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For those who don't know, Whole Foods recently did away with plastic grocery bags company wide, starting on Earth Day 2008 (earlier if stores ran out of plastic bags early).
Whole Foods will also give you a "bag refund" for every bag you bring in - it varies from region to region, but in my region, if you bring in a paper or plastic bag, you get 5 cents off of your bill per bag used. If you bring in a cloth or otherwise "durable" bag, you get 10 cents off per bag used. So buying a reusable bag eventually pays for itself - our cheapest ones are 99 cents, hold up very well, and have a lifetime warranty (if it ever tears or rips, we'll swap it out). Admittedly, all of my reusable bags are from Safeway, I got tired of waiting for our bags to come in.
Most of the customers have been understanding about the switch, though several have questioned why we did it since the paper bags cost significantly more.
Then we get a few who are absolutely pissed that we don't offer plastic.
"What a mess! Why can't you offer plastic like a normal store? This will be such a mess!" (this line came from an elderly lady that was around 65-70... the kind of person who grew up using paper bags)
"I don't like paper bags! They don't insulate as well as plastic!" (paper bags actually insulate much better - if you can feel the cold items through the bag, it's not insulating, sorry)
"You put too much stuff in the paper bags, they're too heavy!" (okay, you got me there - just ask me to make the bags light, I have no problem doing that)
"What am I supposed to use for my litter box?" (uh... I'm sure you go to other stores too, right? Even though I work here, I still go to other stores... I just use a WalMart or Safeway bag when I clean my cat's shitbox)
Overall, people have responded positively to the change... but there's always a few grumpy assholes.
I did manage to cram a $700 order into a Miata the other day - 3 shopping carts full of bags. All those years of playing Tetris came in handy... along with those few hellish months that I spent loading 18 wheelers for UPS. Even the owner of the Miata was surprised that I managed to get everything in his car. And I'm willing to bet money that everything arrived in one piece. A lot of his items were doubled bagged too (in paper of course), since he had a long drive and I had packed ice in with all of the perishables.
(oh yeah, I'm a bagger again.. grumble)
Whole Foods will also give you a "bag refund" for every bag you bring in - it varies from region to region, but in my region, if you bring in a paper or plastic bag, you get 5 cents off of your bill per bag used. If you bring in a cloth or otherwise "durable" bag, you get 10 cents off per bag used. So buying a reusable bag eventually pays for itself - our cheapest ones are 99 cents, hold up very well, and have a lifetime warranty (if it ever tears or rips, we'll swap it out). Admittedly, all of my reusable bags are from Safeway, I got tired of waiting for our bags to come in.
Most of the customers have been understanding about the switch, though several have questioned why we did it since the paper bags cost significantly more.
Then we get a few who are absolutely pissed that we don't offer plastic.
"What a mess! Why can't you offer plastic like a normal store? This will be such a mess!" (this line came from an elderly lady that was around 65-70... the kind of person who grew up using paper bags)
"I don't like paper bags! They don't insulate as well as plastic!" (paper bags actually insulate much better - if you can feel the cold items through the bag, it's not insulating, sorry)
"You put too much stuff in the paper bags, they're too heavy!" (okay, you got me there - just ask me to make the bags light, I have no problem doing that)
"What am I supposed to use for my litter box?" (uh... I'm sure you go to other stores too, right? Even though I work here, I still go to other stores... I just use a WalMart or Safeway bag when I clean my cat's shitbox)
Overall, people have responded positively to the change... but there's always a few grumpy assholes.
I did manage to cram a $700 order into a Miata the other day - 3 shopping carts full of bags. All those years of playing Tetris came in handy... along with those few hellish months that I spent loading 18 wheelers for UPS. Even the owner of the Miata was surprised that I managed to get everything in his car. And I'm willing to bet money that everything arrived in one piece. A lot of his items were doubled bagged too (in paper of course), since he had a long drive and I had packed ice in with all of the perishables.
(oh yeah, I'm a bagger again.. grumble)
Mostly in the trash can in the bathroom. And for stuff that I put in the freezer (because it will stink if I put it in the regular trash) until I have a chance to take it out to the dumpster. I've got a re-usable, insulated bag from Trader Joe's....that I forget to take with me every damn time!
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