Hot weather brings out the grouchiness

[drjonah]

So I was off last week taking management classes so I don't have a big list of stories from the Dollar Admiral. And since it's monday, it's routine shopping day for the old farts. And since it was hot and humid today, it makes them extra cranky. I had SIX different old bats literally bite my head off because I didn't put their greeting card in a bag.

I swear I can't win. The old bats get pissed if I don't put everything in bags no matter how small or stupid. And then corporate gets mad because stores are ordering more bags then necessary. Corporate already discontinued the small bags and limit stores on the amount of large bags they can order. I really look forward to the day they ban plastic bags all together or start charging money for them.

[kptsj]

I was a pretty new cashier and needed every hour i could get . My manager asked me to come in and work till closing one night. There were three people working. The manager was having to do paperwork and recovery along with another recovery person. I was the only cashier. We are a very busy store. But, she was at max hours for the store. We were down to the very large bags and I had to work the register that didn't have a conveyor belt. I thought I would lose my mind.

[XCashier]

I really look forward to the day they ban plastic bags all together or start charging money for them.

No, you don't. Take it from me. My city banned the plastic T-shirt bags in May of last year, and I have heard no end of griping from my customers. They complain about the "tree-hugging hippies in the city government" (you live in Hippieville, USA, what do you expect?!), the "inconvenience" of remembering their reusable bags everywhere, the 5¢ charge for paper bags, yadda yadda yadda. And they're screaming at me, as if I can do anything about it!

It didn't help that we ran out of paper bags last week and we haven't gotten any more in. So trust me when I say, you do NOT want a plastic bag ban!

[notalwaysright]

My hippie city also banned plastic bags over a year ago. And I also work at a fabric store. I don't cashier, so I don't get all the complaints, but I know many people think it's a joke. I actually like the ban, but then again I'm a giant hippie.

[Food Lady]

Yes I do!! And I would talk back to the gripers. "I agree with the tree-huggers." "You know, every plastic bag ever made is still out there." [quote from one of my awesome customers] "We have these awesome re-useable bags on sale for $1!)--said in the most disgustingly cheerful voice. But I'm just sassy that way.

[XCashier]

If you really want to deal with it, more power to you. I'm just sick and tired of being yelled at for something that the city council did and I had no say in.

[Dreamstalker]

I hear ya. "We" (I say it that way because as I found out from a CW who works at city hall, NO residents actually got a chance to vote on it) banned them last December. And I still hear about it, especially when it's raining (as it was last night). We are allowed to sell heavy-duty biodegradable plastic bags for 10 cents...I hear about that too. Usually "you just want to make more money off us!"

[mhkohne]

I hear ya. "We" (I say it that way because as I found out from a CW who works at city hall, NO residents actually got a chance to vote on it) banned them last December. And I still hear about it, especially when it's raining (as it was last night). We are allowed to sell heavy-duty biodegradable plastic bags for 10 cents...I hear about that too. Usually "you just want to make more money off us!"

I don't shop there very often, but there's a local chain called Bottom Dollar. They don't give out bags because they are trying to absolutely minimize their prices. I wonder if 'To save you money' would go over better with the customers.

[greek_jester]

We are allowed to sell heavy-duty biodegradable plastic bags for 10 cents...I hear about that too. Usually "you just want to make more money off us!"

But they're already paying for the plastic bags. The cost of the overhead is factored into the prices on the shop floor. That's why places like Lidl's that make you pay for the bags can afford to price things up cheaper.

[mathnerd]

I'm of two minds with the plastic bags. On the one hand, not having them reduces overhead and helps save the environment. On the other hand, I save them and use them instead of buying trash bags (and take the ones with giant holes back to the recycle bins at the stores), so having them go away would mean I'd actually have to spend money on trash bags.

[blas]

Plastic bags are useful if you're going to reuse them before you finally bid them adieu.

I use them for small garbage basket liners, and for scooping out kitty kitties' litterboxes.

[Ironclad Alibi]

If you know where and when to look, you can get the fabric bags for free. Staples will periodically have free bags along with a 20% discount with the other stuff you buy. I've gotten a dozen or so bags that way.

For the areas I know of that have plastic bag bans, the extra 5 or 10 cents for the bags are a bag tax that goes to the local government, not to the store. Not that SCs have any clue about complaining to City Hall.

[notalwaysright]

Some stores say on the receipt "city required bag fee." I even remember when it was going into effect, the city had a FAQ sheet which specifically said the fee was not optional. Businesses cannot eat the .05 as a courtesy. Either way, no one wants to hear about it a zillion times a day.

[tSubh Dearg]

We are 12 years into having a charge on plastic bags and everyone has just gotten over it now. Even though the price has gone from 15 cents to 22 cents (in Euro). There was a lot of complaining at the start but I have to say, rural areas in particular look a lot better since it was introduced, there are no longer bags stuck in every tree!

[Evannah]

Sounds like Poundland. At one point, Head Office made every store have a bag limit. One bag per customer (or a group of customers) even if they had three baskets worth of stuff. Understandably, customers got annoyed, but when I told them that this was the policy that the people at head office had issued, they snapped back that it was MY fault because I'M the cashier. No. Just no.

ID and bags were the things that made my customers get mad. ID is still a silly thing to get mad about but BAGS? Seriously? That policy was the one maddening thing about bags. Everything else was just silly. Like the things you mentioned. Or asking them if they wanted a bag. Anyone would think I asked if they wanted me to shoot their mother.