to think the bag packers might be at the wrong end of the tills

[5Foot5]

Today I did the Big Christmas Food Shop and, after toiling my way around the supermarket, I was slightly dismayed on reaching the tills to see that the Scouts were doing a bag-pack. Now I don't want to be mean but I am really not keen to have some well-meaning but fumbling child pack my shopping at any time, when I am about to spend a small fortune on all my Christmas food then this is true in spades. I have nothing but admiration for the people who give up their own time to run organisations like this but I felt that only a man (and I know it doesn't have to be the case but today all the scout masters were men) would think this bag-pack was a good idea on the weekend before Christmas.

So, I know this doesn't have to be a problem as I can just politely say "No, thank you" and give them a donation anyway. However, as I was watching the lady in front of me put her shopping on the conveyor belt it suddenly occurred to me that there is a much more useful service that they could offer.

Have you ever been in that situation where you have bought loads and find that by the time your shopping is being scanned you are still at the end of the belt unloading your trolley? You can see all your shopping piling up at the other end and you can't get to bag it until you have finished getting it all out. That is where the bag-packers would come in handy. Not mangling your shopping by packing it in bags any old how but simply getting it out of the trolley for you so that you can go down to the other end and pack it yourself.

I ran this idea past the woman in front of me in the queue and she agreed with me.

So, to anyone out there who organises this sort of activity - just a thought for future events.....

It is a protection racket yes!

I take guides to do it because it's the least effort/most profit I've ever come up with

lets not pretend it's an actual service! But it is a great cause

Do you think you could pay them to come home with me and put all the stuff away?? That's the bit I hate most!
Failing that yes put in on the conveyor for me then don't touch! I find the over helpful checkout assistants can't pack properly either let alone kids just doing it for a couple of hours!

I'm bag packing with the Scouts tomorrow.....guess what I am going to suggest :o

Great idea!!

My boys have been trained in the art of packing properly though, and they also always unpack and put away my shopping every week.

And remember too, these boys (and girls) and their parents and leaders have given up 4 hours each of their time to stand in a busy supermarket packing bags the weekend before Christmas and they are thankful for anything that the people can spare. They are trying to make an effort and work rather than hanging about the streets or sitting playing computer games - I always think that's worth something. They don't expect every person to donate but appreciate it when they do.

Some supermarkets take them all for training before they allow them to help.

I was actually bag packing this morning for a charity and this idea occurred to me too (when watching customers loading their stuff on the conveyor belt), but then I thought of a possible problem --for me anyway- -.

I generally have a system when packing my own bags and organise the shopping on the belt in an orderly way, so that the different food groups are together ifswim I use this system when charity bag packing and ensure that everything is carefully packed and balanced. This means that at the packing end it is easy to pack the bags in a proper order yes, it is sad.

Often when I am shopping and there is a charity bag packing I will say "no thanks" to their help but donate anyway. I understand entirely if a customer wants to pack their own bags, too. This morning most customers seemed grateful for help.

I think it is certainly worth investigating having someone at the beginning of the conveyor belt for those customers who hate having to bend down into the trolley again and again getting stuff out and would appreciate a bit of help. They can just say "no thanks" if they prefer to do it themselves.

I do have to say though that I also find it frustrating when they put very young/small children on the bagpacking, I think it is probably a job for over 12s really.

We are hoping to have enough adults to be able to have an adult with every Scout or at least one adult to every two tills to make sure they are packing properly.

I actually think that offering to help load the belts might speed up the whole process and help get everyone out a lot quicker - that will surely be a benefit to everybody.

First of all, my dd, who was bag packing for Scouts fundraising today, is not some well-meaning but fumbling child - she is a perfectly capable, intelligent, 15yr old being who knows how to pack shopping in bags. She also knows - as do all bag packers - to stand back and smile politely when people don't want help, or to put specific things in specific bags if asked to by the customer.
Secondly, the pre-Christmas slots are exactly the slots you really want as bag packers , as the money raised goes up considerably over this period - it's not a ridiculous idea at all, but a very well thought out one.
Thirdly, the vast majority of the public like to see young people looking smart, not afraid to wear their uniform out in public, and actually working to earn their trips (or rent or capitation).
So, yes, YABVU

Other than that - they were talking about asking packers to load the conveyorbelt on here last week - of course they would do that if you ask them, but they aren't mind readers, it's not good chatting about it with another person in the queue, just ask the young people. They are there, willing to help however they can.

I generally have a system when packing my own bags and organise the shopping on the belt in an orderly way, so that the different food groups are together

Doesn't everyone?

That's genius.

I used to occasionally work on tills (was called on as a relief from customer service desk). I hated bag packers, they got in the way and ballsed up something I could quite easily do myself if the customer did want a hand.

Some were lovely little kids but Christ some of them

The checkout assistants pack your bags here (Australia) it's great! The scan an item, then put it in the bag. I usually put it on the belt in groups, so it all gets packed in groups, but even so, they are good at putting all the cans together, frozen foods, cleaning stuff etc.

Saves heaps of time. I love it.

Bag Packing went well - 4 hours solid for me and the boys. Did a mixture of loading up or packing to customer preference. Shop was hoaching.

One kind gentleman gave my son £10!!

I was in a little Spa in Val d'isere once and they had a fab till where the carrier bags are in a recessed hole near the cashier. She puts your shopping in the bag. When the bags full she presses a button and the carrier bag disappeared inside the checkout and then reappeared at the bottom end in another slot.

