There may not be any real "customer etiquette" when it comes to shopping at a grocery store, but there are a few things that your cashier wishes you would or would not do. I never thought that I would develop "grocery store pet peeves" until I worked as a cashier. I even did many of the things on this list! Believe me, now I try to avoid doing these things. Here are 5 things that customers do that make cashiers crazy.
Baskets
Baskets may be for your convenience, but that does not mean that they should be your cashier’s inconvenience. If you are going to use a basket to carry your groceries, please take the few seconds it takes to empty the basket onto the belt when you get to your cashier. There is zero reason that your cashier should have to empty your basket for you. Cashiers don’t empty customer carts. Just take the stuff out of the basket and place it back where it belongs or where the cashier asks you to. Thanks.
Meat
Meat is gross and a double edged sword for your cashier. On one hand, if you don’t place it in a conveniently placed bag, the juice gets on the cashier’s belt and their hands. Gross. If you do put it in a bag, it might be more difficult to scan. Personally, I prefer it in the bag. So maybe I have to move a logo to get to the bar code, no big deal. My hands and belt are clean. One less use of hand sanitizer. But here’s where the bag gets annoying: when there are two or more packages of meat in one bag. Your cashier can’t get to the barcode when there is another package of meat on top of it. That means they have to reach in the bag and pull one out. Again, your cashier has to touch it. Gross. One package per bag, please, or put the bar codes towards the outside!
Produce
Just because they are the same price does not mean you can bag them together. We have to do inventory. It complicates things when you put green peppers and yellow peppers in the same bag just because they are the same price. Now your cashier needs to pull some out of the bag to properly put them in the system. That defeats the purpose of the bag, I would say. This is likely not the case in places where you print your bar codes for these items, but in places where it is weighed at the register, it is certainly an annoyance. Maybe this doesn’t bother all cashiers, but it does bother some.
“Can You Bag This Separate?”
Most cashiers will agree that this question is perfectly acceptable if you are asking about one item or a specified group of items. However, if you are asking for us to bag things in an extremely specific way, just ask to bag them yourself. Cashiers and baggers are trained to bag items in specific ways. If you want many things bagged differently, you’re only going to frustrate your cashier and cause the process to take longer. It is also frustrating when you un-bag and re-pack everything your cashier just bagged. It would save everyone time and frustration if you just said that you want to bag it yourself.
“I Forgot Just One More Thing”
I get it. People forget things. But when you’re in a long line and you wait until it is your turn to tell me you forgot just one more thing and there is a line behind you, you’re not only annoying your cashier, but the people behind you in line are getting agitated. And who are they going to take their frustration out on? Let me tell you a secret: it won’t be you. Typically it’s the next person they interact with. Who is that? Typically the cashier.
Be on the lookout for more things that really ought to be seen in a "customer etiquette handbook!" Are you guilty of these? Tell me how you're always right in the comments below!
