To be irritated with supermarket staff that guard the carrier bags like rottweilers

[orangesandlemonssaythebellsofstclements]

Before I start - this is not a debate about whether or not we should be paying for carrier bags, or who's fault it is that we have to pay. I don't care. I will happily pay 30p for a carrier bag.

My issue is this - every time I go into my local Tesco, if I want a bag, I can't just take one from the end of the till or next to the self serve like you used to, I have to flag down a member of staff, ask them guiltily for a bag, which they will either take out of a closely guarded box or unclip from their belts and hand to me. But they won't just hand it to me, they'll hand it to me and say "there's the barcode" and the stand over me making sure I scan it. On a few occasions I've even had them push in front of me at the self-serve and scan it for me.

Why do they treat me, a customer who has been shopping there for over 20 years, and who has spend probably hundreds of thousands of pounds there, like I am going to steal from them? It's insulting and rude.

I've even had them snap "you must have loads of them at home by now" when I ask for one. Like it's any of their business what I buy and what I do with my purchases.

Why do they make us feel this way just for wanting to buy something they have for sale?

Why do they treat me, a customer who has been shopping there for over 20 years, and who has spend probably hundreds of thousands of pounds there, like I am going to steal from them? It's insulting and rude.

because lots of people steal them, when you’re asking for one they don’t know your whole supermarket shopping background.

People steal them, that's why

Clearly there are reasons for them to do it and it's because people do steal them. Unless you expect the staff to recognise you as their VIP customer I am not really sure what the big deal is. If you are not a thief, I don't think you should feel inconvenienced. It is probably far more annoying for them to have to do it for you but they are following orders from the top.

This just doesn't happen in my local Tesco (or in any other supermarket I've been in, come to that) so I'm guessing they must be experiencing high levels of bag theft in your branch, particularly if they're walking around with them attached to their bodies. Desperate measures.

Why do they treat me, a customer who has been shopping there for over 20 years, and who has spend probably hundreds of thousands of pounds there, like I am going to steal from them? It's insulting and rude.

Are they mind readers? Do they know you personally and see your bank statements to see the amounts you have spent? Does having spent previously mean that someone won't steal this time?

They are doing their job, they have been instructed to do it, don't be that customer that berates staff for doing as instructed by their management.

Same in my Tesco.
It’s not personal to you.

I find it happens mostly in my smaller local supermarkets - Tesco and Sainsburys. I always assumed it was because they are franchises and so a bit more precious about the bags.

If it bothers you that much just remember to take a bag when you go out. I’m sure you remember keys, phone, purse - just add ‘bag’ to the check list when you’re leaving the house. There are loads of options that fold away to a tiny size for your bag or pocket.
That way everyone’s a winner, not least the planet.

Oh ffs another thread about how terrible sales assistants are.
Why aren't you taking your own reusable bags with you when you shop @orangesandlemonssaythebellsofstclements ?
People steal them. They pick up handfuls.
They don't scan them. Those bags cost money to produce and provide and people are constantly stealing them.
So yes - sales assistants do guard them and quite right too.

Do you make sure you wear your special badge which counts how many visits you've made and tallies up how much you've spent so they know how special you are?

The shop workers may have to make sure payments match bags taken . Not a big deal. Retail workers have hard enough jobs without you complaining. They don't make the rules .

As someone who worked in retail (and from a family of people that worked in retail so I know the business).....the regular and been "shopping there for 20 years" customers were quite frequently the ones who were shoplifters.

If you're not planning on stealing them, why does it bother you?

I need a bag. I go over, and say "please can I have a/two/whatever bags please," and they give them to me. Very easy and simple.

I do find it annoying when you can’t just grab a bag as you enter the self checkout area because they are holding them/have them attached to their body in some way. Purely because they are usually really busy going to sort self checkouts issues and you end up holding up the queue if you want a bag, it’s much easier to just grab one yourself.
Companies either need to trust customers to do self checkout or not. if they don’t and the shoplifting or bag stealing is so bad then they need to actually open a decent amount of manned tills for people to use.

@MintTwirl you still usually have to ask for a bag on a manned checkout though.
So what's the difference.

Because on a manned till the checkout person is dealing with you, not you along with multiple other customers also requiring assistance with the self checkout machines at the same time, In our local store there is one member of staff dealing with 10 checkouts so you have to wait for them to deal with any issues before being able to ask for a bag and going to your till.

Companies either need to trust customers to do self checkout or not. if they don’t and the shoplifting or bag stealing is so bad then they need to actually open a decent amount of manned tills for people to use. They clearly don't need to, they'll carry on the way it is now!

@MintTwirl you can solve that by taking your own bags 🙂

Go to Sainsbury's, the bags are unguarded 😁

Tbh I usually do but sometimes I forget or I buy more than I was expecting or decide to go into a shop on a whim,

They dont need to trust people or open the tills, they aren't some kind of public service.

They can run their business however they like and customers can choose where to go

If it's uneconomic for you or you dont have an alternative supermarket its a very minor inconvenience, a few seconds a week surely and totally avoidable

You've spent hundreds of thousands of pounds in Tesco? 😂

Because they are trained to do so, because the company head office say they should be.

You are taking this very personally, you are an absolute nobody to the retail workers who irritate you so greatly when simply doing their job.

Why would that seem odd? Big weekly food shop plus all the non food stuff (clothes, toys, electronics, garden furniture etc) for 20 years soon adds up.

They monitor stock, they know how many bags they ordered and how many people have paid for and how many bags they should have left. These are clearly not tallying up hence guarding them.

As @Mnetcurious says you remember other items when you leave the house why not a bag? I have several reusable bags in my handbag and also in the boot of my car. Every time I empty them I put them straight back into my handbag so they are always there.