"WE" are going to do nothing, lady

[notalwaysright]

Customer: "But what are you going to do when somebody comes to the register with a cart full of groceries and they don't have a bag?"

Speaking as someone who's town banned plastic bags in 2012, if a customer doesn't have bags or bins, and doesn't want to buy paper bags, AND doesn't get EBT (they get free paper bags) then the groceries get put straight back into the cart. It's the customer's responsibility.

People are sooo dramatic about it. People carried things before plastic. They had cloth bags, or woven baskets, or wooden crates. The store didn't make the rule, so don't act like it's the store's fault.

[Pixelated]

But seriously, if it's anything like what our city did, you'll probably get paper bags that you'll charge 5¢ each for. And of course, the customers will piss and moan about it, oh, the horror, paying a WHOLE FIVE CENTS for a bag!

We charge 5 cents per plastic bag, so I don't think there'll be any moaning at the bar if we have paper bags for the same charge ... but who knows, right ...

I've had a couple of customers complain about paying for bags, and luckily for us both, I don't have the time to get into an argument about there being no such thing as a free lunch ... or shopping bag ...

[Ironclad Alibi]

... I hope your store will put up big signs in the parking lot and front windows reminding people to bring in their bags. ...

What good will that do for all those people who refuse to read signs?

You could have door greeter beating them over the head with the signs and they would still claim they didn't know.

[Minflick]

How heavy can they hold? I've got several canvas bags I use regularly, plus some of the cheesy non-woven that are large enough that a good pack of paper towels or tp can fit, but I only have about 2 bags that can hold heavy things.

[XCashier]

Customer: "But what are you going to do when somebody comes to the register with a cart full of groceries and they don't have a bag?"

"Well, considering that it's been in the news for months and everyone should already know about the bag ban, I guess we all get to point and laugh at them!"

But seriously, if it's anything like what our city did, you'll probably get paper bags that you'll charge 5¢ each for. And of course, the customers will piss and moan about it, oh, the horror, paying a WHOLE FIVE CENTS for a bag!

So, be prepared for an awful lot of whinging, griping, yelling and threatening. I hope your store will put up big signs in the parking lot and front windows reminding people to bring in their bags. I also hope your manager is decent enough to back you up when people pitch a conniption fit over the bags.

[Mental_Mouse]

Personally, I lurve my Chicobags. In packed form I can stick one in a jacket pocket, or just toss a few into my backpack.

[Pixelated]

Actually, we already do ... pretty much every register has a small collection of reusable bags hanging at the end of it, where the customers enter. IMO these are pretty crappy bags, but they're there. Near the self-checkouts is one of those "spinny things" offering a much better selection of reusable containers (not just bags). Also near the self-checkouts are very large plastic bins.

Occasionally I'll have a customer buy one or more of the bags at the end of my line (and I always want to tell them to put it back, go over to the spinner, and lay out a bit more money for a better product )

But the options are there, and easily accessible. So yeah, if/when plastic is banned, and IF we don't convert to paper bags, anybody who shows up unprepared is just shit out of luck.

[RealUnimportant]

To answer the customer's question, I guess stores will offer, near the checkout, re-usable bags for sale. As someone who works in retail, that's what I would do.

That's exactly what happens here.

[Rosco the Iroc]

Store is going to become a insurgent group and Yell Wolverines! from the roof as we toss out bags to the people. So we are collecting guns and ammo to make the final bag stand.

[workerbee222]

In my car is a canvas bag purchased at a grocery store about 33 years ago. It's firm enough to stand up and stay open on it's own. I don't usually take it into the store unless I'm going to purchase a lot of heavy stuff. Because it's so stiff, I can't just toss it in the wash, since the first time we did, it abraded a hole in the boot at the door of the front loading washer. I can scrub it out by hand and hang it in the sun to dry, though, and periodically I do. Mostly it holds other reusable bags that are lighter, fold easier, and can be simply swabbed clean when needed.

People have been talking about this for at least three decades. How can anyone not know?

To answer the customer's question, I guess stores will offer, near the checkout, re-usable bags for sale. As someone who works in retail, that's what I would do.

[YamiNoHime]

Some people's children. Yeesh

[Pixelated]

Customer comes through my line today and plops her fabric bag down on the belt. I mention this only because I thought it odd that she had her own bag, in light of the conversation that followed.

Customer: "So what are you guys going to do when they ban plastic bags?"

(Canada is supposed to ban single-use plastics; some people are saying the ban will take effect this year, but the news items I've seen say 2021. Anywho ....)

Me, tapping her bag: "Well, people will just have to buy their own bags then."

Customer: "But what are you going to do when somebody comes to the register with a cart full of groceries and they don't have a bag?"

She was putting a slight emphasis on "you" that made it clear that she considered it somehow OUR responsibility to fix this situation, should it occur.

I came so very close to saying "Madam, it won't be our problem and WE won't do anything."

Reusable bags and bins have been available for 10 (or possibly 15 or maybe even 20) years now. A different customer had earlier come through my line with a plastic bin that had been used 25 years ago in her classroom to help keep stuff sorted. It was never intended to be used as a grocery carrier, but that's what she had re-purposed it as. So the options are pretty much endless, and anybody who hasn't made arrangements when the ban goes into effect is just fuck out of luck, in my opinion.

P.S. There is a rumour that we are going back to paper bags. We shall see.