ukywyldcat

...I place my plastic shopping basket with a few items in it onto the conveyor belt instead of emptying the basket of its contents, putting the basket under the beginning of the conveyor belt, like everyone else? Is there a rule somewhere I missed that says I'm not to do that to the cashier? If so, please point me to that rule.

Seriously, cashiers give me the meanest glances when I do that. Is it really so bad that they empty the few contents as they begin to run them over the scanner? Why should I have to empty the basket before they scan the items. They have to pick each item up anyway, what gives?

skiblet

uhmmmm, because your making a sub-standard, minimum wage, burned out, dead end job employee do more work.

flair

I always thought the proper way was to just set it up on top. The cashier can go right to work instead of waiting for me to set everything on the belt. Hmmmm...

calhoun07

Because you're causing things to go slower??? I have always taken my items out of the basket for the cashier. I don't expect them to take stuff out of my cart for me, why the hell would I expect them to empty my plastic basket?

It just strikes me as lazy and maybe even somewhat self-involved. You don't display much care for the cashier or the people you are making wait behind you when you could have taken the items out of your basket before she got to your transaction.

And it just strikes me that doing it is just one of those social niceties.

And you could have always done a google search...
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/8427537.html

Count Dooku

You sorta answered your own question there.

Rockmjd23

I think it's simply because you are causing the transaction to go much slower if you don't take it out yourself.

C-Mart

Actually grocery store checkers are paid quite well for what they do. I used to know a guy who checked at Stater Bros. and he made $15/hr - and they get triple pay on holidays!!!

calhoun07

I believe that's a minority of cashiers out there. Your average cashier probably makes more than minimum wage but not much more. Union stores will pay more and if you're lucky to get on at Costco or Aldis or some store where the CEO puts a cap on how much they make so the employees can actually make a living on one job then you're lucky, but Hy-Vee and Apple Market and Price Chopper and so many more might start you out in the 7-8.00 range.

mndtrp

Interesting. The people picking up the baskets tend to prefer them placed at the end of the conveyer, instead of squeezing through the line of people to get the empty ones.

What to do?

Count Dooku

How about when the person collecting the baskets comes around, he (or she) asks the people in line to move out of the way, so he (or she) can get to the baskets?

I realize this solution is complicated because it requires one person to speak and other people to listen.

Decadance

As an ex checker person two comments. 15$ an hr was fantasy land. Least in Florida at publix. And I disliked it because it slowed the entire process down. If we are busy I would like you to empty instead of standing there reading the cover of Star.

mndtrp

How about the person who is technically serving me to place the basket where they would like it to be.
Or, there could be signs indicating where they would like them placed.
Or, the cashier could ask me to place them at the front of the line on future vists.

None of those are complicated, either. However, only the first one has ever happened to me.


If people want to bitch about how the self serve lanes are causing employees to lose their jobs, employees should stop giving their customers dirty looks.

Giantrobo

Yeah I asked a Cashier about this once and she said it's easier for them when the items are out on the conveyer. After that I never put a full basket up there again. I figure these workers put up with enough shit all day from asshole customers, like some in this thread apparently , so I try to make their day a little easier.

TGM

how about the fact that unless you plan on taking your basket out of the store WITH you, what is the cashier supposed to do with YOUR basket once they've emptied it? usually there is room at the front of the isle, before reaching the cashier, to put your now empty basket underneath. I'd give you a dirty look too.

Count Dooku

Somehow just about the entire grocery shopping population has decided that they are going to put their emptied baskets on the floor, at the end/start of the conveyor (usually in front a rack of magazines or candy) where they are unloading their groceries, because it's the most convenient place to put them.

I've never been in a supermarket where people didn't do this, and I've never seen the slightest indication from any store employees that customers weren't supposed to do this.

What experiences have you been having that you need a sign, or someone to talk to you about this?

mndtrp

If that was the case, this thread would not have been started, and I would not be in the same position as the OP.

Very few places I've been to have the baskets placed at the beginning of the line. Most places I go to have the cashier place the basket at the end of the table for someone to pick up. If this was against the norm, one of those cashiers, or the people behind me, would have said otherwise.

This is the first I had heard of some unwritten rule, or etiquette, that I should be placing it underneath the conveyor, or in front of other merchandise.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter to me. It's pretty rare that I use a basket without using the self checkout. There, I take the basket back to the front of the store, instead of leaving it in someone's way. Maybe I should start doing the same in a checkout line.

brooke789

I get a small basket most every time I go to the grocery store and I have never emptied the contents of my basket onto the conveyor belt. I can't recall ever having seen anyone else do that either...and I had no idea about a spot to put the baskets under the beginning of the conveyor belt. I will have to look for it next time I'm there.

I never know what to do w/my basket at the u-scan. there isn't a basket return spot near them, so I usually just leave it sitting at the beginning of the u-scan. I've noticed that the cashier routinely goes behind everyone picking up the baskets and leftover receipts and coupons.

AsmodeusVice

You also have to understand that some places time their cashiers on how fast they get their customers through the process of checking out, and I have worked at some that will write up and/or possibly fire the cashiers for being too slow. On the flip side, there have also been monthly contests for cashiers that are the fastest

So putting the full basket on the conveyor will affect their check out times.

chrisih8u

Are you so lazy you can't empty your basket? Do you empty your shopping cart? If you take a shit while at the store, do you wipe your own ass?

nemein

The only places I've seen where people do not empty their basket at checkout is when there is no conveyor belt (Trader Joe's is the only place I can think of off hand that is like there). Every other store that I frequent has a belt and people usually know enough to empty their basket on to it instead of just dropping the basket on it.

Lara Means

Just empty out your basket like a normal person and you wont get dirty looks. See how that works?

antennaball

I worked through high school as a cashier at a grocery store...it was very annoying when people would do what the OP did. Of 30 people that came through with handbaskets, maybe 1 person would NOT empty the basket onto the belt.

I had quite a system in which I could rapidly get stuff from the belt, across the scanner, and to the other side already roughly seperated as to how I wanted to bag them (ie, I would scan as much cold product as possible together so that I only had to reach to the one area to bag them). Customers that get out fast are happy customers. Just putting the whole thing up there ruined my speed.

Not that it's a big deal and I doubt I ever glared at a customer that did so...but it definitely was annoying.

Big Dave

I worked as a cashier for a few months in high school and I don't remember very many, if any people ever putting their entire basket on the conveyor.

Also, while I did make more the the utility clerk (I believe that is what they called the bagger), it was not much, maybe a $1. All this was very close to minimum wage for a large chain.

Red Dog

Yep.

Harris Teeter doesn't have a conveyor belt before the cashier either. There is a conveyor belt, but it runs from the cashier back to the bagger. You just place your full basket/cart in front of the cashier and they empty and scan.

calhoun07

Yeah, that's why stores devised self check out lanes.