Discussion of the Day
Supermarket packing
Maree B 8530810-Feb-21
I prefer to pack my own groceries at the supermarket, even though I have ample bags they always pack to overflow and pack all the cans in together so I can't even lift the bag. Bread laying down on top of one another instead of standing up so it won't squash. Yesterday the flour was in the cold bag, making the paper damp. Am I to picky or do other people have the same gripe?
Comments
  • I can't tell you how many pies I have come home from the store and found them either sideways or upside down in the bag.
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    • If you need training to pack shopping...then thank God for AI...there has to be intelligent life somewhere on Earth, even if we have to invent it...
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      • No you aren't too picky, only takes a second to place the Bread upright, & common-sense not to over-load a bag with heavy cans ! I don't have a huge amount of products, as I break up my Shopping trips between Aldi (fruit/veg) plus Coles on a separate day. Also, I walk to the Shops, so I 'balance' my bags according to weight, much easier to carry home :) So yes, I pack my own bags, it is quicker & easier for the Staff members :)
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        • Some counter personnel packed grocery items very good, but others no. Sometimes I help to organize hehehhe... But we cannot blame them maybe due to long work sched they're already tired esp during Special occasions like Xmas, new year etc.
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          • I actually find that the checkout operators are very considerate, carefully organising items so nothing gets squashed, checking that bags aren’t too heavy for me, etc. Mind you, I usually go through the self-service checkouts anyway, but on the occasions when I do go through the serviced checkouts, they are very good. That’s at both Woolworths and Coles. And even when I buy just a few things at IGA, they are very careful how items are packed.
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            • I definitely agree with you Maree, I too don't like the way they put all tins in so you can barely lift it out of the trolley and into your boot. I like packing my own, I have plenty of bags and I only fill them enough to be able to carry them without pulling a muscle,
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              • The checkouts person has a lot to do as they always do. Packing my things mean next person das waiting long on and its quick
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                • It is quite often that they will overload your bag and it is dry heavy to put in and out of your trolley. Of course they want to serve and scan quickly and packing takes time. But the supermarkets need have more staff at checkouts and then we all win.
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                • prefer to do it myself?
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                • Ahhh, you are one of those Grumpy customers we were talking about the other day!! ...
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                  • Some operators ask me how heavy i want the bags packed.I usually say not too heavy.some are just hung-ho and fill them to the top.
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                    • we don't have bags so it's not an issue. we pack our own anyway
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                      • Operators need training, I do not know how they pack their own items. Some of the things they put in the same bag are totally weird, food with cleaners. Never let the bread be put in, they crush it.
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                        • You are shopping at the wrong shop .Change to another shop or suggest nicely how you would like things packed .Some of the cashiers are never shown how to pack .Be patient or as you do pack your own
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                          • I always put everything up in the order I want them packed. I will repack in front of them if they make a mistake (IMO) LOL
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                            • you are so right the stores need to train the checkout operators I have all the same problems as you do. I would much rather pack my own bags in the trolley so I don't have to lift so many heavy bags
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                              • If they put more staff on the person can packed better
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                            • Totally agree with Maree B. There is a right way and a WRONG way to pack grocery bags!!
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                              • I like someone to pack for me but I also group like items together to avoid random packing.
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                              • Maree B - I share your opinions and experiences here.
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                                • I prefer the self serve - hardly any queues and you can pack as you like
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                                  • I like to pack, that way all the cold items stay together, with the heavy stuff at the bottom, instead of a miss mash in the bags, eggspecially for the fruit & veg, you don't want them bruised, bread squashed or you eggs broken,.....
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                                    • I don't mind who packs my bag as long as the eggs are not broken
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                                      • it dose not bother me if i pack she all ways ask me if she packs or i do it they are better at t them me they been doing for ever and pack it just right
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                                        • My local supermarkets pack well, so i let them (If they do)
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                                          • I'm fussy about how to pack my groceries too, Maree. I usually use the self-serve checkouts & pack my own. I usually walk to the shops, so I buy two green bags worth of stuff & pack with the weight evenly distributed.
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                                            • My operators do it very well on the whole
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                                              • the operators pack our bags really good.If i go to the self service with my husband,he tries to help but when he tries to help me to scan,he is more of a hinderence than a help, but i love him anyway.
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                                                • I prefer that they distribute heavy items among all bags, otherwise you get one really heavy bag to pick up.
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                                                  • No not at all what I hate the most is, I take 2 insulated bags for all my cold stuff and a lot ordinary bags for everything else, yesterday my meat and deli stuff was ok but my eggs and bread they placed with my frozen stuff, hence get home and went to pick up the eggs and the carton was soaked, luckily I realized what had gone wrong, and took eack egg one by one. But regardless what you tell them they don't listen
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                                                    • I do get annoyed sometimes with the way they pack my bags. Those 15 cents bags are not very sturdy so you can't stuff too many things in them. One time, the handles broke off two of the bags as I was about to put them in the trolley. I had to quickly grab the bags before they fell on the floor.
