Luckily we never get dirty looks here regarding disposable bags.  If they did I'd just give a dirty look right back. I'm helping save the environment. What have they done today?

digginout:

I have never understood why the checkers and baggers get miffed about bringing your own bags.

I know!!  After the last cashier episode at Wal-Mart, I wrote them about it, suggesting they might include in their cashier training the best way to handle people's personal totes at checkout.  I told the cashier I had my own bags, and she made a face and just started dumping stuff into the Wal-Mart bag.  Grrr is right!

It's not that much of an outrageous thing to bring your own bags.  Wal-Mart responded back to my letter and even called me.  They are pretty confident that all shoppers bring back their plastic bags for recycling (um yeah, except for those blowing around the parking lot and along the road).  I pointed out all the energy and resources just to produce those bags... well I'd rather use my own.  It may seem silly to write them about it, but that ticked me off.  Most of the people working at WM are friendly and I've had no problem with customer service, as mentioned.  WM has sounded like they are trying to be more environmentally friendly, so not sure why they aren't more receptive to reducing the plastic bag usage.

 There is NO excuse for bad customer service . But I think i can answer the question as to why the cashiers don`t like  people bringing their own bags . Its IPH or" items per hour "..it lowers their IPH...that tells the store how efficient they are at checking  and a low IPH reflects back on them ...BUT let me say that Wal-Mart as well as other stores ...stress customer service as the MOST important part of the job . I have zero tolerance for bad customer service on the job or as a customer . I have to admit though ...I have never included customers having their own bags in my cashier training . I have never  in all my years as a manager and a cashier..had a customer (other than myself ) bring in their own bags . I am happy to read this on here because I will be going back to work  in a week and I will check on this at the store I will be working in and this will be included if it isn`t already.

You were right to contact the company . These calls DO get followed up on believe me ! Managers have a short time span to respond to you as well . The company does follow ups on all complaints to see if they have been dealt with .

Wal-Mart as well as other big box stores are trying to do more to be green ...but its the customers that refuse to change ...for every customer that brings their own bag ..there are thousands who don`t . More customers are returning their plastic bags ..but certainly not all !!! We do instruct our cashiers to bag in as few a bags as possible with out over loading them ...but some folks want everything in a bag ...gallons  of water , milk , bagged cat food etc.....even if I didn`t take my own bags ..I would never use a plastic bag to bag something that is easier to handle without a bag !!!

 Maybe you should point out to the cashier ..that any money saved ...on plastic bags etc ...goes into her bonus at the end of the year !!!! To me that is the best tool a manager has to cut shrink (waste of plastic bags etc ) But so few associates seem to understand or care ...you`d think if they don`t care about the environment ..they`d care about their bonus !!! Also ... ask her to call you a manager right then ..if she/he  doesn`t ....go to the service desk or to the fitting room and have them call you a manager ..these problems are best dealt with rigth then .Folks say they don`t do that because they are afraid the cashier will lose her job ..well the way I look at it ..if she /he needs the job ..she / he should be trying to make the customers happy !! ( she/he will get 3 chances to improve ...if she/he is on their last chance ..they need to go !)

 Okkkkkkk stepping off my soap box here

                                            Lynn

I tried the canvas bag thing at my Wal-Mart once and got the same "crazy fruitcake" look from the cashier and she put my stuff in a plastic bag.  I repeated that I wanted to use my own bag and made her rebag it anyways. 

And I REALLY HATE the bagging carosels they have at Wal-Mart now.  They won't put your stuff in your buggy for you like they used to.  Why don't they just throw it at you like they do in Europe?  I learned pretty quick in Amsterdam that you better stand at the end of the counter with a bag and catch stuff as fast as they toss it down or you will get glared at--which Europeans can do even worse than a Wal-Mart cashier. 

The customer service at ours around here is pretty terrible.  All the cashiers are surly.  Bad as a McDonald's drive through, lol.  Between bad service and bad policies and bad a number of other things, I refuse to shop there anymore.  I will go to Target, I will go to Harris Teeter, I will stop at half a dozen different stores on my way home, but not Wal-Mart. 

As for recycling plastic bags, I was reading an article on Slate Magazine a couple of weeks back and it was all about plastics recycling, and how most plastics are so terrible recycled that most are not recycled into plastic again at all.  And that included plastic grocery bags.  Yes, this article said that plastic grocery bags are not actually recycled.  Some countries, though, do buy unrecyclable plastics and melt them back into oil, but supposedly this is majorly dirty and only poor countries do it.

Thanks Keriamon, for my laugh of the day!  : )  I had a vision of being at the end of the counter with a baseball glove over my shopping tote.  LOL

And thanks lynn, for your input.  I hope in the future you will see more people bringing in their own bags, and I'm glad you'll take steps where you work.  It's interesting about the IPH, and that does make sense.  WM's carousels DO seemed designed to make it quick to load WM bags.  There's not much room to set your own bags on top, but then I'm one of those people that helps the check-out person.  When I shop, I wanna get in and get out.  If I have a bunch of stuff, I help bag while the checkout person scans, and load my bags into my cart.  Because of the attitude, using the self-checkout is just easier and I'm faster than some of those cashiers anyhow...  Shopping at Aldi and at Farmers Market, bringing your own is the norm.

