To bag or not to bag?

[farangUSA]

 It has been a few weeks since the ban on plastic bags has been in effect and so many of us now find ourselves providing a bag/bags to be filled.

I am curious if you choose to fill your bag and assist the cashier? Traditionally this is done by the store employee. Moreover, I see this as taking a job away from a Thai citizen and a violation of the terms of my retirement.

   Self service lanes will soon be here if not already, where you will scan and bag the item on your own. Its nice to be helpful but in the end I do not want to work for anyone.

 

 

[CharlieH]

Depends on the volume, if its a few items I couldnt care one way or the other, if its more I prefer to pack the bag myself so its done correctly with tins heavy items etc on the bottom, bread, soft items at the top and so on.

Most in my experience couldnt care less and things end up damaged, crushed etc when they do it in the usual haphazard way.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

I let the counter boys put the things in my bag. That gives me time to flirt with the cute cashier. ????

 

Apart from that I was today in a 7/11 in a non tourist area near a university.

When I entered the shop I heard the voice in the speaker explaining that now plastic bags are not allowed anymore.

 

The shop was busy and basically everybody received their items in plastic bags. Nobody asks, the staff just supplied them.

The only difference to before the plastic bag ban was that now there was no 7/11 logo on the bags anymore. TiT!

 

 

[farangUSA]

23 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Depends on the volume, if its a few items I couldnt care one way or the other, if its more I prefer to pack the bag myself so its done correctly with tins heavy items etc on the bottom, bread, soft items at the top and so on.

Most in my experience couldnt care less and things end up damaged, crushed etc when they do it in the usual haphazard way.

 

Sad to have to do their job but in the end you know it's done correctly if you do it yourself.

[farangUSA]

16 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I let the counter boys put the things in my bag. That gives me time to flirt with the cute cashier. ????

 

Apart from that I was today in a 7/11 in a non tourist area near a university.

When I entered the shop I heard the voice in the speaker explaining that now plastic bags are not allowed anymore.

 

The shop was busy and basically everybody received their items in plastic bags. Nobody asks, the staff just supplied them.

The only difference to before the plastic bag ban was that now there was no 7/11 logo on the bags anymore. TiT!

 

 

It's great when the company employs a counter boy and the cute cashier has a little tme to practice her English or you your Thai.

 

[JustAnotherHun]

You are not allowed to work wirhout a permit. So let the Thais do the job - as long as these exist ????

[chickenslegs]

I like the Makro system. No bags - they just scan everything while it's still in the trolley, then you load it into your bags or boxes in the car park. Very often, if a car park attendant sees that you have heavy items (packs of water, beer, and such) they will rush over and give a helping hand.

 

Also, the Foodland system is good. A young chap will commandeer the trolley after check-out, push it to your car and unload it into your bags/boxes.

 

Service at most shopping venues here is very good (IMHO). Same with petrol stations.

 

Last time I was over in the UK I drove into a petrol station, switched off the engine, and sat for a full 10 seconds before I remembered that I had to pump the petrol myself.

[CharlieH]

1 minute ago, chickenslegs said:

I like the Makro system. No bags - they just scan everything while it's still in the trolley, then you load it into your bags or boxes in the car park. Very often, if a car park attendant sees that you have heavy items (packs of water, beer, and such) they will rush over and give a helping hand.

 

Also, the Foodland system is good. A young chap will commandeer the trolley after check-out, push it to your car and unload it into your bags/boxes.

 

Service at most shopping venues here is very good (IMHO). Same with petrol stations.

 

Last time I was over in the UK I drove into a petrol station, switched off the engine, and sat for a full 10 seconds before I remembered that I had to pump the petrol myself.

Last time I was in the Uk I started speaking to the cashier in Thai !! ????

[farangUSA]

3 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

You are not allowed to work wirhout a permit. So let the Thais do the job - as long as these exist ????

Yeah, that's the truth and the overall effect if everyone starts bagging then one day we will scan as well and no Thai is employed

[farangUSA]

9 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

I like the Makro system. No bags - they just scan everything while it's still in the trolley, then you load it into your bags or boxes in the car park. Very often, if a car park attendant sees that you have heavy items (packs of water, beer, and such) they will rush over and give a helping hand.

