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I wonder if a lot of people have just lost the ability to concentrate and focus on one thing.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that some people never developed that skill in the first place.
My son was labeled autistic in junior high. Bad call. He is somewhere in that spectrum and on that list, but he has found his groove. He's 5% Rain Man, 20% dad. I hope I've made a difference.
Perhaps he is autistic, but I don't see it. He has a rare sense of humor and is brighter than I am. Maybe because he's Autistic.
My son was labeled autistic in junior high. Bad call. He is somewhere in that spectrum and on that list, but he has found his groove. He's 5% Rain Man, 20% dad. I hope I've made a difference.
Perhaps he is autistic, but I don't see it. He has a rare sense of humor and is brighter than I am. Maybe because he's Autistic.
My father was very intelligent, and I think nowadays he would have been considered on the spectrum. He also had PTSD, which wasn't called that back then, from WWII. I know it now, but when we were kids, it was just Dad going into his Zone.
I remember (when I was about 5 years old) at our neighborhood chain grocery store, cashiers doing the math mentally and making change (and handling coupons). Ditto for bus drivers - and driving while making change. None of that is happening now (that I've encountered).
Maybe this is part of the answer... Where I live, (in WI) there was an article in the local newspaper recently that people were being hired for jobs they didn't qualify for.
However, I had been encountering a particular problem even outside of WI (in IL). That is, people that are packing my groceries can't seem to get it right. For instance, 95 degrees out in summer; hand them three insulated freezer bags, and not one item that is frozen or cold went into them. Instead, canned goods and veggies/fruits. I had to repack at the car. I finally asked hubby one time to get the manager so he could repack my bags correctly with our ice cream melting.
I found out in IL that the "handicapped" were being hired to pack. This seems to be a trend over more than one state(?) At least when I moved to WI it has continued.
Packers have asked, "Is this a COLD item?" I tried to explain how to tell what is a "cold" item that would go into the insulated bag(s). Sometimes they ask why I bought a certain product, or what it is. For the most part, I have to take Pepsi bottles off of cups of yogurt and repack so bags don't weigh 50 lbs each.
Since everything is pretty much automated (monetary transactions) the other thing that can cause a hold up is - coupons and how to interpret them.
I think it's okay to hire someone for a job if they are - qualified. With packing, it takes some understanding of spatial relationships and other "basic" concepts. If someone doesn't have them, then they should seek out a position that fits them better.
Things seemed to change around 2008 with customer service in general. More horror stories on that.
I remember (when I was about 5 years old) at our neighborhood chain grocery store, cashiers doing the math mentally and making change (and handling coupons). Ditto for bus drivers - and driving while making change. None of that is happening now (that I've encountered).
Maybe this is part of the answer... Where I live, (in WI) there was an article in the local newspaper recently that people were being hired for jobs they didn't qualify for.
However, I had been encountering a particular problem even outside of WI (in IL). That is, people that are packing my groceries can't seem to get it right. For instance, 95 degrees out in summer; hand them three insulated freezer bags, and not one item that is frozen or cold went into them. Instead, canned goods and veggies/fruits. I had to repack at the car. I finally asked hubby one time to get the manager so he could repack my bags correctly with our ice cream melting.
I found out in IL that the "handicapped" were being hired to pack. This seems to be a trend over more than one state(?) At least when I moved to WI it has continued.
Packers have asked, "Is this a COLD item?" I tried to explain how to tell what is a "cold" item that would go into the insulated bag(s). Sometimes they ask why I bought a certain product, or what it is. For the most part, I have to take Pepsi bottles off of cups of yogurt and repack so bags don't weigh 50 lbs each.
Since everything is pretty much automated (monetary transactions) the other thing that can cause a hold up is - coupons and how to interpret them.
I think it's okay to hire someone for a job if they are - qualified. With packing, it takes some understanding of spatial relationships and other "basic" concepts. If someone doesn't have them, then they should seek out a position that fits them better.
Things seemed to change around 2008 with customer service in general. More horror stories on that.
I think this is a widespread problem and stems from lack of training. I'd say, at least, 90% of the job is simply COMMON SENSE. When I do my own shopping I always go through self checkout because I don't like the way many of them bag stuff. I'm a cashier at that store and I also train cashiers. I am a BUG about bagging. But they learn and they know what a 'cold bag' is. They learn how to anticipate what's coming down the belt, what goes with what and how to bag it properly. Don't overload but don't use a ton of bags...customers hate them!...don't put canned stuff on the bread, etc.. No foods and non-foods mixed. They learn just how many cans are proper in a bag, depending on the size and learn to size up their customer as to how much they can handle. Some of those little old ladies surprise me! lol There's so much more but they DO learn and I'm pretty proud of most of my trainees. I wish you could teach common sense but if they are at all intelligent, they'll figure it out.
Last edited by AZDesertBrat; 01-26-2018 at 06:24 PM..
