"I've been in customer service for 25 years!"

[EricKei]

I'll admit that I let the minibasket ride along the belt when I go to check out, but that's because I have a bad back ^_^ Then again, I unload it during its brief trip.

Yes, I am one of those people who sorts their groceries on the belt (raw stuff together, bread with the eggs, etc)....MOST of the time, the bagger gets the hint. It's the ones that don't who scare me. I worked in a grocery long enough to know that eggs don't go in a bag with anything heavier than a loaf of bread >_> And yet, I've seen baggers who honestly don't understand why eggs on bottom plus cans equals disaster.

I really love those little double-decker half-size carts, tho, most stores seem to have like four of them, total >_< Using them, I don't have to limit my shopping time due to the "how long can I carry a handbasket before my back starts hurting" issue, and I still get the advantage of forcing me to restrict my purchases to what will actually fit in the little buggys ^_^

[Dreamstalker]

Some cashiers here will put the bags in your cart; as they finish filling a bag they just immediately place it in the cart. They're pretty fast, too.

I'll put bags in the cart; it's just easier that way and the bagging platform (especially for larger orders) doesn't fill up. What does irk me a bit is when customers with a massive order don't move the cart down--even if it's empty--until after the cashier or I says something. At most, the bag area can fit 3 full bags; even fewer if the cashier is scanning things much faster than I can bag.

[raudf]

I was in customer service for 5 years... and I happily load my own blasted buggy. I'm so used to it that I'm always unsure what to do at the places that still have baggers!

I also try to sort things on the belt into groupings that will boost the cashier's IPH. Cold stuff, frozen stuff, boxed food, canned food, etc. Depending on place, I'll scan my card in and do that, then go to loading the buggy. If I've got the hubby, he pays, I load.

If I have a hand basket, it depends on what's in it before I'll unload it. If it's small items that slip under the belt or easy tip/roll bottles, I won't unload it. Especially if it's 2 liter bottles. I've had those pinch the crud out of my fingers either by falling over and then rolling or just rolling, I won't take 'em out the hand basket.

Now I do request that the bread go on top the eggs. Bread's not gonna smash the eggs and I'll only have one bag of smashables to keep up with.

[Lovecats]

I've always appreciated customers who sort their items for me. It makes it so much easier to bag them. And I always thank them.

[jjc927]

When I was a cashier I would very rarely put the items in people's carts. The only time I did was when I was asked to or when the customer had a lot of things and I didn't have someone else in line so they could get out faster.

[Sarlon]

I recently went to walmart to do a MASSIVE shopping trip, normally I take a friend (one unloads the cart while the other helps load bags into the cart).

well....$350 worth of stuff with one person unloading the cart and one person scanning i couldn't keep up wit the poor cashier, but i also didn't expect her to load my cart, and I was profusely appologectic.

[Dreamstalker]

I like customers who group items together, it helps my IPM (for what it's worth, half of the scanner scales don't work properly which is part of the reason my IPM is always lower than I think it is) and also helps the bagging process. I try to bag like items together if possible and always let the customer know which bag has all the frozen/meat, the theory being that they'll want to get that put away first.

When I'm cashiering, I can't really put bags in the cart myself (angle/distance, I don't want to break any items, and technically cashiers aren't 'supposed' to). To say nothing of cases of soda/boxes of cat litter/cases of fire logs...just because I can lift them two inches to slide across the scanner doesn't mean I'm able to wrestle them into your cart.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

I do most of my grocery shopping at Wally World just because they carry so many different items, I can usually get everything I need in one place, and they're close to home. And of course they don't have separate baggers, the cashiers bag the items but rarely put the bags in the cart, which is fine with me. I thank them for bagging my stuff and I put the bags in the cart myself.

It feels a little weird to go to the more regional grocery chain where they do usually have baggers, most of whom also offer to bring my cart out to my car. I almost always politely decline; I can do my own work, they aren't allowed to get tips anyway, and this way they can help someone else who may really need it.

[downforit2008]

What an entitled doofus. I bet she expects a store employee to be doing her driving for her as well, since her "25 years in customer service" makes her feel like that would be good for the customers! Or just her.