 

Also, the Foodland system is good. A young chap will commandeer the trolley after check-out, push it to your car and unload it into your bags/boxes.

 

Service at most shopping venues here is very good (IMHO). Same with petrol stations.

 

Last time I was over in the UK I drove into a petrol station, switched off the engine, and sat for a full 10 seconds before I remembered that I had to pump the petrol myself.

We are spoiled in a sense when we don't have to pump our own gas or bag our own groceries. Makro keeps their prices lower not only by selling in bulk but by eliminating bags and baggers.  I hope we never have to end up scanning items as well

[jany123]

I put my consumables straight from shelf into old plastic bag and hand that to the check out chick and wait until she hands it back... easy.

[JustAnotherHun]

31 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Service at most shopping venues here is very good (IMHO). Same with petrol stations.

.... and car washs

 

So true.

Each time I come back to my home country, I'm amazed the first few days how poor the service at those places is.

 

Work is one of the last things in Thailand that are - compared to Europe - very cheap.

[farangUSA]

9 minutes ago, jany123 said:

I put my consumables straight from shelf into old plastic bag and hand that to the check out chick and wait until she hands it back... easy.

Glad that works well for all. Maybe delivery is another option they supply the bags transport etc..

[Kerryd]

I generally load the bag(s) myself for the same reason others have mentioned, to keep the heavy stuff on the bottom and the eggs, bread and other crushable stuff on top. Some stores like Villa (Little Walk) and Foodland (Central Pattaya) have baggers that do the job fairly well themselves. 

Was in Tops last week and when I got to the cashier I realized I'd left my bags on the moto. Told the girl I'd be back in a minute and she pointed out that they had some of those (crappy) reusable bags available. I went and got mine instead. Tops used to have a large, plasticized bag that worked nicely but I guess someone decided they were too good so they got rid of them and offer small and (barely) medium sized bags that look like they'll fall apart if you put more than a loaf of bread in them. 
I'd used them once before when I'd forgotten my bags and ended up having to use 2 small and 1 medium bag for a load that would have fit into the old bag with room too spare.

I'm getting the impression that getting rid of the old plastic bags wasn't about the environment at all but was more about generating more revenue by making people buy "reusable" bags that they probably have to replace every 2nd or 3rd shopping trip. So the stores save money on not having to buy plastic bags and then make money on selling crappy reusable ones (and pretend they are being environmentally conscious while overlooking how many items they sell that are wrapped in plastic or come in plastic bags already).
Loaf of bread - in a plastic bag.

Buy some potatoes, onions, carrots and garlic ? A separate plastic bag for each type.
Buy some mangoes and oranges ? Separate plastic bag for each.

Buy some fresh pork and fish/beef/deli meat ? Separate plastic bag for each type. 
Buy some packaged meat like chicken (wrapped in plastic) and get it bagged so it doesn't drip onto your other groceries. 

But get to the cashier and get told "Sorry, no plastic bags to carry all the items you bought that are in plastic bags but we'll sell you 2-3 smallish reusable bags instead."

I noticed that a lot of food cart vendors not only use plastic bags of course, but are still using styrofoam containers as well. Thought those were banned years ago.

I think I have 5 or 6 different reusable bags on my scooter now.

Can't wait until they (the "powers that be") start complaining that all those reusable bags are plugging up the sewers because they don't degrade quickly and it takes fewer of them to plug a drain pipe than the old plastic bags.
 

[thaisabai]

THE NEVER ENDING STORY OF PLASTIC BAGS IN THAILAND !

BigC extra Pattaya:

on the first day when they introduced "no more plastic bags" they conveniently provided large green no plastic bags at every register (I believe for 6 Baht - not sure)

a few days later I went shopping, thinking that the new bags were available and didn't bring any bag with me. unfortunately, the green bags were sold out and I ended up buying a 300 baht fabric bag in the bag section, which was not big enough to hold all my shopping. I then went to

KFC on the ground floor and bought 2 burgers nd asked them to give me 2 plastic bags for the burgers. this way I was able to pack the remaining items from big C.

