not I paid for them because she was entering the store as I was leaving. The first words out of her mouth were, "You can't have these!" as she grabbed them out of my cart.

Not angry, I just don't have a lot of patience with a sense of entitlement that the market should provide several paper bags for a personal endeavor, i.e., recycling, regardless of a physical impairment. It is a cost that the market has to absorb, therefore increases costs to consumers.

"Sense of entitlement," Wantoretire? Boy, that's a stretch--and a first. No one has ever accused me of that before.

My "physical impairment," BTW, is incidental to this situation. I didn't mention my hands to the cashier.

As for my "personal endeavor," it's not as though I wanted them for a Halloween costume. Recycling benefits everyone.

She didn't need to be rude to you.

Maybe you could use cloth bags for the purpose?

Granted, the rude person shouldn't have been rude (apples and oranges) but decided to pick up some bags and do it that way for a while--partly because I know my fingers won't be all that functional in the winter (I have Raynaud's). You mentioned Reynauds. You asked for half a dozen bags. Why should the supermarket fund the bags for your personal ailments and recycling efforts?

The squawk wasn't about the getting of the bags whether free or whatever - it was over the rudeness of the employee ... and how did she know, when she grabbed 'em, whether this good customer'd paid for them or not (as she had to ask which cashier, she hadn't seen the transaction)?

ole joyful

P.S. Google ad accompanying is for "certified shredding".

o j

Wantoretire, why are you driving this into the ground? I get the feeling you're not reading my responses.

At no point did I indicate that the supermarket should fund the bags for my "personal ailments and recycling efforts."

I mentioned Raynaud's in passing above, in this thread to explain why binding the newspapers might be impossible over the winter. I did not mention it to the cashier.

Again, if the cashier had charged for the bags, I would have paid a reasonable amount. I wouldn't have paid 50 cents apiece, but neither would I have felt entitled to them.

The title of my post was "Encounter at the supermarket today." It was not "How I got gypped out of paper bags I deserved."

Am I making myself clear this time?

Did you have your groceries bagged in paper? If not, why not? I always ask for paper and use the bags for recycling purposes.

Crystal, I'm outta here, which is a big reason this is not a real kitchen table, but a forum where one has to agree with the OP.

Chloecat, I haven't had my groceries bagged in paper in ages, but that's a good idea--thanks! They might charge for them, but that's okay......as long as it's not 50 cents. ;-)

Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed today. As others have said, we used to all be friends here. Alisande, that person did not need to be so rude and grab those paper bags from you. I would report her. I used to use paper grocery bags for my garbage and when I asked for a couple of extras I got them with a smile from the cashier or courtesy clerk.

Alisande,bag in paper from now on .. I'd ask the manager what the policy is and tell him/her about the rudeness. no need for that.

MY grocery store would be happy to give you the bags. No questions.

ML

I agree. Asked to have them bagged in paper from ow on. I would call the store 800# and tell them exactly what happened. Another option is to put them in a plastic bin, but that could get heavy depending on how often you drop them of. Like the OP said a charge of 5 or 10 cents when she requested them would be entirely reasonable, but to yank them out of her cart and confront her was over the top.

I think the prices on grocery bags have gone up a lot in the last couple of years. Our local grocery chain uses both paper and plastic. I've heard they have quit giving bags away when the schools asked for them for projects.

I used to work at a grocery store in the late 80's/early 90's, bags were $.08 each then. I would expect them to be at least double that now.

Both clerks messed up. I would let it go.

I meant to say bags cost the store $.08 each.

have them double bagged...I sometimes have them put paper inside the plastic on my heavier items...you get the strength of the paper but you have the handles on the plasic so the paper won't tear when you pick them up...they have never quesstioned refused or charged me!! you might give that a try!!

Well, I totally agree with Alisande on this one. If I shopped there frequently I would expect to get the bags for free. If I didn't shop there frequently, that'd be another thing. But with Alisande the employee was rude and that's a whole different thing and no one should have to tolerate this. I know that they have a tough job dealing with crabby customers but Alisande wasn't acting that way. The employee got up on the wrong side of bed.

