I went last night to stock up on food and while I got everything I needed, actually didn't have to stand in line very long and was home before I thought I would be, I came home annoyed.

Why do I spend time picking out pretty (un bruised) veggies and fruits?

Why do I spend time putting things in the buggy in neat little groups?

Why do I spend time grouping all the cold stuff, frozen stuff, veggies, and other stuff on the nice little conveyor belt?

Only to have the cashier throw things in bags with out a care in the world.

I bought foil pans, different sizes, put on the conveyor belt in a nice little stack. They get thrown in the bag, with the smallest once on bottom and the largest on top. It would have taken 5 seconds longer to wait to put them in the bag in the same order I had them stacked, making for a smaller bag of items I dont want squished.

My zucchini was tossed in the bag with two large cans of tomatoes. My strawberries in a bag with packaged goods (spice packets and tortillas.)

Thank goodness I didnt buy any cleaning products because who knows what they would have been stuck with. And thankfully my raw meats did get packaged separately and not with my veggies (Ive had that happen before.)

What bugs me most is that everything was grouped together before he started. It wasnt like he had to dig throw the pile of groceries to find like items, it was already done for him!

Sigh!

I feel your pain! I do the same thing; all refrigerated items together, produce together, meats, etc. I have been using those re-usable bags and have one that even SAYS "Cold Items" on it, yet it gets the cans, cereal boxes, etc. I've even gone as far as to put things on the belt with a bag separating each group, and still get things all tossed together, one bag that weighs 100 pounds and another with nothing but a loaf of bread, etc. I did speak up one time when I had a bag of flour that had ripped a bit in the cart. I asked her to put that in a separate plastic bag as I transfer it to a container at home and I KNEW I had JUST caused the rip, so wasn't concerned about contaminations. She did as I asked, then proceeded to put in that same bag hair clips and head bands I picked up for the girls! Ugh! I stood in front of her and removed them from the flour bag and bagged them separately. She said something about not wanting to squish the hair items (so putting them in the same bag with a 5lb bag of flour is a good idea?) to which I responded I didn't want them covered in flour when I got home!

I used to work as a grocery store clerk, as did both of my parents. It was as if that was our family's "right of passage" with regards to first jobs At the store where I worked, we had regular training on how to properly bag items in both plastic AND paper bags. We even had competitions that we'd attend and have to "race" other clerks from other area stores with regards to accuracy and speed of ringing the groceries, even distribution of weight/items in bags, etc. It seems the art of customer service has gone down the drain lately....

If it was HEB, they get timed on how many scans per minute they have, so when they don't have a bagger, sometimes they get sloppy. My sister used to work there and she said if their scans per minute were too low, they'd get taken off the register and have to work as a bagger for less money.

I take the stuff out of the bags and rearrange it right there if I need to, until they get the idea that they need to bag it right. I do that at Walmart too...I don't take the full bags off the racks until they're arranged the way I want them.

This was at Walmart, so no bagger for them. And he took longer mixing up the veggies and the other stuff than he would have if he would have just put them the way I had them together.

My dad worked at a grocery store years ago, that's where I picked up the putting like items in the buggie and going through check out.

I was already a bit moody, so I didn't say anything last night. I just wanted to get my stuff and go home. But I have taken things out when they do do something stupid like putting my cleaning products with fruit. I love when I get a good cashier there. They work quickly, they bag nicely and I always compliment them on it.

Sometimes I want to go, if you were me would you really want this and that in a bag together. But chances are they probably wouldn't care or get why I don't want certain things together.

Another pet peeve is when they spend the little bag thing away from you instead of towards you. Hello, I either have to walk around beside you to get my groceries or you have to wait for me to take them off when they finally come around to me before you can spin it to fill more of them up.

That is one reason why I bag my own. I also "know" which cashiers are the ones who bag things the way I like it, so I go to their line if I see they are working.

It's not usually doable at Walmart but I generally always bag my own groceries. That way I know they will come out the same condition they went in. Sometimes a cashier will kind of get an attitude but I figure I am the one paying for them, if I want to bag them myself I will.

My first job was as a bagger with full training so I am VERY particular about how things are bagged. I always bag my own when possible, and at Wal-Mart will go through the self checkout line so I can (I have also been a chashier so I am as fast as those stupid self check scanners will let me go, seriously, why can't they be the same speed as the regular registers?).