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                                                      • We pack in our own bags ,as per our convenience
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                                                        • Like all jobs they have to be trained well and in this instance yours wasn't. I pack my own bags because I like to keep some things separate. I take great care with bread and eggs. This is my choice to do this but I have seen at our local Woolworth's them packing bags and they are very efficient.
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                                                          • Always depends on the training AND whether customers give feedback that managers can use. In 12 years and with two different supermarkets I have not had more than 1 or perhaps 2 checkout operators or packers who were not helpful. I needed to give rather negative feedback once and I never saw that person again.
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                                                            • No some packers over pack, don’t look what they’re packing in the bags, make them to heavy, it’s all about serving the next customer, and profit
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                                                              • We need an Aldi here in NZ to stir up the competition a bit.Prices are getting ridiculous on some things.
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                                                                • I only ever pack my own bags anyway because I mostly do my main shop at Pak n Save where you have to pack your own groceries.Other places for top up shops I just use the self checkout.
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                                                                  • You are not picky especially if the packer can't tell the difference between wet and dry goods! I'm pretty lucky where I shop as the staff treat me more like a friend than just a customer. I do one big fortnightly shop and sort the shopping on the counter in their groups ready for them to pack and that works out well. Once a week might have to do a small top up and I just put them back in the trolley and sort them out into a couple of bags myself so as to balance them out for ease of carrying home on the bus .. for the big shop my son comes and picks me up in the car .. this works for us.
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                                                                    • I am picky too, I like my groceries packed sensibly and lots of checkout operators don't seam to be able to use common sense. Don't get me wrong, I used to be a 'checkout chick' many years ago, so I know that not all of them are useless. But you can guarantee that I will get one of the useless ones. I used to put my groceries on the conveyor belt in a certain order with a bag at the start of each group of items, indicating that that bag is for the following items. So why would someone reach over some things to get something that I want in the next bag, I don't want cleaning items in the same bag as food items, I don't want a hot chicken put with chocolate bars, I don't want mangled bread and I certainly don't want some bags too heavy while others have 1 or 2 items in them. The problem was solved when they brought in self-serve checkouts, my sanity saver.
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                                                                      • Yes you are, you have the option of packing your own!!
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                                                                        • I always pack items into appropriate bags as I select items from the shelf or fridges, at the checkout I just put an empty bag in front and ask the operator to just shift from one bag to the next, two outcomes, first never get an individual item scanned twice and secondly it's a lot easier to check the items off when I get home, unfortunately I STILL find individual items that are priced incorrectly
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                                                                          • It is easy to say to the packer, excuse me, that flour needs to stay dry so please change it to another bag. Young people working on checkouts often have not had to shop for groceries and really have to learn what needs to be kept dry and also how to spread the weight over several bags.
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                                                                            • It's a simple remedy, pack your own bags the way you like.
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                                                                              • Maree B, you are not to picky, I have the same issues, I agree with you 100%. All checkout operations need to be retrained in how to pack groceries, these days they have no commonsense or logic.
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                                                                                • If i wanted to pack groceries i'd get a job in a supermarket...
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                                                                                  • I like to pack too that’s why I like the self checkouts but it’s the opposite of over packing it’s using too many bags I can fit everything into one
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                                                                                    • Hate it when they pack foodstuffs with cleaning products even when I have sorted them into the relevant categories. Surely they teach them that when they start work. Shouldn't have to pack myself. It was a real pain when the covid restrictions were on!
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                                                                                      • I want everything together so as not to waste bags we’re supposed to be cutting down yet they use too many plastic bags
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                                                                                    • You're shopping at the wrong supermarket.
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                                                                                      • I’m a bit picky and prefer to do it myself
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                                                                                        • I go to a supermarket where they pack my bags. Usually they are pretty good. They often ask if it is all right to put all the cans together or what do I want included with my colds in my chilly bag. If I think need things rearranging then I will do so when I take them out of the trolley and put into the car boot.
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                                                                                          • I’m picky. Always pack my own now.
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                                                                                            • No it happens but I always say do not pack the bags heavy as I cannot lift them and they generally follow my request. Some people just do not know how to pack and I try to put my colds together, fruit together, etc. as I put them up on the belt. Another way is just to put the goods straight back into the trolley, take it to you car and pack them into bags yourself as it has been at various times during this pandemic.
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                                                                                              • Where we shop check out staff pack the groceries and do a pretty good job, no over packing
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                                                                                                • I like having check-out staff packing my bags, We are very fortunate that the staff in our local Coles are extrememly weel trained to pack. I tried Aldi when they opened but the attitude of the check-out staff if we did not pack our bags or put our purchases back into the trolley at a speed which pleased them was appalling. We lived in Germany when Aldi first opened - sort of Grocery Clearance stores then where all the stock was close to "Use By" dates and the staff way back then were just like they are now here in Australia: Unfriendly, Unsmiling to the point of rudeness
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                                                                                                  • I have only been to Aldi a couple of times but never found the staff here rude. I just did not like having the rush at the checkout trying to get everything back into a bag or trolley.