I don't have any new ideas on what to do but I'd have been mad also.

I recycle plastic bags using them to line waste baskets and trash containers. I use paper sacks for recycling paper. When I find I am low I have often commented on it to the cashier at the grocery stores I shop at. The response has always been to give me a few extras.

Even if the store did charge for them (ours don't charge but do give a nickle rebate for bringing your own) it nothing but good customer service to accommodate a customers request.

The woman who grabbed them out of the cart was out of line. She had absolutely NO right to take or touch anything in that cart. She could have asked you about them but that is as far as her rights went. I think there would have been quite a confrontation if it happened to me. If I'm leaving a store with paid for goods and someone grabbed anything in my cart I would be treating it as a "theft" of my stuff. Nobody invades my personal space like that. I would be getting her name rank and serial number. LOL

Susan, quick - check your horoscope! Seems your patience and goodwill has been tested more than once today. I agree with you - having something that was freely given to you snatched from your cart was really poor customer handling. Good for you for not pointing out the cashier who provided the bags.

Considering, I assume, you could have asked to have your bags double bagged with paper, I don't think asking for the bags was out of line. If they had a policy not to give them, or to charge for them and you didnt' get charged that's not your fault.

The employee who saw you got bags should not have accosted you, but rather should have brought it up with their manager who should review the store policy with the employees. No employee should be faulting you or even acknowledging that their employees are doing something out of line (it makes them look bad).

No employee to customer contact is needed.

If there was a problem it should have been employee to manager: Hey, Pete, I saw a customer with some bags. We need to remind the cashiers not to just give them out that they need to be billed.

Bringing you into their mismanaged mess-ups is just bad customer service/relations.

Okay, Gardenspice, here it is:

Money matters will be stressful. Don't let anyone push you to make a decision that could end up being costly. Take your time and refuse to reveal your thoughts. Honesty is important, but you must also avoid controversy in order to bypass obstacles.

I think we could find ways to relate that horoscope to the events of my day. ;-)

Wildchild, I wish I'd reacted as you describe. As I was driving away from the store, I even considered going back and asking for her name. But I decided it would be anticlimactic--even if I could find her. That might not be easy, because her appearance was rather nondescript. Not that I'm prejudiced against her or anything. LOL

Carla, I read your post after submitting mine. Yes, this was a demonstration of really poor customer relations. I'll be interested to see if I run into her again (or, more likely, if she runs into me).

You are way nicer than I would have been, Alisande. Not because you didn't get the bags but because the grocery store clerk was out of line.

Wanttoretire.... are you a grocery clerk at Alisande's store and if so, did you work today?

I could not help it. I laughed out loud at mom24's last sentence.

Sorry you ended up with a bratty clerk. Hope you have a better day tomarrow.

Alisande, you have always been such a kind spirit on this forum and I am sorry your intentions as a good citizen were
eclipsed by this experience as well as the simple act of sharing your story here and asking for feedback. Not fair, dear lady.

I shop at Harris Teeter and they do not charge for platic bags yet. If they did, they would not approach a cusomer in this way and potentially lose your business. The employee would be gone.

The woman at the door is not right for the job nor has she been trained or retrained in customer service. She doesn't belong in contact with customers. Her supervisor was obviously not around.

I write late at night on this forum and hope that you are asleep and that tomorrow you are greeted by people who treat you as well as you treat them. Amen, sister.

Here,in central Ont.Can., we are charged a nickel for the plastic bags..paper do not exist where we are(to my knowledge)
IF we have the store card,which is used as a credit or debit card,then we are given the nickel when we utilize our own re-useable bags.

As far as this experience went today for Alisande,there is nothing short of rude and uncalled for on the bi*** employees behaviour.

As far as wanttoretire_did goes...no,not EVERYONE agrees with whatever any OP posts btw..and I am one of the best known for arguing a point on this forum...and have-for years.

That employee was *way* out of line.

I don't see a problem with you asking for a few bags, with the understanding that the store can say yes or no or offer to sell them to you. You asked, they said yes, should be end of story.

