Sucks doesn't it. In the two and a half years I've been here, only once was I asked to verify who I was.

I prefer my debit card so that I have to type the pin in. Stupid thing is, if I lose it, someone could swipe it as credit and then I'm relying on a cashier to check the signature. Yeah right.

they always check the the DL against the card here in CA but never the signature - crap really as if you've had your wallet nicked they will have both the DL and credit card !

recently I have noticed them giving the card back before you sign

Thank you for this one! I was just thinking the same thing! I also shop at Safeway (almost exclusively because it's right next to my house). I sometimes swipe my sister's Safeway discount card, which has her last name on it. But I pay with my debit card which has my last name on it. We both have really hard last names to pronounce, and it's getting annoying that the cashier insists on saying either "Thank you Ms. Puh-pah-pak-ummmm" or "Thank you Ms. Shu-sho-shaj-ummmmm"....while I stand there with my hand out to get the receipt, while a line of people behind me looks utterly frustrated. It's embarrassing! Just give me my receipt and say "Thank you"!

I'll never forget my dad who was grocery shopping in the south one time, and the cashier told him "ya'll come on back now, ya hear?" as he was walking away. He immediately came back to the register and said "yes?" LOL The cashier didn't know what he wanted, and he didn't know what she wanted. He thought he had dropped something, or she forgot to tell him something.

Rene

It must all be in what you grow up with and get used to. As an American who is used to having others bag my groceries, I was kind of shocked to see that in the UK my friend had to bag his own groceries! It was really uncomfortable for me!

Rene

I must confess that the whole idea of having people do meanial tasks for me is a bit of a weird issue for me, probably due to growing up watching my mother clean people's houses for a living. It makes me very uncomfortable to see people cleaning my floors, washing my car, mowing my lawn, or bagging my groceries. I'm not crippled yet.

weird and annoying that...but using the card as debit doesn't earn any points...so very annoying...points would be nbice if you could earn them on debit purchases...and what really is annoying is no cheque guarantee cards and having to provide drivers license because no way am I giving them my SSN...

Much rather they just opened a till myself rather than bag stuff....always busy and always loads of empty tills....the thought is nice, especially when they ain't busy, but when there busy, it's just plain annoying...

I know what you mean. On Sunday, the place was packed, with lines of people halfway down the aisles. Several tills unmanned, yet those that were manned also had packers.

We simply walked out and went to the Coop instead...

I love the self checkout lanes now I've got the hang of them. The only words you get from them are "please remove item from bagging area" or "unexpected item in bagging area" plus instructions on how to pay. When I only have a basket of shopping I can be checked out in less than 2 minutes.

There annoying, have to scan each item and wait for it to do through before putting in the bag, and if you don't put it in the bag it goes and have a fit, pain in the arse when your getting spuds or large thing of OJ and stick them straight in the trolley etc...

I had a hard time with it, initially. But, at the time I didn't drive, so whenever we did grocery shopping my husband drove and he would bag the groceries, while I stood there looking lazy and foolish. I figured it out fast enough and then I became a bit anal about it....it had to be done just so....so eventually my husband stopped coming with me to the grocery store.

I agree, I still cringe with embarrassment when they pack my shopping at the grocery store, can't believe that people then let them carry it out to the car for them, lazy sods..

THANK YOU! My wife's family all think I have the biggest chip on my shoulder for not wanting minimum wage grunts bowing and scraping at my feet as they 'help' me to carry a pack of toilet roll. Then I tell them, thanks, but I'm on the bus, and that really throws them...Groceries+Los Angeles+Bus...Does not compute!

when I first moved here I wasnt sure how the packing the groceries thing worked. So I would either awkwardly fumble with my purse to waste time so that the packer would finish or I used to help out, unfortunately this caused mass confusion, so I soon learned not to do this. Was funny though watching their faces as I pulled off a bag and started packing too.

I bet..