Has anyone had any problems refusing a carrier bag.

Purple_Peril

I went to the "Who do you think you are live" exhibition this weekend with my sister (Two for one offer on tickets) and I managed to collect a couple of nice canvas bags of different sizes. It was nice to see that of the three "goody bags" I collected two were nice (reasonably strong) canvas bags and only one was a plastic bag. In fact even the stands sellng books and magazines were asking if you wanted a carrier bag if they saw that you had your own bag.

Granted, I did come back with a log of waste paper for the recycling bin!

Lynsey76

On the other side of the coin, I have had some extremely rude customers snatching stock out of the bag and throwing the bag back at me when they hadn't even said they didn't want a bag! Also the lady who insisted loudly and rudely to all and sundry that our carrier bags were a disgrace because they weren't recyclable, and refused to back down when I showed her the recycle symbol on the bag :mad:
Give us shop workers a break, we can't all read minds And I always ask if customers need a bag if the item looks small enough that it can fit in their handbag. These days some handbags are the size of small suitcases anyway!

mute_posting

Lynsey76 wrote: »

Also the lady who insisted loudly and rudely to all and sundry that our carrier bags were a disgrace because they weren't recyclable, and refused to back down when I showed her the recycle symbol on the bag :mad:

Is funny you should mention that - I was on Morrisons today and noticed the "recycle" symbol on the bag - I noted the text didn't say "recyclable" - just "recycle".

Do I take it that these bags are not "recyclable" and the text is just "advertising" green credentials and advising people to re-use the bag?

MP

Purple_Peril

I thought that it meant that they were made of recycled materials - but I may be wrong.

C_Ronaldo

Just refuse the bag, they cant make you take a carrier bag

angelatgraceland

Yategirl wrote: »

I was in Tesco's on monday and at the checkout realised that I had left my reusables in the car... so I put everything into the trolley... said to the cashier that I had about 3 large bags worth (for my points ) and that I had left my bags in the car... I walked out of tesco's past 2 security guards... and they didn't bat an eyelid!

Hi
Yes Ive done this many times! I carry my receipt in my hand and march on, head held high!
Young men get stopped more often I think-hence the steak incident.
Nobody "makes" me take a bag(let em try)-they are all getting better now-some ask-some on autopilot but do stop-none argue.
The company I work for have told us to ask the customer if they would like a bag rather than giving one autopilot style. Wow well-I was already doing this-its a case of looking at your customer-noting if they are carrying bags-have reusables and asking-would you like a bag or would you prefer to use your own. some people just cannot be bothered I suspect.
This is saving companies a fortune in bags so it really shouldnt be a problem.Slowly, we will catch up with Ireland-the English are a stubborn lot!

angelatgraceland

nodwah wrote: »

I seem to frequently P*** off checkout people by refusing bags. They have already pulled loads of them off the rail thingy by the time I'm at the till and it seems to really annoy them that I don't want them.
One time when I said I had my own bags the woman quite obviously muttered '****'s sake' under her breath! I really should have contacted the manager about that one.
I don't understand why they're so bothered.
Supermarkets are one thing but the message def hasn't penetrated to clothes shops and the like. I've had utter incomprhension from TKMaxx and Next when I've tried to get away without a bag.

I work in a clothes shop! Maybe we are the only ones whose policy is to ask the customer but we do. Not going to advertise on here but if anyone wants to know which store this is then please PM me.I do believe its all part of a moneysaving operation though firstly and the environment second. That doesnt bother me though-as long as this overuse of plastic bags is dealt with. So have faith-the word is spreading! I think the security issues are what worries a lot of nonfood stores. I know some of our customers worry about it. We will all adapt in time.

taskey

i live in germany and everyone uses cloth bags, you can buy them from every shop for as little as 50 cents (about 20p).

also in the supermarkets people use the crates which sit in the boot of your car. they also offer paper bags - like in america - but for each customer they only put out 2 and if you want them you take them, and if you need more you have to ask.

we always take a couple more paper bags, because we all have a compost bin which gets emptied every two weeks, so we all use the paper bags to dispose our compost in. so it gets reused.

deanos

Theres a big fuss about going carrier bag free in our town at the moment, last week the local co-op was in the paper saying they are going to support it and not ask customers if they want a bag, guess what went in the co-op for 1 pint of milk and a choccy bar and the lady behind the counter asked if i wanted a bag and when i said no she said was i sure :rotfl:

Trouble is we use all our carrier bags for rubbish so if they get rid of them i will have to buy some plastic bin bags so what exactly are they going to save in the end ?

shoperholicnot

Errata wrote: »

It's hard to understand why Sainsburys checkout staff offer to pack your bags for you when they haven't a clue how to pack a bag They're very good at putting the squashable stuff in first with tins and spuds on top !

or your veg next to the washing powder etc