As long as we’re on a roll, let’s just go for it. So I just got back from Stater Bros. to pick up a couple of things that we forgot over the weekend. As anyone who has read the blog for a while knows, I’m not that impressed by Stater Bros., they were profiteering off of the pandemic and frankly, their employees are generally assholes. However, I’m really starting to wonder why the hell we even have baggers anymore? What exactly do they do?I was standing in the line with just a couple of things in my cart and right ahead of me was an old woman, she must have been in her 80s at least. She was in one of those motorized wheelchairs and she had been struggling to put her items up on the belt so I helped her.

So she went through and paid for her stuff and the bagger just put her groceries in the little basket-thing that she had on the front of her cart and just waved her on. Now I’m sorry, but does anyone remember when baggers used to ask if you needed help to your car? Remember when they used to care? Now, nope. Not a word. Not an offer. Who gives a damn? Granted, for all I know, she was a regular customer had had turned it down in the past, I have no way of knowing that so I’ll let it skate but I’m really thinking that they don’t even think to provide any customer service whatsoever. Young people these days seem incapable.

Why do I say that? Because the second they scanned my items, the guy was just standing there staring at me. I brought a bag. It’s why we have this asinine law in California. You’re supposed to bring reusable bags with you so that you don’t keep sending them to the landfill. It’s a dumb law, one that was never about the environment, it was about making money, but if you’re going to make it, I might as well play along. So the guy just stands there and stares at me and finally says “do you want me to bag your groceries?”

Well no, why would someone whose job description is “person who puts things in a bag” actually be expected to do their job? That’s silly, right? I mean, that’s not really what they get paid for anymore because, in most stores, they’re just shills trying to sell bags to brain dead patrons. I mean, it isn’t like a portion of every dollar I spend doesn’t go to pay his paycheck or anything, right? Why would I want him to do the job he’s there to do?

This is really awful most of the time. You can tell where these people are getting their money. The second that you tell them that you brought your own bags, like the idiotic law says you’re supposed to, these people just shut down. They don’t want to talk to you anymore. They sure don’t want to do the thing they’re ostensibly getting paid to do. Of course I want you to put the fucking groceries in the fucking bag you moron. What other use are you?

And, just to hammer the point home, when I got out into the parking lot, that old lady was having problems and I loaded her groceries into the back of her car and helped her put her cart on the little rack on the back of her car. You know, like they used to expect these idiot baggers to do. Because why should we expect anyone in the service industry to actually provide anything remotely resembling customer service?

I just don’t know what the hell is wrong with people today.