I went shopping for groceries this afternoon, at Kroger. Some thoughts:
1. An old woman, frail and slow, asked me to retrieve some canned peaches from the top shelf, which I did. She thanked me and then apologized for "disturbing" me. I told her it was no trouble at all. It was clear that she took pride in her independence.
2. At the checkout, a young man accompanied by his wife and two unruly children was talking—loudly—on his cellphone. "Hey, I can't talk now," he said, "I'm at the checkout." The moron should be taken out and shot.
3. Paper pags are thinner than when I bagged groceries in high school 35 years ago. I bag my own groceries, because the kids who work in the store don't know how to do it. I prefer paper bags to plastic, since the paper bags, if filled properly, have structure. With plastic bags, all you can do is throw things in. About five of my 10 bags were ripped by the time I got home, even though I handled them carefully. Is this a cost-saving measure? Can't you just see someone at the paper-bag company saying, "We can increase our profit by cutting down on the amount of paper per bag"?
4. People don't take pride in their work. Things are thrown around. Tasks are rushed. People's attention is diverted. Common courtesies are ignored. Maybe I should take my business elsewhere, but I'm afraid things wouldn't be any better.
How are your shopping experiences?
