Re: Pet Peeves?
 

I pretty much always take a hand basket if one is available when shopping for groceries, as it limits what I can buy, somewhat. That said, I can get three gallons of milk in a basket, or a case of 12 beers, and still have room for other things. I will even buy a case of as miany as 36 bottles of water and carry it - which is amusing when the self scan tells me, after I scan it, to "put it back in my cart". :lol:

​​​​​​⠀‹I don't know that any Walmarts here have hand baskets. :unsure:

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

I live almost halfway between two, and now for some reason the one to the west has plenty of baskets, where the one to the east (closer to work and generally more handy to get to) has had exactly one available in however many visits I've made since mid-December. Makes no sense to me, but oh well.

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

That depends how you calculate it - it might be quicker for the customer, .... until you factor in having to queue at the check out. But as you said, the staffing cost is key, and one employee monitoring 4-10, or maybe more now, :unsure: self-scan stations is overseeing far more items being processed than one checkout assistant.

​​​​​​⠀‹I have noted that even as groceries near me have expanded the number of self-scan stations (four used to be standard, but many have more than that now, and Walmart which was late to the game, has gone big with the s/s supervisor covering as many as a dozen stations) they are consistently busy, and people will walk past a short queue, or no queue as the serviced checkouts, to scan their own groceries.
Self scan has been around for quite a while in the US - probably 10-12 years here in NC, and I would imagine around as long in Georgia.

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

Some of the shops here started self scan but then stopped it for whatever reason.
For the ones who have it you can't buy alcohol at them.
(Not sure about vanilla essence...:unsure:)

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

Hell I can't even buy spirits without taking a ten mile journey across the County border, now that is a peeve. Not as bad as around Pittsburgh when I went for a wedding and was perplexed by my inability to even find an aisle with beer in Walmart.

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

I put the reluctance of a significant number of Americans to use self scan down to their bizarre preference to have some spotty school kid toss their groceries haphazardly into carrier bags, as doing it themselves is somehow beneath them. :rolleyes:

​​​​​​⠀‹Before s/s came along Mrs P and I would have to actively dissuade the checkout assistant from bagging our groceries, not least because we'd end up with the bread in with potatoes or cans in with fruit, or other such stupid combinations. :eek:

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

and about 100 carrier bags to carry home

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

The supermarkets here no longer give free plastic bags for human stuff.
However if you pop into PetSmart next door and buy cat food first, then you can get free bags there.

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

​​​​​​⠀‹Didn't CA pass a law against disposable plastic grocery bags? I think they're being phased out here on the East Coast by 2022, and paper "sacks" are already widely available as an alternative.

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

Yes, Generally grocery stores though.
Still plenty of them around.

(I usually bring my own...or a plastic tub.)

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

I tend to avoid SS because I almost always buy a fair amount of fresh produce ... tomatoes, apples, etc. and figuring out the 'codes' for them is difficult for me. The checkout operators at my local 'Sprouts' market are all seasoned pros and know every damn produce code off the top of their heads - quite impressive.

I believe it's been city-by-city in CA; in CA I live between two moderate sized towns and they implemented restrictions at different times. Also - at first, they got rid of all plastic bags, and only offered paper sacks for a fee, to encourage use of re-usables. But recently, I've noticed they are again offering plastic bags instead of the paper sacks (still with some nominal charge). The plastic bags are now more substantial and thus more likely to be re-used, but I did prefer the paper sack option. Personally, I have maybe a dozen re-usable bags in the car, and NEVER remember to bring them into the store! It's quite amazing really how this happens. As a way of punishing myself, (training myself), I decline any bag at the checkout and re-load everything back into the cart, then wheel the cart to the car, and load up my reusable bags at my car! You'd think I'd remember next time to bring a reusable bag in with me but for some reason I have a complete mental block on this!

​​​​​​⠀‹In AZ, not only did they not ban plastic bags, but they actually passed a law at the state level banning individual municipalities from implementing plastic bag restrictions! F**cking AZ! Attorney general's office says Bisbee plastic bag ban violates Arizona law

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

I've been pondering on getting a couple of strings bags.
Very handy, used them decades ago. Haven't really seen them.

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

​​​​​​⠀‹We bought several foil-lined, insulated heavy duty grocery bags. They are great for anything refrigerated or frozen, or fruit and vegetables, and easily strong enough for three gallons of milk. The handles are short enough to carry them at arms length, but long enough to put them over your shoulder. In short, they are just about the perfect bag for grocery shopping. :)

Re: Pet Peeves?
 

It started out city to city - Berkeley and San Francisco have had bans for quite a while - but California now has a state-wide ban on single use plastic bags.

The state law allows re-usable plastic bags and paper bags made of recycled material for a fee of at least 10c.

Pure stupidity.