Shopping

Last night on my way home from work, I stopped off at my favorite grocery store,the Shaw's/Star market at Brighton Mills, to pick up a few essentials. I love this store: it is convenient, well stocked, and the people at the deli are really nice and helpful (which is key).

I do wish that Shaw's/Star Market was a little more encouraging about having their customers bring their own shopping bags. They seem to be one of the few big chains left in the area that doesn't give a discount for bringing your own bag (both Stop&Shop and Whole Foods give you $.05 a bag.) I have four of recycled plastic bags from Whole Foods that I keep in my car for the sole purpose of food shopping.

And while it is nice to have a person bagging the groceries while I check out (so that I can make sure I get all my discounts), I suspect that the baggers haven't been trained about how to pack these kinds of bags. I routinely have all the heavy stuff packed into one. Last night in the parking lot, I ending up taking my bags apart as I split up the three cartons of milk (I like my milk) from one absurdly heavy bag into two. There is no way I could have carried them up the three flights to my place the way they were.

Sister K spent several months in high school working the registers at a supermarket, so I have both an understanding of and appreciation for the people who work at the grocery store. It isn't an easy job. I try to put my cart in the designated areas when I am done with it, and I have my coupons ready when I get in the check out line. But I do think it might be nice if the store considered giving their employees a little bit more training on the bagging to cut down the waste while improving the quality of their service.