Plastic bag free hell

[fireheart]

OK, I want to say first of all: I prefer the green bags if there's a way I can hold them up and still scan and bag. After that, it's plastic bags.
Anyway, starting next year, my state is plastic-bag free. The only things this doesn't apply to (from what I know) are the little bags used for produce, garbage bags and biodegradable bags. Basically, you need to have green bags (for the uninitiated, they look a bit like paper bags except fatter, made out of cloth and are usually green). We have four months to comply.
UNfortunately, the wonderful corporate people have decided that some stores should offer a trial-let's see how the people react to it. And our store is one of those.
So starting Monday, the express registers plus two of the big registers are plastic bag free. If they want plastic bags, they have to rack off to another lane or call a sup.
I am predicting the following from customers:

-they treat us like idiots.
-they get violent and/or yell and scream at us.
-they treat us like idiots.
-they make us carry it out for them (EW hour)
-they claim they "don't know about it." There are going to be signs. Oh and the checkouts have a slightly different design. HOW HARD IS IT TO NOT NOTICE?!
-they claim that "we're trying to make more money."
-said checkouts will be empty.
and finally....

-they'll treat us like idiots.

If a customer starts treating me like an idiot like they did last Christmas, I am getting very close to snapping back and going (sarcastically) "Oh shock horror! I didn't know that! Well I'm sorry, I guess since we checkout chicks are meant to be dumb and all and not have to work while at uni, I guess my dumb brain didn't comprehend that."

[Evil Queen]

I can feel it now... it's like a whole planet of braincells cried out and suddenly stopped... There is a disturbance in the force...

Keep us updated. You may not, but I'm going to enjoy this.

(I use the green baggies too, HEB's are green, WallyWorld has them and they're black. Even Home Depot is getting in on the action; theirs are, of course, bright orange. I haven't seen any others yet though)

[RetailWorkhorse]

But...what if you have a big ol' cartload and you don't have any green bags? Will they not have to make purchase of them at that point?

...that's an awful lotta bags....and people look at me funny when I take boxes into the stores with me....

[Bramblerose]

-they claim that "we're trying to make more money."

Realize I grew up in the oil patch during the 70s and 80s and this makes me a trifle sarcastic about bidness. Living just south of Wal-Mart Center of Evil just reinforced this.

Of COURSE corp's trying to make money. What does the green bags have to do with that/how should that be any different?????

[DerangedHermit]

I wish stores replaced their paper bags with the Trader Joe's/Whole Foods style paper bags.

Handles rule.

[Evil Queen]

Ah, I love Trader Joe's and their paper bags (they have paper handles and DAYAM, are they strong!)

[the_std]

Man, up here in Canadaland, all of the grocery stores have their own reusable bag. Loblaws bags (Extra Foods, Superstore, the Loblaws of Ontario and Quebec, etcetera) are especially good, while some like Sobey's and Safeway aren't so great, but they still exist. Because of them, I haven't seen a plastic bag around this house for two years now, except the occasional drug store bag. Loves 'em, but that's because I'm voluntarily choosing of my own free will to use them. If they were forced on me, I'm not so sure they'd be quite as awesome. Good luck to you and maybe someone will send you a crate of SC repellent.

[IEatCustomers4Breakfast]

Hey, what state are you in?

I live in California... one of the states you'd think would be at the top of the list for this sort of environmentally friendly nonsense, but I haven't heard anything about it.

[fireheart]

Realize I grew up in the oil patch during the 70s and 80s and this makes me a trifle sarcastic about bidness. Living just south of Wal-Mart Center of Evil just reinforced this.

Of COURSE corp's trying to make money. What does the green bags have to do with that/how should that be any different?????

We don't supply the green bags for free. They're a dollar each.

And for everyone's benefit, I live in Australia.

[Bramblerose]

We don't supply the green bags for free. They're a dollar each.

And for everyone's benefit, I live in Australia.

Which is my point. Of course corp is trying to make a profit. I fail to see why this is a screaming offense. Grousing at home to husband, of course, but not screaming at shop folk.

[fireheart]

Which is my point. Of course corp is trying to make a profit. I fail to see why this is a screaming offense. Grousing at home to husband, of course, but not screaming at shop folk.

During our refit last year, I had a few people bitching to me about how people have to walk all over the store, rather than sticking to the set plan they had in the past (i.e. go down 1 aisle, skip the other 2-3 aisles, go down another aisle etc.) and therefore they'll impulse buy, therefore giving corporate more money.
Unfortunately, they seemed to think I was an idiot.

[AnaKhouri]

My store recently began using plastic bags (we still have paper bags too though) in response to customers bitching about how their newspapers would get wet when it was raining, etc.

Wouldn't you know it, as soon as they got plastic bags it suddenly became trendy to 'go green' and now all the customers are bitching because we have plastic bags, even though all they have to do is ask for paper instead.

[powerboy]

I use those cloth bags for some of my equipment.

[Aethian]

I love the new reuseable bags. I take in what I have and open them in the cart, then pack the bags the way I would want them packed at the lane. Unpack them one by one and place the bag between each section. Usually the cashier gets what I'm doing or askes. Only once have I had a cashier fold up my bags and then bag all of my stuff in three times the number of plastic bags I needed.

It helps keep my grocery bill a bit lower but since I've been doing the same thing each week cause I've been bored with night life and not caring anymore...meh...nevermind. Sorry.

[PepperElf]

dang what're they going to do when the plastic bags aren't legal?

actually they'll probably blame you anyway.