Etiquette /Courtesty/Social Contract

[Ares]

Ok so I just got back from grocery shopping and I wanna see what you guys think about an interaction I had.

I finished shopping and went to checkout, the line I got in had 2 people in front of me, and when I got in the line there was a girl at the register and an older lady bagging the groceries. I get up and the bagging lady walks off and leaves the register girl on her own. She scans half my stuff and it backs up at the end corral thingy and so she stops, bags it up and hands it all to me and then scans the other half, hands it all to me. Now I pay and the receipt prints out and as she hands it to me she goes "And someone would be HAPPY to take your groceries to your car FOR you" and it seemed a little odd and I walked off.

So I load my stuff in my truck and I start trying to decipher why she seemed bitchy towards me and I came up with this question:

Is there some unwritten rule or Etiquette or Courtesy or Social Contract that says you are supposed to jump in and bag for the register person at the grocery store if their bagger walks off?

I honestly had never encountered this so I wasn't sure after the fact if I had violated some unknown pact we make with grocery store employees to pitch in and bag if the baggers are absent for some reason?

If I was an asshole feel free to say it lol, I just am not sure.

 

[Crystallas]

First, there is no social contract.
Is there a courtesy? yes. Did you have to exercise that courtesy? no

Let's list the reasonings here.
A) You believe that bagging groceries is part of the service that you pay for. Your exchange with the supermarket is between you at that supermarket.
B) You feel if people started doing the baggers jobs, you would take a job away from them.
C) You're lazy, DGAF and avoid all extra work when possible.
D) You don't mind bagging, but damn, every time you do it, the bag breaks, or you smash something, so best leave it to someone else. Bad luck.
E) The cashier was kind of cute, and you didn't mind waiting.
F) She was a Packers fan. Not going to help her.
G) Those checkout line TV commercials are very entertaining.

Me, I bag the stuff. I want to get in, and get out. Most people don't bag, and cashiers aren't taking it personal when you just stand there. Really you're fine either way.

 

[BaBaBlacksheep]

I always help in situations like this... but then again my Mama raised me right.

 

[nvanprooyen]

I pretty much always help out. I even get stuff for people who forget things if they are ahead of me in line. Just the other day, some old lady forgot corn starch and the cashier was going to go get it for her. I volunteered to go get it, so she could continue scanning the rest of her stuff and not hold up the line. I also usually let people in front of me that only have a few things. I figure if I do something small nice for someone, might make their day a little brighter. Also I get bored REALLY easy, so doing stuff to help out keeps me occupied while I'm waiting to check out.

But that shouldn't be the expectation. The girl was probably just being a *****.

 

[nwfisch]

Rosseau's social contract .

 

[nvanprooyen]

Rosseau's social contract .

We have the expert here now. What say you fisch?

 

[nwfisch]

I guess I work at a place where there's always carryout service...like its a mandate that someone bag your groceries and take them out to the car, so I wouldn't say that Fareway is a typical grocery store in that sense.

Yeah, if we're busy, people jump in and help out, if anything just so they get out faster. I frankly don't look down upon a person for not helping out. It isn't their job to come to Fareway and bag groceries. That's my and everyone else's job. Frankly as a carryout, I'm more pissed when a checker rings up $50+ of groceries and decides to bag none of them.

I carryout and check, and when I check, I ALWAYS bag as I go. I don't understand why checkers don't get that its easier on them in the end to bag as they go.

So in short Ares, I feel as if you were correct in your actions and the rude checker should promptly eat a pigeon .

 

[botfly10]

I never understood why they don't bag shit as they scan it with the little thing thats usually right behind them.

Either way, I bring my own bags and prefer to bag myself cause I cram all the shit in 1 or 2 bags.

Nothing is more infuriating than when you bring bags and they put like 2 things in each, then use like 5 plastic bags. Or worse, they bag shit in plastic, then put it inside your reusable bag - I mean 3 fucking layers of packaging right there. Makes me crazy.

 

[nwfisch]

I never understood why they don't bag shit as they scan it with the little thing thats usually right behind them.

Either way, I bring my own bags and prefer to bag myself cause I cram all the shit in 1 or 2 bags.

Nothing is more infuriating than when you bring bags I they put like 2 things in each, then use like 5 plastic bags. Or worse, they bag shit in plastic, then put it inside your reusable bag - I mean 3 fucking layers of packaging right there. Makes me crazy.

Shop at Aldi :slap:

 

[KittiesKorner]

We bring our own bags and i insist on bagging them because the people doing the bagging usually suck at it

 

[botfly10]

I once had a 5 minute argument with the cashier at the grocery cause I didn't want a plastic bag for the one fuckin item I bought.

 

[malcore]

Most grocery store workers can spot a hippy the moment they enter. Then troll them like ****. It's that kind of job. /jk

I use my own hemp bags also.

 

[botfly10]

We bring our own bags and i insist on bagging them because the people doing the bagging usually suck at it

Fuckin hippie

 

[botfly10]

Most grocery store workers can spot a hippy the moment they enter. Then troll them like ****. It's that kind of job. /jk

I use my own hemp bags also.

Its a pretty good way to troll.

 

[nwfisch]

We bring our own bags and i insist on bagging them because the people doing the bagging usually suck at it

:crying:

 

[KittiesKorner]

People give me dirty looks because we have Jewel and Dominicks bags and bring them into Mariano's and occasionally Whole Paycheck.

 

[KittiesKorner]

:crying:

I'm sure you're the exception to the rule, Ed, lol

 

[Crystallas]

We bring our own bags and i insist on bagging them because the people doing the bagging usually suck at it

That one bagger guy on my last trip to Iowa kept asking me if I wanted to leave the bag of chips out. And I kept saying, no, I'll eat them later. He's like, "trust me, these are good chips", and left them out anyways.

 

[KittiesKorner]

this reminds me: I should wash our bags this weekend. We actually just got back from grocery shopping and the checkout girl was telling us how horrible her life is because she has to go to her other job tomorrow at Six Flags. I didn't know what to say so I said nothing

 

[botfly10]

Whenever I shop at whole foods, I feel like I should get to steal shit.