Are you SURE you don't want me to smash your stuff?

[Peppergirl]

This is why I love the self checkout (for large orders) at Meijer. I can bag my own groceries in my own OCD manner without feeling like a big 'ol bitch about it.

[EricKei]

Maybe I'm compulsive, but I make sure that things are bagged the way I like by sorting them into different areas during my shopping, and then loading them onto the belt in the way I like: frozen stuff all together, canned stuff all together, meat and dairy segregated, etc. So the cashier scans similar stuff and then puts them into the bag carousel together.

I do the same. I am especially picky about chems and raw meats. The overwhelming majority of the time, they get the hint. I admit that I may indeed be paranoid about this -- but, in the words of an old friend of mine, "It's not paranoia if I'm right."

[BookstoreEscapee]

eh, i usually jsut the put the stuff that goes on the bottom (like cans) at the front of the belt and the stuff that msut go on top at the end (eggs).

That's what I do. Heavier stuff goes in the front; refrigerated stuff gets grouped together; produce, eggs, meats and bread go at the back so they go in the bags last. I also usually go to a store where I bag most of the groceries myself (after the cashier finishes scanning they'll finish bagging while I pay). Another store I go to less often has the bag carousels so the cashier bags as they scan. They tend to use a lot more bags than is really necessary. And I hate it when they put a bottle of shampoo or something in a bag by itself. It's shampoo, it can go in with the crackers. Really. (Bleach and other chemicals that could, you know, injure me, I keep separate, though I usually don't buy those things at the grocery store, so I don't have to worry about them being bagged with food, anyway.)

Semi-On Topic: "The Bleach Incident"
When I was home from college one summer I had about 5 or 6 copy-paper boxes stacked in the corner of my room. They had school supplies, linens, some cleaning stuff...things from my dorm room that I would not be needing while I was home. I didn't realize that the box with cleaning stuff (which was in the middle of the stack) had a small bottle of bleach laying on its side. At some point, the cap cracked and it started to leak. I noticed the stack was leaning one day, and I went to push it back into line...and realized it was wet...then I realized that my hand smelled like bleach. Oh, shit. "Mooom!!!" We got everything onto the front porch. The box with the bottle in it all but disintegrated in the process. Most of the stuff was fine, though. Some of the metal on the school supplies (binders, hole punch) rusted and we had to toss a few things, but the linens were fine and the other box had dishes and stuff that just needed to go for a ride in the dishwasher. There is still a bleach stain on the carpet, though. This has forever after been referred to as "The Bleach Incident."

[Chattyaholic]

Quite often I will have to re-bag a few things when I take my groceries to my car. I like bread and buns put in the bag a certain way so that when I stand the bag up they are lying down on their bottoms (just like you see them on the shelf) and not standing up so the bottom part gets squished.

My husband went grocery shopping with me last week, and he helped to put the bags in the car so I didn't notice the bread/buns and when I unpacked them at home they were squished. I hate squished bread and buns!!

And I don't like anything else put in the bag with bread and buns. They need to be separate.

[Alpha Strike]

This probably doesn't speak well of me, but I probably would lose it if someone stacked bleach on top of any food. Because, you know, that whole BLEACH IS POISONOUS thing.

>.>
<.<

I'm confused. If the bleach is a sealed, plastic container what does it matter what bag it goes into? Unless you're scared that the container is going to puncture and/or your food can somehow be contaminated by mere contact with the bottle...

[Broomjockey]

I'm confused. If the bleach is a sealed, plastic container what does it matter what bag it goes into?

Read the thread again. People have answered this.

[Kogarashi]

What always made me laugh (and sigh) as a cashier was when I'd get a customer absolutely freaking out because I put their bread or bagged potato chips on top of their carton of eggs. I even had one insist that the soft, squishy bread would crush their eggs. Seriously.

Count me in the "better safe than sorry" crowd when it comes to chemicals and other non-food items being bagged with food. Of course, I usually buy enough that the chemicals and other non-food can all go in its own bag, and if I'm only buying a small handful of items, I'll often tell the cashier it's okay to bag them together. I don't assume that the cashier will do that, though, because when I was a cashier, general training was to Not Do That. There were enough bottles with pinhole leaks or chemical residue on the outside or goodness-knows-what on them that most customers wouldn't want on their damp food.

I, too, tend to put my items on the belt in the order I want them bagged in, with the heavy stuff at the front and the squishable stuff at the back. Now if only I could just get the cashiers to stop double-bagging my stuff when I have to use the store's plastic bags because I forgot my reusables again.

Seriously. Bought maybe 10 things, ended up with six bags (ten if you count the double-bagging). The cashier double-bagged each gallon of milk separately (those don't need to be bagged, really!), as well as double-bagged the container of cocoa mix (by itself).

[Despina83]

It is admittedly very helpful when customers do organize everything on the belt the way it should be bagged. It can be a real pain when the customers has already loaded the bag of frozen stuff into their cart when you suddenly find one more frozen dinner at the end of the line, buried under something else. People don't have to do it, and it might seem kind of OCD to some, but I have to say it does make the job a lot easier.

I'm admit I'm not the best bagger in the world. However, I have never crushed anything. I'm the last cashier she would need to worry about overpacking and crushing something. My biggest problem is tending to make the bags too LIGHT and wasting bags by being overly cautious with things. But I do have common sense enough to see that stuff like Draino and bleach need to be seperate from food, avoid crushing bread and eggs, try to keep cold stuff together, etc. But I do think I could use some work in organizing the bags. I'm not very neat about it. I'd be happy to hear any tips that anyone here has.

[EricKei]

Despina - you've already got the important stuff down, so Kudos! ^_^

I used to do this job, myself, for 3 years..maybe that's why I am so picky about it NOW >_>

If you want specifics...just try to keep like things together when you can (e.g., cans -- a double-bag can usually safely hold several 16-ounce cans), and keep in mind the (apparent) physical strength of your customer. In other words, the dude who looks like a Heisman-winning football player can probably handle a very full double-bag or two, whereas, the frail little old lady may have trouble with more than 2-3 five-ounce cans of tomato paste in one bag.

If you're looking for things more along the line of pet peeves/things to watch out for...Here I go. YMMV.

Eggs: generally alone. Personally, I see nothing wrong with eggs+(sliced)bread or bread+light bulbs, but some people do freak out over that. If you have a regular and it's not too busy, ask.

Glass: If you have two or more in one bag, consider wrapping at least one. Keep in mind that many glass items are both fragile AND heavy, so watch the weight.

Milk, water, other things with handles: I've almost never been to a place that bags water (they usually ask), but items that are likely to "sweat"/get condensation (like milk) usually get bagged. If in doubt, ask.

Speaking of which -- even if they want Paper: Ask if they would like "damp" articles placed in plastic before going into the paper bag. E.g.: Plastic milk jugs, raw meats

Ginormous things like cartons of Coke or kitty litter: Use them as the base upon which to lay your plastic-bag empire's foundation.

Raw anything: Try to keep them in their own bags, or in bags-within-bags, due to the possibility of cross-contamination. Many many people, even otherwise cool customers, will rapidly go CBF if you even consider putting raw beef in with raw pork or poultry. Tbh, I actually WATCH when these items come along, and I will even reach in to separate them if that's what it takes. Maybe I'm paranoid, I dunno. I make an exception for vaccum-packed raw meats (as in, factory-sealed as opposed to being on a styrofoam tray).

...That's enough outta me for now.

[BusBus]

I would think that starting off a transaction by being a total bitch SC would more likely result in things getting squished (certainly not condoning that, but you can only take so much crap from people).