I think this is a widespread problem and stems from lack of training. I'd say, at least, 90% of the job is simply COMMON SENSE. When I do my own shopping I always go through self checkout because I don't like the way many of them bag stuff. I'm a cashier at that store and I also train cashiers. I am a BUG about bagging. But they learn and they know what a 'cold bag' is. They learn how to anticipate what's coming down the belt, what goes with what and how to bag it properly. Don't overload but don't use a ton of bags...customers hate them!...don't put canned stuff on the bread, etc.. No foods and non-foods mixed. They learn just how many cans are proper in a bag, depending on the size and learn to size up their customer as to how much they can handle. Some of those little old ladies surprise me! lol There's so much more but they DO learn and I'm pretty proud of most of my trainees. I wish you could teach common sense but if they are at all intelligent, they'll figure it out.
Regarding the bolded part in pink...
A couple of weeks ago when I was working at the express lane at the major grocery store chain I work for as a cashier, I had a customer who did not want a ton of bags. The setup for the bags is like a carousel. I scan what is on the belt, and I bag the items the best I can.
The customer kept on saying that I was using too many bags while I was scanning her groceries and bagging them. She even said that I used 50 bags, which was not even close.
I can understand not wanting too many bags, but when you are working at the express lane, the purpose is to get the customers through the line as quickly as possible.
I would have had to go back and forth among the bags to bag the way she wanted me to.
How do you approach situations like this while working at the express lane?
A couple of weeks ago when I was working at the express lane at the major grocery store chain I work for as a cashier, I had a customer who did not want a ton of bags. The setup for the bags is like a carousel. I scan what is on the belt, and I bag the items the best I can.
The customer kept on saying that I was using too many bags while I was scanning her groceries and bagging them. She even said that I used 50 bags, which was not even close.
I can understand not wanting too many bags, but when you are working at the express lane, the purpose is to get the customers through the line as quickly as possible.
I would have had to go back and forth among the bags to bag the way she wanted me to.
How do you approach situations like this while working at the express lane?
Whenever they complain about the quality of the bags (which is,
admittedly, poor) or any other aspect of plastic bag usage, I remind
them about re-usable bags.
In response to that solution, there's usually the excuse, that if
they had them, they'd just forget to bring them, etc. However, if
they are that conscientious about plastic bag usage, to the point
where they're micro-managing the process at the register, then it stands
to reason that they won't forget to bring their reusables, were they
to have them. Their strong feelings about plastic bags -- assuming that
those feelings are genuine and they're not just complaining for the sake
of complaining -- will be enough to remind them.
Conversely, I've also had customers who plan to use the plastic bags
for other things once they get the groceries home, so I'll be asked
to double-bag that which would never, by any stretch of the
imagination, need double-bagging.
A couple of weeks ago when I was working at the express lane at the major grocery store chain I work for as a cashier, I had a customer who did not want a ton of bags. The setup for the bags is like a carousel. I scan what is on the belt, and I bag the items the best I can.
The customer kept on saying that I was using too many bags while I was scanning her groceries and bagging them. She even said that I used 50 bags, which was not even close.
I can understand not wanting too many bags, but when you are working at the express lane, the purpose is to get the customers through the line as quickly as possible.
I would have had to go back and forth among the bags to bag the way she wanted me to.
How do you approach situations like this while working at the express lane?
If it’s the express lane, wouldn’t their items fit in two, maybe three bags? It shouldn’t be that difficult to go between three bags, especially if most of the items are already grouped together with what they’ll be bagged with. I think AZ desert said it best that you need to be anticipating what’s coming down the belt, that way you can be picking the items and scanning those that should be bagged together.
My first job without a register was for a small business where we had to do mental math. Thankfully we only sold about 10 items total, but it was quite a shock.
The owner had to teach me how to count up to give change, and I had been working for 2 years at this point, managing money and inventory most of that time.
Soon it became fun though, like a trick. Quite a few people would act surprised and dole out extra tips.
The owner had less than 10 employees, all under 30...and had to teach everyone how to add up the totals and give change quickly - lines were typically 20 deep for several hours & mistakes would obviously mess things up. I had taken college algebra, but something so simple was never thought of.
A couple of weeks ago when I was working at the express lane at the major grocery store chain I work for as a cashier, I had a customer who did not want a ton of bags. The setup for the bags is like a carousel. I scan what is on the belt, and I bag the items the best I can.
The customer kept on saying that I was using too many bags while I was scanning her groceries and bagging them. She even said that I used 50 bags, which was not even close.
I can understand not wanting too many bags, but when you are working at the express lane, the purpose is to get the customers through the line as quickly as possible.
I would have had to go back and forth among the bags to bag the way she wanted me to.
How do you approach situations like this while working at the express lane?
From a customer point of view, I just let the cashier do her job. They know more about bagging groceries than I do.
If it’s the express lane, wouldn’t their items fit in two, maybe three bags? It shouldn’t be that difficult to go between three bags, especially if most of the items are already grouped together with what they’ll be bagged with. I think AZ desert said it best that you need to be anticipating what’s coming down the belt, that way you can be picking the items and scanning those that should be bagged together.
Which is what I was doing, but she wanted items that did not belong together in the same bag.
I was going by the way we were taught to bag, but she was not happy.
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