Again a few days later again (stupid) I went to big C again without bringing a bag and now they had the green non plastic bags available again, but believe it or not, they were just about a quarter size of the green bags they offered on the first non plastic day and they could not hold more than 1 bread and 1 small pack of cookies.

to end the story - typical Thai! would they have ordered enough big non plastic bags (even if they charged for them) in the first place, they would make plenty extra revenue and the customers who come without a bag would be more than willing to pay 6 baht or more for them!

Situation at TOPS supermarkets:

they stopped giving out plastic bags but provide fairly large non plastic bags at the exit, somewhat more expensive (I believe about 30 Baht)

7-11 stores

the ones I am using, continue to provide plastic bags. they do ask you though if you want a bag or not.

 

GUESS WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO TO SATISFY EVERYONE!

[thaisabai]

16 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

I generally load the bag(s) myself for the same reason others have mentioned, to keep the heavy stuff on the bottom and the eggs, bread and other crushable stuff on top. Some stores like Villa (Little Walk) and Foodland (Central Pattaya) have baggers that do the job fairly well themselves. 

Was in Tops last week and when I got to the cashier I realized I'd left my bags on the moto. Told the girl I'd be back in a minute and she pointed out that they had some of those (crappy) reusable bags available. I went and got mine instead. Tops used to have a large, plasticized bag that worked nicely but I guess someone decided they were too good so they got rid of them and offer small and (barely) medium sized bags that look like they'll fall apart if you put more than a loaf of bread in them. 
I'd used them once before when I'd forgotten my bags and ended up having to use 2 small and 1 medium bag for a load that would have fit into the old bag with room too spare.

I'm getting the impression that getting rid of the old plastic bags wasn't about the environment at all but was more about generating more revenue by making people buy "reusable" bags that they probably have to replace every 2nd or 3rd shopping trip. So the stores save money on not having to buy plastic bags and then make money on selling crappy reusable ones (and pretend they are being environmentally conscious while overlooking how many items they sell that are wrapped in plastic or come in plastic bags already).
Loaf of bread - in a plastic bag.

Buy some potatoes, onions, carrots and garlic ? A separate plastic bag for each type.
Buy some mangoes and oranges ? Separate plastic bag for each.

Buy some fresh pork and fish/beef/deli meat ? Separate plastic bag for each type. 
Buy some packaged meat like chicken (wrapped in plastic) and get it bagged so it doesn't drip onto your other groceries. 

But get to the cashier and get told "Sorry, no plastic bags to carry all the items you bought that are in plastic bags but we'll sell you 2-3 smallish reusable bags instead."

I noticed that a lot of food cart vendors not only use plastic bags of course, but are still using styrofoam containers as well. Thought those were banned years ago.

I think I have 5 or 6 different reusable bags on my scooter now.

Can't wait until they (the "powers that be") start complaining that all those reusable bags are plugging up the sewers because they don't degrade quickly and it takes fewer of them to plug a drain pipe than the old plastic bags.
 

you are sooooooooo right.

[Classic Ray]

Used my first self scan till in Thailand the other day at Central food hall. Just as hit and miss as UK but ultimately OK. Happy not to have to queue and used my own bags.

[ChaiyaTH]

I put it in myself in Rimping so make sure heavy things are in the bottom, else my bread is flat and eggs cracked etc. 
In Makro we let them scan and put everything back in the shopping car, after paying I take my time to put everything into my re-use bags. 

Talking in terms of losing jobs due to automation, unavoidable. Yet one could question too why they not sack 50% of the staff in most places now already so that the remaining 50% can earn double and actually do a real fulltime job. If you look at some 7/11s or Homepro etc in terms of amount of staff, it is insane.
 

Not sure if my imagination is right but it seems most jobs of let's say 10,000 could easily be worth 20,000 baht and up if they didn't hire double or triple staff counts, as well people would then be more interested in the job, resulting in competition = better performance or service.
 

In HomePro I even have to do my best walking very fast and dodging all 50 staff members to not get bothered or hassled. 

Edited February 12, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[jimn]

20 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

I put it in myself in Rimping so make sure heavy things are in the bottom, else my bread is flat and eggs cracked etc. 
In Makro we let them scan and put everything back in the shopping car, after paying I take my time to put everything into my re-use bags. 

