Saturday, February 25, 2012

It's nice to be nice to the nice

I do love my grocery store.  Well, I guess I should say I really like all the people who work there.  They are so darn nice.  I've been going there for years and years and everyone there is so friendly. 

No matter what the time of day is, the checkout folks and baggers are so kind.  They ask me if I found everything okay, they ask me about plastic or paper, and then proceed to pack my groceries with care.  They gently hand me my receipt and always thank me and wish me a happy day.

They always offer to walk my cart out to the car. I always decline.  I'm not at the point in my life where I need or want this service.  Yet.

I think that I'm starting to tick off some of the baggers.  They've started to try to talk me into letting them take the cart.  They're using lines like, "I'm going out to get the carts anyway..." or "I don't mind."  So, then I have to tell them, again, that I'm not interested in this service. 

  It starts to feel like a bit of a standoff.  NO!  I don't want this.  YES!  You must have it!  NO!  I can get my own groceries to the car! YES!  Old woman, I want to get outside and get some fresh air!  NO!  I don't want to make small talk all the way to the car!  YES!  I need a break from bagging all this stupid food!  NO NO NO!  And, I run out the store pushing my cart at warp speed.

Today, I didn't let Kyle take my cart to the car.  We had the standoff, and I walked away victorious. 

As I pushed my own cart to the car, I didn't feel so  nice.  They'd never hire me at Publix.

5 comments:

KB said...

I am with ya there, sister. I can't stand having to chat up a bagger while he "helps" me with my groceries. And then I have to apologize for my car being such a mess. It's a wonderful service for some folks, but I'll pass.

angie128 said...

I'm with you. I got it.

Now, if they would come home and help put away the groceries, THAT is something I'd be interested in...

Colleen said...

I guess if they weren't so aggressive about it, it would be a different story but...living every day in the retail sector of the world is a different story.

We have a young lady with us now who worked at Harris Teeter for 3 years. They had 7 things they had to either ask the customer or tell them. If they did not and it was a secret shopper they would be written up. One of these things was "Can we help you out to your car with that?" or something similiar. Now, I don't know about you but if my source of income was on the line I too would offer the service.

I also shop at Publix and have for gosh going on 14 years. They know me, they ask about the girls, one of the older gentleman always asks how my tree hugger daughter is doing. I don't need my groceries taken out but sometimes he is so insistent that I have him do it. I enjoy the time to catch up with him and what he is up too.

Being stuck in a store all day long smiling at people you don't know gets pretty tiring. Dealing with people you are trying to be nice to and who are as rude as rude can be gets exhausting. Having men stand there and watch you load a heavy piece of furniture into their pick up truck gets plain maddening.

Sorry for the rant but...there is another side to the coin. I am with you when they get aggressive about it, some of them do. I just smile my sweet northern smile and say no thank you. Then run as fast as I can to my car.

sherri s. said...

No one ever asks me if I need help at the grocery store--of course, my husband, who is the chef, does most of the shopping! Yay, how lucky am I!

Darla said...

I love Publix too! Love to shop there, love to save there (not so sure about that one). I have noticed that my grocery bill keeps creeping up and up!

I know one of the baggers, Brian, and I say to him when he asks if I would like help out, "Brian, is my leg in a cast?" "No m'am", "Well then, no thanks for the help. Thanks anyway!"

I like to shop at about 7:30 am on Sunday morning. I do believe there are times I am the only shopper in the store. It is a lovely thing! :)