Really, you're not far from needing a baseball glove, at least not at the store we shopped in.  It's like your food items offended them.  They don't always bag for you in Ireland either, but it's less throwing and more gentle rolling or sliding.  And at busy times, they had baggers bagging groceries to get people in and out faster.  But they were encouraging bring-your-own-bags when I was there 7 years ago.  A year later they put a tax on plastic bags so most stores won't even offer you one; it's like paper versus plastic here, only opposite.  They give you paper first and only give you plastic if you ask for it.  Apparently they got tired of plastic bags littering their touristy-green roadsides, trees and sheep pastures.  And, from what I have heard, the tax has worked.  Everyone switched over to paper or reusable plastic (very heavy plastic, like the ones you can buy here for cold stuff) or canvas bags and the total amount of litter has dropped.  Now if they could just figure out paper crisp wrappers....

 <<When I shop, I wanna get in and get out.  If I have a bunch of stuff, I help bag while the checkout person scans, and load my bags into my cart.  Because of the attitude, using the self-checkout is just easier and I'm faster than some of those cashiers anyhow...  Shopping at Aldi and at Farmers Market, bringing your own is the norm.>>

My theory is that Wal-Mart's long term plan is to make such terrible cashiers (probably because they give them bad pay and bad health insurance) and to keep everyone on the floor from ever knowing where anything is--and that this will cause people to love to check themselves out and to use computerized locator maps to find stuff--to the point that Wal-Mart will eventually be able to get rid of almost all of its cashiers and all of its floor personnel.  One cashier per 4 or 6 self-checkout registers and just the regular stocking crew at night.  Think of the money you will save if you have almost no employees!  Customers will do the work for themselves!  Look at gas stations; customers now pump their own gas and clean their own windows and check their own fluids.  They even pay for air they put in their tires themselves.  Gas stations used to have to give people air for free and employ people to man those pumps.  Wal-Mart would like to be as streamlined as gas stations one day. 

But, you know what--getting gas is a hassle.  I want to do it and get away as quickly as possible.  I don't want to shop at the gas station.  You make shopping a hassle and people will only shop for what's really necessary and nothing more.  They will end up shooting themselves in the foot. 

Keriamon:

My theory is that Wal-Mart's long term plan is to make such terrible cashiers (probably because they give them bad pay and bad health insurance)

I realize that Wal-mart cashiers have a bad name here ...but low pay and bad health care is not the reason .  In NC cashier starting pay last year was $8.00  in a city store and 50cents less in rural stores , they get a 40 to 60 cent raise in 90 days and a yearly raise of 40-60 cents .I have compared that to what other stores pay in the area and it is the same or better. Dollar General was the lowest paying store at 6.00 and 25 cents a year (can you believe that !)  raise. Wal-mart also has several health care plans for the associates to choice from . There is no reason for a Wal-mart associate to not have health care. Even part time now has health care . 

But even if the pay was low and no health care .....when you take a job ...you should do the job . I worked just as hard when I made $2.00 in a cotton mill as a teenager as I do now . ( wow am I that old !!)The great thing about retail is ..they  can work up the ladder quickly . So they could in a years  time go from $8 to $18 !

I may not be the smartest kid on the block but I know retail . I can`t explain why cashiers and floor associates act the way they do .It is very hard to find good workers today and a average box store needs 400 workers to open the door . One box store I   helped open interviewed over 2000 people and still had to open the store 53 workers short ! Most couldn`t pass the drug test !!! Discount stores like wal-mart and k-mart that offer low prices ..have to be frugal ..just like we do . In order to get those low prices ...we have to serve ourselves at Wal-mart . Like I said in another post ....if you get bad service ...call a manager ...if you need help finding something ...call a manager . We can`t fix problems  we don`t know about . Is this going to solve big box store problems ? No of course not .  Like I tell my daughter ..who complains about wal-mart all the time ....if you want service go to Belks and pay for it ...if you want low prices ..go to wal-mart /k-mart  and help yourself .

Personally ..I`d love to see the big box stores run by computers ...I have more patience with my slow computer than I have with slow  cashiers !!!!!

I think everyone should work in retail / fast food jobs at least once in their life . I try ..not just at work or when shopping but everywhere...when I get an attitude from folks ...to remember that I don`t know whats going on in their life ..I don`t know if they have a loved one dying or if they are sick ..or if they just have a lousy life in general . This is no excuse for bad service or bad attitude ...but their bad attitude is is no excuse for me to have one !! When I get an attitude ...I usually make a point of  being nice to the person ...even if I`m going to tell a manager !!!

Don`t mean to offend anyone  with my post ..but like I said ..I do know retail .

My dd is having a problem now with WalMart online.  She ordered a graduation gift to be sent to the son of a friend out of state.  Shortly after, she got an email saying the item would have to be backordered.  They told her to call if she wanted to cancel.  She called right away and cancelled.  She then ordered another item sent.  When the charge for the first item appeared on her credit card, she called again.They told her the item had already shipped when she called to cancel (even though she called as soon as she got the email).  They are refusing to do anything.  They told her she could return the item, but of course she doesn't want to ask her friend to do that.  She is working with the credit card company to get it taken off her bill now.

I wonder if it's different states or different stores.  My local Wal-Mart might not have enough people working but the ones that are are usually helpful and polite.  My kids both worked there during high school.  It was the policy that if a customer asked where something was you took them to it, you did not point or give directions.  This still seems to be true.  There are bad nature people working everywhere, but seeing the way some cashiers are treated by customers I have to sympathise with them.

Wal-mart usually is really great about taking returns. They've done the same for me. I returned a pack of women's socks with no receipt, and they let me exchange them. It was awesome.