Talking in terms of losing jobs due to automation, unavoidable. Yet one could question too why they not sack 50% of the staff in most places now already so that the remaining 50% can earn double and actually do a real fulltime job. If you look at some 7/11s or Homepro etc in terms of amount of staff, it is insane.
 

Not sure if my imagination is right but it seems most jobs of let's say 10,000 could easily be worth 20,000 baht and up if they didn't hire double or triple staff counts, as well people would then be more interested in the job, resulting in competition = better performance or service.
 

In HomePro I even have to do my best walking very fast and dodging all 50 staff members to not get bothered or hassled. 

Homepro in common with many of the big stores Tesco Lotus and Big C, have staff responsible for a section or a brand, thats why they have so many staff. Rather stupid isnt it. I remember last year in Homepro I purchased a DIY product I cant remember what it was. When we go to the checkout the price was 100 baht more than the display. Ended up going to customer services who paged the girl whose section it was and she said sorry and started to open her purse to give me 100 baht. I asked my wife what was going on, she told me it was the girls fault and they make her pay, as its her mistake and her section. Knowing they only get 300 baht a day max, I couldnt allow that and told her to keep it, but be double carefull in future. 

[Suradit69]

What we did was buy about six reusable bags. We assume someone else put them in the car trunk/boot, which of course no one did.

 

When we go shopping a store employee puts everything into a shopping cart or two, loose. These items are then individually placed/dropped/lobbed into the aforementioned trunk/boot.. when we get home someone finds the reusable bags, brings them to the car port where we take everything out of the car boot/trunk and put everything that's fragile or  squish-able into the bottom of the bags which we haul into kitchen. The dog helpfully locates things that didn't survive intact.

 

its more art than science, but it's becoming a well honed routine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2020 by Suradit69

[farangUSA]

2 hours ago, Classic Ray said:

Used my first self scan till in Thailand the other day at Central food hall. Just as hit and miss as UK but ultimately OK. Happy not to have to queue and used my own bags.

Queueing (spelling?) is the fun part Classic Ray! Your missing out on the games like watching what I call Register Roulette where the cashier breaks up the order and totals it multiple times. Scanning it yourself is faster but someone is out of a job when we do that. 

[Max69xl]

20 hours ago, farangUSA said:

We are spoiled in a sense when we don't have to pump our own gas or bag our own groceries. Makro keeps their prices lower not only by selling in bulk but by eliminating bags and baggers.  I hope we never have to end up scanning items as well

Self scanning has been in action for years at several supermarkets in several countries in Europe. It's ok when we're talking about a few items but a full trolley sucks. 

[farangUSA]

3 hours ago, Kerryd said:

I generally load the bag(s) myself for the same reason others have mentioned, to keep the heavy stuff on the bottom and the eggs, bread and other crushable stuff on top. Some stores like Villa (Little Walk) and Foodland (Central Pattaya) have baggers that do the job fairly well themselves. 

Was in Tops last week and when I got to the cashier I realized I'd left my bags on the moto. Told the girl I'd be back in a minute and she pointed out that they had some of those (crappy) reusable bags available. I went and got mine instead. Tops used to have a large, plasticized bag that worked nicely but I guess someone decided they were too good so they got rid of them and offer small and (barely) medium sized bags that look like they'll fall apart if you put more than a loaf of bread in them. 
I'd used them once before when I'd forgotten my bags and ended up having to use 2 small and 1 medium bag for a load that would have fit into the old bag with room too spare.

I'm getting the impression that getting rid of the old plastic bags wasn't about the environment at all but was more about generating more revenue by making people buy "reusable" bags that they probably have to replace every 2nd or 3rd shopping trip. So the stores save money on not having to buy plastic bags and then make money on selling crappy reusable ones (and pretend they are being environmentally conscious while overlooking how many items they sell that are wrapped in plastic or come in plastic bags already).
Loaf of bread - in a plastic bag.

Buy some potatoes, onions, carrots and garlic ? A separate plastic bag for each type.
Buy some mangoes and oranges ? Separate plastic bag for each.

