to ask you all please, if you hate plastic bags, get your own reusable ones!

[mythical]

i'm a CS in a high street shop that charges for carrier bags and has been doing so for 4 years.

the amount of grief i get from customers is unreal, i'm just wondering why!
Whenever i go shopping i take my own bags, and if i forget, i will buy some or accept the free ones they have.

I always get the - "why do you charge for bags?" - most explanations are discarded instantly with a huff.
"i don't want to buy plastic bags!" - fair enough! but if you care about landfill it doesn't make sense to then request 10 little free bags and stuff your weekly shop in there..

Oh and just quickly! if i'm asking if you would like me to pack for you it doesn't mean i think you are incompetent at packing, i'm just offering my help! (and because we have to)

Sorry! rant over - had a string of grumpy customers today and i'm normally a very cheery happy person!

maybe i am biased because i always have a little folded bag in my handbag (that is already massive so could hold a fair amount of stuff!)
and when you lot say paper bags, would that even hold the shopping?? i think primark - they don't even hold my clothes!

I'm sure I read somewhere that if you're going to have reusable bags, you should have the fabric ones that can be washed because the plastic ones can harbour all sorts of nasties from leaking packages and can be a health hazard.

I'll try and find something...

I think people react like that because they think they are being conned. Not all of them believe the messages they are told and sold. Maybe they are right.

Here

I see it as a sign of hope, that the people are not dupes.
Just like when the people say "the politicians are all the same".

Most retailers (certainly m&s) donate the money they make from selling plastic bags to charities that grow trees and do nice things for the environment.

So its not retailers cashing in, is it?

I once saw an italian tourist in Modbury (home of the plastic bag ban) having a complete meltdown because no-one would furnish her with a carrier

It's retailers following political messages. The public looks at the politicians, and starts to ask questions. They start to think.

Sadly I think you need to accept that some policies implemented by your company will be unpopular with some customers and that it is part of your role to be on the front end interface of it all.

Carrier bags used to be free so it is unsuprising that some customers resent paying for them. Why not refer all questions on the policy to your manager, saying that it takes too much of your time to convert every customer to the store's way of thinking?

I can see the sense/justification in charging for bags but it still pisses me off!

Or just agree with the customers and say it's political correctness gorn mad

Those customers who complain are probably the same ones who complained about the last government's bin fines for not closing bin lids. They still have that old Dunkirk spirit.

What about plastic wrapping on all the purchases? Do the retailers ask their suppliers to stop those? As usual, it's just the old grandma who gets asked to pay at the till. They think she wouldn't grumble, she knows no better.

Why don't the retailers force customers to but strong cloth bags instead of the flimsy plastic ones they sell? Are the customers right that something doesn't add up, and a lot of what they are told is made up?

Why do they sell plastic bin bags if plastic is so bad? Aren't there any alternatives? Can't they get with the message or is it only the poor old grandma at the till who is suppoosed to get with the message?

I use cloth shopping bags to store the plastic ones in at home! I find they aren't big enough for heavy/bulky shopping. I can just about fit 1 carton of milk, 1 tin of beans and a loaf in one of those silly little bags.
I find the big stripy laundry bags are better for big shopping and they fold down small in the boot of the car. Pound shops etc often sell them. Unfortunately though there isn't room for one in my handbag though so I still end up using plastic ones to add to my collection of 100 or so in the cloth bags hanging behind the door!

I hate cloth bags - they're not waterproof and they get holes in when they drag on the floor even more easily than plastic bags. And are probably more costly to the environment to produce.

Now all I ask is for shop assistants not to be arsy when I want to replace my Bags for Life.

mythical, yes dear i think i'll MANAGE to pack my OWN shopping

Does that tend to be the older generation? Isn't bag packing at the supermarket relatively recent in the UK, I didn't see it 20 years ago. When it did creep in, I thought 'how American'.

If it didn't take so long and an announcement over the tannoy to find a packer, I would LOVE to have my shopping packed for me.

TotemPole surprisingly enough, most of older ladies are quite happy for me to pack it for them, i find it usually people in their late 40's-50's that get quite offended when i offer to pack their bags from them - yes i know they are perfectly capable of packing their own bags - that's not the reason why i'm offering my help...

on the other hand i went to lidl's today and had quite a bit of shopping, the guy at the till whizzed it through at amazing speed and i wasn't even finished putting it on the conveyor - so there was nowhere for him to dump it and he had to actually stop. so he did, and tutted at me.. i know they have to put a ridiculous amount of items through but still!!