I don't want the fucking receipt in the fucking bag.

[HaveYourselfAMardyLittleXmas]

I want it in my purse. Otherwise I'll lose the fucker.

And yes, young lady in Debenhams, I will make a song and dance about fishing it out.

Thank you nice lady in Marks who gave me the choice.

Fucking shopping.

[rage]

I say "do you need a bag?" because it is supposed to make people think.

People don't think though, and usually they want a bag.

It makes me laugh when they go "have you got a small one?" like I'm giving everyone large bags regardless of the size of their purchase! (I give bags according to what they've bought - if it's a small book, they get a small bag, if it's a big book, they get a big bag)
sometimes I'm tempted to give them one of my very small bags, when it's clearly too small for the item they've bought.

Oh yest katykuns, the dreaded conversation about what you are buying.

I'm convinced in M&S its actually staff policy that they have to make a remark about what you buy because a saw a memo to that effect pinned on one of their boards once. It's fine when it comes out naturally but sometimes it sounds really forced and actually I'm sure that both the shop assistant and I would just like the transaction to go as quickly as possible.

Damn I posted on here before realising that it was a serious thread about etiquette...

I am so glad I don't work in a shop anymore...

Surely 'do you need a bag?' is a really sensible question

I may not need a bag because I have a rucksack, and on the other hand it may be full, so I might want to buy a plastic one. Unless the shop staff are psychic, how are they meant to know?

it's a good question, yes Takver - you'd be amazed how many don't ask and just start putting things in bags - especially in supermarkets that have big notices saying that they don't have bags out on the till to encourage you to re-use, then when you come up to the till, they spend ages pulling out bags and putting them on the till.
all they need to do is say "have you got your own bags?" before they start doing that.
(have you got your own bags does encourage people not to ask for bags next time they come in)

Twinkle yes! Change on top of receipt on hand. Annoying!

What i hated, when i worked in a shop, was people who put the money on the counter, for me to scoop up.

Rude

Some of youlot are grouchy grouches. The receipt thing isn't the intentional rudeness that shop assistants face day in day out.

I am also failing to see the inherent problem with either saying

Yes i want a bag

Or

No i have my own

Putting money on the counter is the way they do on the continent, so people could be doing unintentionally.

I dom't mind being asked about the bag - most of the time I don't need one.

Coffee

Did not know that

I supsect not many of my Customers in the 1980 s were continentals, though.

I have escaped to my bunker to hide from all the hideousness.

I have thirty-six tins of baked beans, a net of sprouts and a box of All Bran. For feck's sake nobody light a match or I'll go off

If anyone feels the need to get away from the glittery tinsel spend-fest, then please do join me down here. I have a DVD box set of Twin Peaks to watch and a puzzle book. Come on Mardy - you know you want to...

I got a receipt in my bag today when I went to next. I also had one size 7 boot and the other in an 8!!! Fuming is an understatement, stupid fu**ers!!

Fair enough!

"Not in the bag for me. Lost too many that way when you take stuff out and it seems to disappear without trace. It is much better off in my hand and in my purse."

This is exactly why shops encourage assistants to ask 'receipt in bag?'. It is a sales technique to make it harder for you to take things back. People do lose receipts from bags - by the time they realise the item is faulty, or not what they wanted or someone buys a duplicate, the bag has been used for something else or chucked, and lack of receipt deters people from attempting to return it.

On the other hand shops have to give you the receipt - so they need to seek your permission with 'dywtritb?' if they are not directly giving you the receipt.

THIS is why I am annoyed, because I know it is a technique. But I'm not annoyed with the actual assistant. And 'm afriad I say 'no, not in the bag, thanks'.

Blu

Have you stats to back that up?

Peronally, as someone who re-uses bags and stores them in one place, if i find i want to take something back i know where the receipt is, or, in most cases, when i take the clothes out the ba at home i put the receipt in my bedside drawers.

Just as easy to lose arecept from my purse in my monthly purge

Lose a receipt

Blinking ipad

Blu, seriously what rubbish!

I just try and serve customers as quickly as possible with minimum fuss, taking extra time with some who need it, like an old lady who always comes in who needs reminding to put her money in her purse and her purse in her bag before leaving the counter.
Am lucky that our till takes a little while to spit out the reciept so have the time to ask if they would like a bag or not, hand them the goods and change then ask if they would like the reciept in the bag.
We are trained to NEVER touch a customers card, it stays in there hand or in the chip and pin machine, we dont put it in or take it out of the chip and pin.
I suppose it differs if the till spits out he reciept, the cash drawer opens and the card is released from the chip and pin all at once. I think that would lead to flustered customers and assistants.

With you boobles people just love to vent their frustrations on shop staff.

I worked in shops and was never trained to ask about the receipt as a ploy to stop customers taking things back - I just thought that was my preference, and that maybe others would like the option.

Can i just tell you all a quick xmas retail story?

I was serving a queue of customers today , alone as the other staff were bringin in the delivery out back- a lady came striding through the doors straight to the front of the queue, snapped her fingers under my nose and said-
''You. Mens shoes. Bring them here.''
Then went to park her backside across the shop in the ladies department. All i could do was indicate the queue and tell her i would be there in a minute.
I was saved by a mum with three kids in tow who shouted after her 'Get yer own bloody shoes! The lass is serving all of us first!''

The queue applauded.

People are so bloody grumpy. If you go shopping in December it will be busy. Get over it. Find your sense of humour, Smile, it works wonders. And give retail staff a break (after all it's the only break they'll get, one measly day off over Christmas week).

In the bag so that when I get home I can collect them all up and put them on my kitchen windowsill until...... some time.

We were never trained to do the receipt thing either, or A bag thing or any other naughty little sales ploy that gets up peoples noses.
I worked in Woolies and tbh it was a case of serve as many people as possible with as little hassle as possible. Then lock the doors at closing time and run to the nearest pub to get away from the customers..
2 years there gave me an unending supply of patience with shop staff..

Arf @ the "technique" to make it impossible for customers to return products. Aside from the fact we accept both purchase history off a loyalty card or a bank statement as proof of purchase for refunds, and in worst case scenario (say it was a cash purchase so no statement) we'll just do an exchange. Yeah we're a right set of bastards

The receipt thing is because you never know what precise fucking order any one customer would like their change/notes/receipt/purchase in (as demonstrated multiple times in this thread).

The bag thing is to avoid this scenario:
Staff:
Customer: "Ooh I don't need a bag".
Staff: Why the hell did you just watch me put it in one then?

See you customers can be annoying buggers too y'know