I have actually stopped a cashier and said "I didn't spend 15 minutes picking out the perfect apples so you could bruise them, quit tossing my fruit on the belt." She of course snarkily replied that she wasn't tossing it but did treat the other items more gently.

I have also told baggers not to bother that I would do it myself AND have completely unpacked and repacked bags before leaving the store, it just irritates me too much to put up with shoddy service.

i bag my own groceries. And usually the clerk is grateful.

Same problem here. I've had stuff ruined thanks to careless bagging. They also make the paper bags thinner now yet they tend to shove more stuff in them; often they rip before I can even get them in the cart.

Anyone ever have to tell a cashier to weigh the produce again? I had one that wouldn't take her hand off the bag when weighing. She was ticked when I made her do it again. Sure enough, I nearly paid for the weight of her hand.

I do 95% of my grocery shopping at Trader Joes. I bring my own bags and have 2 cooler bags (which they sell). Even before I brought my own bags they would always group things perfectly and I always have my bags organized! Looks like u should try TJ's! I converted, saved a TON of $, and will NEVER do all my shopping at a reg chain again!

I, too, segregate all my items on the belt...produce, cans, cold/frozen items, (since I live an hour away I repack them into cold chests in the car), and have really had no problem. (Knock on wood here). The one problem I did have was the exact opposite of yours: I had a checker who must have considered himself an artist. He painstakingly arranged things in the cart, backed up and reappraised his work and then would rearrange them---only to add more items and go through the whole process all over again! I was rather in a hurry, but held my tongue. I guess that is better than having broken eggs and bruised bananas.
I just saw the above post and want to add that I love TJ"s! St. Louis is too far away for me or I would shop there all the time also. Top quality items, good cust relations, and just plain FUN!

I also repackage my bags at walmart (and meier). Since moving to an apartment, I no longer have the luxury of unloading my groceries in a connected garage and I dont' need 20 bags of groceries when only 10 will do, saving me multiple trips from the apartment to the car.

And what is so dang hard about putting 6 cake mixes in a plastic bag, all lined up the same way? It's not a tetris puzzle! It's easy!! I haven't found one cashier who can figure it out yet!

It's all just common sense which people seem to lack these days

I've complained to the cashier, front end managers, customer service and even written to corporate headquarters of some of the supermarkets and not one since store cares.

I'd like the owner to come in and do their shopping and check out, see what it is really like

I am also a sorter, I even sort it in my cart so it's easier to unload on the belt. I've had my MIL, SIL, aunt and my mom all shop with me at different times and they all tell me i'm too Anal about it. Oh-well, I like it that way, plus i get more in the cart

But back to the op, I typically don't have that issue and i shop at wal-mart and a chain store in the mid-west. However i have noticed that if it's someone closer to their teens that when i sort it on the cart i put my re-usable bags between each "set" of items. I have some insulated bags so I always start with those and then the cold stuff, then a couple of bags and the boxes, then a couple more bags and the cans, etc... I find if I do it that way then they usually get the idea. But I have found that I am a favortie of some of the long time cashiers (i used to work at wal-mart so some still recognize me) THey love that everything is sorted already, makes their job easier (or so they say)

I usually sort my groceries as I put them on the conveyor belt, but yesterday I didn't because I was at a store where there is only a very small counter (you just push the cart right up to the cashier and they take everything out for you). I'm so used to terrible baggers that I was actually surprised when the cashier carefully separated everything and the bagger did his job right, too. I made sure to thank them for it, and I think I'll start shopping there more often! Plus, they offer free drive-and-load, which I never thought I needed -- but with three small children I love it now!

I don't have the Trader Joe's option here. The closest to me is Brookshires and Walmart. They are across the street from each other, and Walmart is the cheaper of the two. We do have an Albertson's but it is across town and I can't justify to myself the time to drive over there to shop.

I too hate when they put all the heavy stuff in a bag, such as all your can goods. But I do also hate when they put only 2 to 3 items in a bag and you end up with 50 bags. Can't they find a middle ground?

Sorting as you shop does allow you to fit things in the buggy better but also makes it quicker and easier to put it on the belt. My mom hasn't mastered that yet. We often go together and I hate to unload her buggy!

