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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Made to pay for a bag in the supermarket

698 replies

christmasfoodshop · 07/12/2023 12:43

Just picked up a few bits for Xmas food shop.

Had baby with me and she was tired so getting a bit irritable.

Scanned all my shopping at self checkout, ended up with a quite a lot more than I needed (as you do).

Baby crying. Paid for my shopping.

Realised I needed a bag at this point so got one and put all my stuff in there.

Go to walk out.

The shop assistant said I needed to pay for a bag. Fair enough.

She said I had to rescan it.

Baby now screaming and wriggling out my arms. Heavy bag of shopping in the other hand.

She made me wait there until she'd scanned a bag, pressed 'check-out' , selected 'pay by card' and then I had to scan. All for bloody 30p.

In hindsight, I do understand I had to pay for the bag but I was so bloody frustrated and just wanted to get out of there that I paid 30p for the bag and stormed off. Left my giant trolley in the middle of self checkout. I was at my wits end. I felt like I was at school being held back by the teacher.

It's 30 bloody pence. Let me go!!

She acted like she was earning money out of making people pay for bags.

YABU - everyone ALWAYS must pay for bags no matter what

YANBU - in the circumstance, she should have just let me go all for the sake of 30p plastic bag.

OP posts:
DidiAskYouThough · 07/12/2023 12:51

You write you had a ‘giant trolley’ that you abandoned to punish the staff, so no need to try and act like the ‘heavy bag’ you wanted for free was a huge burden for you 😄

salamirose · 07/12/2023 12:51

Grimmz · 07/12/2023 12:49

On this occasion the shop obviously could have offered you the bag for free as a goodwill gesture and to minimise disruption. But most shops don't understand the value of good customer service.

They couldn't. They HAVE to charge for the bags.

MidnightMeltdown · 07/12/2023 12:51

Wow, you sound massively entitled. Why do you think that the rules of bay paying shouldn't apply to you?

CalistoNoSolo · 07/12/2023 12:52

The funniest thing about this thread is you posted in AIBU because you clearly thought you were being perfectly reasonable. I'm not sure if this makes you very entitled, completely lacking in self-awareness, or both.

CharityShopChic · 07/12/2023 12:52

MidnightMeltdown · 07/12/2023 12:51

Wow, you sound massively entitled. Why do you think that the rules of bay paying shouldn't apply to you?

Because she has a baby, obvs. 🙄

Blink1880 · 07/12/2023 12:52

How did you only realise that you needed a bag after scanning and paying for your shopping? Literally it would have all been piled up in the bagging area

Bumblebeestiltskin · 07/12/2023 12:52

Obviously YABU

MintJulia · 07/12/2023 12:53

YABU. She's only doing her job.

The checkout boy in my local Tesco charged me 90p for MY OWN bags last week, but I didn't get grumpy. Just beetled off to customer services, explained to the lady behind the counter, shared a comment about the daftness of teenage boys, and then went to my car.

Supermarket staff are generally doing their best. Take a deep breath and give them a break.

SlothOfDespair · 07/12/2023 12:53

Of course you have to pay for your bag! A crying baby doesn't entitle you to take items without paying = shoplift.

PuttingDownRoots · 07/12/2023 12:54

If you had paid then realised you also needed a chocolate bar... would you have paid? Or just taken it as you had a crying baby?

Grimmz · 07/12/2023 12:54

@salamirose oh I didn't realise that.

In that case I can only agree the staff member was going her job properly. Sorry OP: yabu

RedAutumn · 07/12/2023 12:55

She was just doing her job, and would probably get into trouble if she didn't charge for the bag. To take a bag without paying is theft. YABU, and made her work day that bit more difficult. Leaving the trolley for staff to deal with was plain rude.

LauderSyme · 07/12/2023 12:55

YABU. It must have been evident that you were going to need a bag before you started scanning. If it wasn't evident to you then you weren't paying attention to the job at hand.

You can't just nick stuff because your baby is crying!

GandalfTheWhite · 07/12/2023 12:55

Firstly, yabu, having a baby does not exempt you from paying for stuff, as another poster asked, would you have taken a 30p chocolate bar or bag of crisps without paying?

Secondly, you say you dumped your trolly in the middle of the self checkout - was that to "punish" the staff member for making you pay for a bag? If so you need to grow up. Customers like you are one of the reasons I left retail

VivaVivaa · 07/12/2023 12:56

I mean, it’s just stealing otherwise? Of course you had to pay for the bag!

Brandyginger · 07/12/2023 12:57

YABU. No, you can’t steal from shops when you have a baby. Hope that helps.

ImCamembertTheBigCheese · 07/12/2023 12:57

YABU. They have to charge for bags by law, if she was seen allowing you to leave with a bag you've not paid for, she could get into trouble. Is that what you wanted?

I agree with PP, anyone who regularly shops in a supermarket will know if they have insufficient bags before they finish and pay.

10HailMarys · 07/12/2023 12:58

Of course YABU. You don’t get to nick stuff because your baby’s screaming.

Never ceases to amaze me how some people think that birthing a mewling goblin should somehow exempt you from behaving like a decent human being.

sandstormboots · 07/12/2023 12:58

Of course YABU

Bonjovispjs · 07/12/2023 12:59

Why should you be exempt from paying when everyone else has to? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Tohaveandtohold · 07/12/2023 13:00

Yabu obviously, like why would you expect not to pay for the bag? You had a crying baby, so what? You would have definitely known you needed the bag before even scanning from looking at your items so saying you had a crying baby made no sense

Mrsjayy · 07/12/2023 13:00

goodness me how dramatic have you lived in a cave for the last 5 years ! I'm not even letting you off for the crying baby that was a ridiculous carry on .

VickyEadieofThigh · 07/12/2023 13:00

YABVU.

You knew you didn't take a bag with you and thought it would be acceptable to steal one. It's THEFT.

ButterCupPie · 07/12/2023 13:00

Brefugee · 07/12/2023 12:44

screaming baby isn't an excuse to have a free bag. I realise you are probably frazzled and grumpy. Let it go. And try to remember a bag in future.

I don't want to start any mum-bashing, but 'entitled cuz of babby' does get on my wick.

itsmyp4rty · 07/12/2023 13:01

Wow, you had a baby so you should be able to get things for free that everyone else has to pay for? Your sense of entitlement is beyond the pale.

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