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                                                                                                • Hmm I can't understand people who have to complain about the way their bags are packed by check out operators. There is a simple solution to this and I use it all the time.1. I first place my cold pack on the tray and behind that all the items I want put in there. 2. Then place the next bag on the tray and behind it the next items for that bag. 3. Then just follow that system to the end of your groceries. 4. The Bread I want put in a bag on it's own are always the last bag to be packed so it sits on top of the other groceries in the trolley. Why do you expect the checkout person to sort through your groceries to pack as you want ? ? ?. They are not mind readers and a bit of consideration goes a long way.
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                                                                                                  • Sandra C, unfortunately that doesn't always work, I used to do that and there would always be someone who thought they could do it their way instead of mine.
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                                                                                                • Prefer to pack my own - they never get it right. Prefer all my frozen things together - they just put everything in together. These days I use the self service check out so pack my own bags
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                                                                                                  • Yikes ........ depends on who is packing the goods. I usually find that it is the young cashiers that have not much idea about how to pack. The older (and more experienced) the cashier/packer, the better the goods are packed (I find). These same folk always group the products on how they should be packed i.e. butter/cheese/ice cream etc. in your cold bag, tinned items all together, soft or breakable (eggs) in one bag. Really, it is common sense and certainly not rocket science.
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                                                                                                    • I would rather shop at Aldi, hence do my own packing. But Maree I have never experienced that when I do occasionally shop elsewhere. I can see how annoying it would be though.
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                                                                                                      • Wow
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                                                                                                        • I agree with you Maree. I've even had hot rotisserie chicken placed next to frozen spinach. Supermarket managements need to realise that many people need to be trained how to pack well.
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                                                                                                          • I bring plenty of shopping bags and i make sure everything is place in the right order i hate to come home to smash eggs or squash bread.
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                                                                                                            • They are not allowed to overpack the bags because OHNS just make sure you put all your cold stuff first and the bread last
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                                                                                                              • i do too
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                                                                                                                • Maree B I agree with you. I do my own packing as supermarkets do not train the young ones how to pack properly and I'm fed up with having smelly laundry products put in with other food (not tinned).
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                                                                                                                  • Having worked in grocery l would say your gripes are valid,all staff are trained how to pack, but don’t seem to care too much these days
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                                                                                                                    • I live in South Australia and have never had issues with how our supermarkets pack bags, both Coles and Woolworths and even Foodland. We bring our own cloth and cold bags. Sometimes as they pack the bags they'll ask if we want something placed into a bag on it's own or if we think a bag might be too heavy for us. They all seem to be like that so maybe it's how they are trained.
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                                                                                                                      • To some degree, it’s about what order you place the items on the belt.. You have to make it possible for the checkout person to do the right thing..
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                                                                                                                        • When listing items on our shopping list, a person can easily figure out what's heavy and light, liquid or solid, and also what's food and non-food. Using this knowledge as well as positioning, the packing can be sorted and divided up into separate bags. Let's be fare - from time to time there can be some error - packing is after all being done by a human. There are of course most occassions when packing is done properly, as it should be!
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                                                                                                                          • Always accept the help
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                                                                                                                            • I put a certain number of items on the conveyer belt then I put a bag, then more items and another bag. That way they can only put the items I put down in the bag. Problem solved.
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                                                                                                                              • You obviously haven't come across any checkout operators who think they know better. Lucky you
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                                                                                                                            • I always pack my own groceries
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                                                                                                                              • I do it my self and appreciate the fact that they don’t know what you brought. If u want it packed a particular way, how about you unpack it a particular way so they can see what should go in each bag. If your not willing to do this then stop winging
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                                                                                                                                • They are NOT paid enough to not only scan all the goods but then have to pack as well. Give them a break and do it yourself.
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                                                                                                                                  • WOOLWORTHS ONLINE DO IT BEST
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                                                                                                                                    • Pack my own
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                                                                                                                                      • No not picky at all, I feel the same way. I find it absolutely horrifying when I get home and find cleaning products in the same bag as fresh products such as fruit and veg, have actually found them it with cold and frozen products also. I just cannot comprehend why and how they could do that are these people not properly trained or do they not give a damn. I put all products up that belong together such as fruit, vegetables then I leave a little gap and it will be cold and frozen, then a gap with pantry items and then a gap with cleaning products. How hard can it be. I think the supermarkets need to seriously look at the way their staff operate and train accordingly.
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                                                                                                                                        • I generally have groceries - deliver (95% to 99%) - I have not had any screw-ups with delivery of groceries or packaging of groceries - SO FAR - over six decades of getting groceries (old enough too remember when grocery stores deliver everything free - with no minimum limit on your order - back in the day - the earliest day your order was deliver - was the next day - no deliveries on Sundays or Holidays) - DELIVER (I reside in USA)! The rare cases - when I do grocery shop in a physical store - I use the self check-out lanes (and I am old enough to remember when self check-out lanes were a HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE)!! Still, using the self check-out lane - you can pack your own groceries!!!
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                                                                                                                                          • Our supermarket Packers are pretty good, but I live in the country where people have more time.
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                                                                                                                                            • I used to work at the checkout in a supermarket and l always packed groceries properly for my customers ,cashiers should still pack correctly now.
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                                                                                                                                              • It is a lost art - checkout people used to be taught how to pack
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