Leily, I might have to get some of the re-usable bags and try your trick.

Oh, I hate the grocery store. There definately needs to be lessons on grocery bagging and I'll be more than happy to go there and show them how to do it!

I sometimes ask the bagger not to bag the cold items, because I am going to transfer them to a cooler when I get to my car anyway and people just don't know how to bag! Eggs with bread on top in a bag is okay, cans and bread are NOT! And putting apples and bananas in the same bag just drives me bonkers!!!

What's wrong with apples and bananas in the same bag?
Unless the bananas are very ripe, they shouldn't bruise.

Because I'm just anal about that!! lol I know if you have a green bananas (and I try to buy bananas with a little green on them because they may not get eaten before they go bad at my house) and put them next to apples they will ripen quicker. I don't WANT to them get riper quicker or I would have purchased ripe ones! lol I know...it's sorta crazy because the apples and bananas or in separate little plastic bags - but it still just drives me crazy! lolol It's just one of my peeves...

Ah, I see... You're down South, here in the PNW the bananas are quite often solid green.

Have you noticed how, when a bag's too full, it never breaks until you get it home? My driveway is a hill and I hate chasing the groceries down the hill. I tried using the resuable bags, but they're bigger, and they pack those things so full that I can't carry them into the house.

Here's another pet peeve...when they're not careful with the bags of powdered sugar and the darn bags burst. Then they act like I'm being really anal about it when I want them to send someone back for another bag.

About bananas, I always heard that they cause other fruit to ripen, not the other way around. Same with onions...don't keep onions and potatoes together.

Alrighty. This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. I have actually removed produce from a bag, handed it back to the cashier and told her to take it off my bill-- I refuse to pay what it costs today for apples that have been put under cans. A while back I was at Aldi's. I had all my fragile stuff in the little basket where you put your purse or kiddo. While my back was turned she actually started on those things--green peppers, strawberries, bananas---hot dog buns, etc... and then started piling cans on top of those. I told her to S T O P!! in a not so quite voice, said.. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? and called a manager over. I refused everything in the bottom of the cart.

Wal-Mart is no longer an issue for me. I don't shop there. Talk about crappy produce!! I love my Dillions. They have baggers who are actually friendly, load my car and actually pack correctly.

Just a side note, be sure Wal-Mart is actually cheaper--you might be surprised.
And, the last time I bought cake mixes there, they were out of date, and the very last thing I purchased there was a roll of plastic wrap with a HUGE insect embedded in it. Beware.

Our Walmart is cheaper. I don't even ad shop because more often than not the deals in the ads are really not chaper than the prices at Walmart. I haven't had any problems with out of date things or other products.

Yup, Walmart is cheaper here too. I've been going to HEB instead though, ever since Walmart changed all their generics to plain white packages. It makes it too hard to find things in my pantry

I won't buy meat at Walmart, except the big packs of fresh chicken breast.

FYI - If you find an out-of-date product on the shelf at WalMart, they'll give you the item (fresh, of course) free. Not all employees know this, so be sure to ask for a manager. Only one free thing, tho. You don't get 10 free boxes of cake mix if you find 10 out of date.

My all time favorite is checking out, I bag almost all the groceries. The clerk bags ONE bag. Then she announces that I will have to walk around to her side of the check out to pick up and carry the bag because it is far too heavy for her to lift!!! I couldn't stop laughing. She can't lift it, but I can? I am only 4' 11", weigh less that 100 lbs and am a senior citizen. Yeah-toting heavy items, everyone thinks of me first-NOT.
Do they just not care, or are they really that dumb?

Another thought about the grocery store-Do people now change their behaviors and manners according to where they are? Years ago, people behaved the same everywhere. Showed manners in church, in school, at work and just around town. This post started to make me think about the fact that my gym and my grocery store are right next to each other. At the gym people always hold the door, follow the gym "rules" and are very polite. This evening after class we had a lot of weights and mats to put away outside the room. As I went back to gather up more stuff I noticed some of the younger people had put mats and things away for me and others. At the grocery store people left carts in the way blocking the aisles and other inconsiderate behavior. What is up with that? I just wonder. Is this noticed in other areas of the country too, or just here?