Buy some fresh pork and fish/beef/deli meat ? Separate plastic bag for each type. 
Buy some packaged meat like chicken (wrapped in plastic) and get it bagged so it doesn't drip onto your other groceries. 

But get to the cashier and get told "Sorry, no plastic bags to carry all the items you bought that are in plastic bags but we'll sell you 2-3 smallish reusable bags instead."

I noticed that a lot of food cart vendors not only use plastic bags of course, but are still using styrofoam containers as well. Thought those were banned years ago.

I think I have 5 or 6 different reusable bags on my scooter now.

Can't wait until they (the "powers that be") start complaining that all those reusable bags are plugging up the sewers because they don't degrade quickly and it takes fewer of them to plug a drain pipe than the old plastic bags.
 

Thank you for that well thought out response. It appears bringing our own bags is insignificant relative to all of the other bags that are involved in the process.

[farangUSA]

2 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

I put it in myself in Rimping so make sure heavy things are in the bottom, else my bread is flat and eggs cracked etc. 
In Makro we let them scan and put everything back in the shopping car, after paying I take my time to put everything into my re-use bags. 

Talking in terms of losing jobs due to automation, unavoidable. Yet one could question too why they not sack 50% of the staff in most places now already so that the remaining 50% can earn double and actually do a real fulltime job. If you look at some 7/11s or Homepro etc in terms of amount of staff, it is insane.
 

Not sure if my imagination is right but it seems most jobs of let's say 10,000 could easily be worth 20,000 baht and up if they didn't hire double or triple staff counts, as well people would then be more interested in the job, resulting in competition = better performance or service.
 

In HomePro I even have to do my best walking very fast and dodging all 50 staff members to not get bothered or hassled. 

Hah hah The Home Pro see and avoid the staff game. Yeah they are everywhere. Thank you for your well thought out response.

[Lacessit]

I don't have a problem with bringing a cloth bag to Rimping, Big C, or 7/11.

However, I re-use the plastic bags for rubbish, and now I am running out. Soon I will have to start buying plastic bags for the garbage.

So what problem is it the Thai authorities are solving? Or is it just an exercise in transferring the cost from a supplier to a customer?

 

[farangUSA]

20 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Self scanning has been in action for years at several supermarkets in several countries in Europe. It's ok when we're talking about a few items but a full trolley sucks. 

Sucks big time. 

[farangUSA]

4 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I don't have a problem with bringing a cloth bag to Rimping, Big C, or 7/11.

However, I re-use the plastic bags for rubbish, and now I am running out. Soon I will have to start buying plastic bags for the garbage.

So what problem is it the Thai authorities are solving? Or is it just an exercise in transferring the cost from a supplier to a customer?

 

All of those nice plastic bags we used to get at the checkout were used by 1000's of people as garbage bags. So like most people we now buy our garbage bags....go figure.

[Max69xl]

5 minutes ago, farangUSA said:

All of those nice plastic bags we used to get at the checkout were used by 1000's of people as garbage bags. So like most people we now buy our garbage bags....go figure.

The bottom drawer in my kitchen is still full of bags from 7/11 and Tesco Lotus. I use them in my garbage bin. They will last a couple of months more, but sooner or later I have to buy plastic bags. I have re-used shopping bags all my adult life,and I really don't like to pay for garbage bags. 

[emptypockets]

At the local Lotus we take fabric bags and one cold bag. At checkout all the cold stuff goes on the conveyor first. That bag, packed by the checkout chick into the cold bag, gets put into a second trolley. The heavy stuff goes next and is put in the trolley. Eggs,bread and the like go next in a different bag and sits on top of the other bags. Not difficult to do. Very easy actually.

The now empty first trolley gets put back in the rack.

I don't do any packing at all.

I also make a point of avoiding the self scan checkouts in Oz and am happy to wait in line for someone to do their job. It's hard enough for a youngster to get a job. Checkout was always a good employer of young people. Bill Burr does a great comedy sketch about this.

Edited February 12, 2020 by emptypockets

[farangUSA]

Thank you emptypockets for your insight and understanding. Young Thais need the entry level positions and by refraining from packing your own bag will hopefully ensure more counter employment. Bill Burr says it as he sees it.