I am the queen of recycling, but I don't bring my own bags to the grocery store. I use the plastic bags for trash bags and the paper bags for recycling. If the stores around me start charging for bags, then I may have to re-think this, but for now, it's no-brainer.

I'm sure all stores "charge" for any type of bag -- it's just added to the bottom line as the cost of doing business.

Do ask for the clerk to bag your items "paper inside of plastic" -- if they put up a stink, tell them the plastic tears easily and the double-bagging is easier to carry (it is, even without any health issues). A lot of times, tho, I've noticed that some of the bags have gotten smaller, just to fit the sizes of the plastic bags.

But hooray for that unpleasant employee! Maybe 5 years down the line, she'll get an award for saving the store a couple hundred dollars!

ALSO: Good point, Ellie -- some people really aren't cut out to be in any customer-service/contact job.

50 cents a bag is crazy. I have big recyclable bags that actually hang on the cart. I have two large ones and I use them at the the two stores I go to. I self scan at one and put in the bags, and at the other I tell the cashier to put the groceries in the bags. At the self scan store my husband always takes a few paper bags each week. They fit in our pull out built in trash can, and we also use them for recycling papers. No one has ever said a word, nor did we think we were doing anything wrong since if we didn't have the cloth bags, we would have used these paper ones.

When he goes shopping, DH always asks for "paper in plastic". The brown paper bag goes inside with the plastic outside so the handles can be used. Very sturdy, gets everything out to the car safely. We've never had to pay for these bags, and we do recycle them. The plastic ones line our wastebaskets. And the brown ones are good for when I scoop the cat box and for newspapers. I realize the stores do buy these bags, but I figure they give them to customers as "good will". I remember one Sunday, I had walked to a card store for a Sunday Newspaper and it was snowing. I ducked in a nearby grocery and took a free plastic bag to keep my paper dry. See, Good Will? By the way, I think it's awful when anyone is nasty to another person. We all should just be kind to each other.

Since there are so many people scamming and stealing from retailers, sometimes I feel like we ALL get treated like criminals.

I had a very nice experience at the grocery store this week. I came home missing two items and even though they didn't have them when I called, they immediately said that they probably got mixed in with the bags of the customer behind me. They said I could bring in my receipt and they would replace the items. It was only a roll of paper towel and a box of sandwich bags but I appreciated that I didn't have to go through a hassle to get them.

Our grocery stores and drug stores all charge for plastic bags. We don't have paper bags here. 5 cents each. And we don't get a discount for bringing our re-useable ones.

I use plastic bags for the garbage, and WalMart and a couple of other stores are when I'm able to stock up on bags again. I don't like paying for plastic bags. If I'm spending my money in their stores, I think they can donate the bags to bring "their" goods home in.

This ruling came out a couple of years ago (paying for plastic bags) to cut down the landfill.

Ellie, what nice comments you made about Alisande. I agree totally.

Mom24, I almost spit out my coffee when I read your comment. Thanks for the chuckle.

When you checked out (paid) everything and anything in your basket is a personal possession, it IS yours. She had no right legal or otherwise to even touch anything in there. IF it were me I would have given her a swift kick in the a__ and hollered "STOP THIEF".
I am 75 and no longer take any carp from anyone.

Boy, am I lucky! We have curbside recyling, or did until that famous tornado, but it will be available again soon. With curbside I only have to pile my newspapers in the box and not bind in any way.

I do use a few plastic bags for garbage, (Remember when we used to wrap it in newspaper, back in the year one?) so I do accept plastic bags when I need a couple, but mostly I use my cloth bag for everything. It irks me when I tell the clerk that I don't need a bag, she will then take the plastic bag she was going to use and throw it in the trash! Kind of defeats the cause doesn't it?

Thanks for your understanding, everyone! Out of curiosity, I called another supermarket in the same chain this morning and asked about paper bags. I was told they have them, they don't charge for them, and they're happy to bag groceries in them. "Paper in plastic is fine, too," he said.

Good to know. ;-)