talbotlucas.org: a word to the wise is sufficient

One of the pet peeves I inherited from my father involves grocery bagging. While there may be several appropriate ways to bag groceries, and some people--like my father and I--have opinions about these ways and their relative merits, I think most people acknowledge that there are definitely wrong ways. Putting the eggs and tomatoes on the bottom of a bag, and putting heavier goods on top. Cramming the bags so full that they're difficult for the bagger to put in the cart, let alone to carry from the car to our kitchen without breaking. Putting things in upside-down--ack! "It's not a jigsaw puzzle," I informed one young woman recently.

Grocery bagging used to be a matter of common sense, or so I thought. But as Richard J. Daley said many years ago, "common sense ain't too common these days." The Wall Street Journal, perhaps recognizing that common sense in grocery bagging is a rare commodity, published a profile of a grocery bagger who sounds like poetry in motion. And it sounds like her technique makes business sense, too; some customers bypass other, closer stores because they know she'll take care with their purchases.

Perhaps I'll photocopy the article and hand it out with my cash the next time I buy groceries...