I could have spent all day in there watching my shopping disappear one end and appear the other. That and watching the live lobsters in the tank and marvelling at the 5000euro bottle of brandy.

Spar not spa. It wasn't that posh, no massages.

Dd and her fellow scouts are bag packing (as well as doing all kinds of other activities) to raise funds to use their summer holiday to go and do some back breaking work to help some of the poorest, most disadvantaged people on the planet.

It makes me sad to hear them being referred to as "annoying children".

They are teenagers,nice kids, giving up their time on a weekend to raise money for a good cause. They want to help.

All you have to do is ask them to please help you unload your trolley. They would be glad to be told what you would like them to do.

My son was bag packing with his cubs pack yesterday, I would have avoided them packing my bags if I could. Mind you, he did take it seriously and asked me to show him how to pack the bags correctly before he went. I hope they did make lots of money as we did have better things for him to do on the Saturday before Christmas.

I'd prefer to see an 'opt in' system for bag packing that an 'opt out' one. The fire service was doing a collection in one of the supermarkets last week, running on a treadmill, collected lots and they were in the foyer bit.

However charming and well-meant bag-packers are, loading or packing - it's not a helpful service to me and whilst I'd happily throw some change into a buckets on the way out of the shop, I don't want them in there.

Agree with LyingWitch and lots of others who would rather they were not there. I am more than happy to give what I can afford/have on me at the time, but I have a system of unloading and packing. Only I and DH (who has been trained) are allowed to do either of these jobs with my shopping.

Ooh yes, getting stuff on to the conveyor... I have a system too but as pps have said it's much easier to sort out when packing than at home with crushed crisps and pierced pots.

Well, every till I helped on, the young person asked politely whether the customer would like a help with packing or loading their shopping today. I would say about 70% said that they would and about 25% said they would rather do it themselves (and the Scout took a step away from the till) but happily made a donation anyway. About 5% grumped at them and didn't make a donation. Not fussed where people didn't want to or couldn't donate but grumping was probably unnecessary, though I know we don't know what kind of day the customers were having.

I explained to the helpers I was with that if we get the customers through the tills faster, whether they donated or not didn't matter as the more people we got through the more overall donations they would get and the happier the customers and staff would be.

soonertobeslendergirl, the bag-packers moved back if not wanted but they're in the way wherever they are. There isn't space at the bottom of checkouts for them to stand and if the customer is packing at the end - and the bag packer is at the end 'a step away', what about customers trying to get through with their trolleys?

It isn't quicker and it isn't easier - not for me. It's irritating to either have bag packers packing (in a way that I wouldn't because I know my system) or to avoid clonking them on their heads when I'm putting bags in the trolley. They generally move the trolley to get to the shopping thereby causing even more disruption for me and other shoppers trying to get past.

I think it's about time that supermarkets allowed bag packing at not more than x-number of tills, at least customers would have the option and it would quickly become apparent how popular this 'service' is. To me, it's a nuisance, truly and I'd think the same if my own children were doing it. There just isn't the room to indulge charity collections in this way but the foyer has possibilities for fundraising and that's where charity collections are. Kids on a treadmill raising money for 'Save the Children' or a local hospice or similar? I'd be proud to support them in their fundraising. Raising money for school trips - emphatically NO!

I don't buy into the argument that it 'gets them off the streets and off their computers' either. Makes me seethe actually as they're supposed to be doing activities; the supermarket is not a youth centre. Why not do something for the elderly? Has 'bob a job' disappeared now?

Also, I don't want to feel obliged to contribute money for people NOT to do something I never wanted in the first place. I don't want to pay to send our children on excursions to far off lands to do whatever worthy thing that would cost less if local people were employed to do it. There are so many charities that have desperate want of money - established charities - I want to donate to them.

Never thought of that, brilliant idea...although I still have a system for putting stuff on the conveyor too but less hassle for me if they are at the other end of the conveyor.

Actually, 'Bob a Job'... would that be a possibility in this time? A list of elderly people who want a variety of jobs done - donations made to scouts or whoever for each job done - and the supervising adults of the scouts on hand to make sure that all is well?

Now that I'd happily contribute to - in the foyer.

I don't mind paying them not to pack my bags and I'd be grateful if they helped load the conveyor belt if I'm on my own but I'd donate a lot more if they offered to wash my car while I was inside the supermarket, do scouts still do car washes, you don't see it as much these days?

We used to do bob a job (when I were young - back when the earth was cooling).

You would probably find that every single person involved would have to be CRB checked (at huge expense), and every old person's home would have to be risk assessed (at even greater expense) these days.

So what do posters suggest scouts/guides/teenage cancer trust do to raise funds? Our scouts are doing it to raise the money to send three to the jambouree in Japan in 2015 same as another scout on here. Should people only be selected to represent their section if their parents can shoulder the cost? Doesn't seem very inclusive does it?

Raising money is hard. Yesterday the boychild and I were tramping the streets delivering the scout Christmas post. We have given up evenings to sort it. Helped at craft fairs and tabletop sales. But the biggest money maker is bag packing.

So sorry if we are in your way but we are trying to make sure that kids whose parents are on minimum wages and zero hour contracts (both very common where we live) have the same opportunities as the small minority of rich kids who come to scouts.

But genuinely- if you have any money raising ideas that will help us please feel free to share :)