"Would you like my illness along with your groceries today???"

[dispor]

Wow, I am really surprised at the responses here! OP, at least *I* am on your side! LOL!

I had a cashier at Walmart licking her fingers every time she had to open a new bag. Yuck! You can bet I called the manager when I got home. Can you imagine touching money and continually licking your fingers. Yeesh!!

 

[Alex&Evan'sMom]

What about grocery stores(ex. Walmart) where the cashiers bag their own groceries? They have to handle the money and the food. In my book Money=germ warfare.(but I'm probably biased I have to handle large amounts of it daily as a bookkeeper.) I always put fresh items in plastic bags for that reason. There's always going to be a chance for cross contamination if food is not bagged in some way.(placing it in the buggy, being left out in the open air etc.) Can you tell I work in a grocery store? We do not have baggers where I work. Corporate doesn't give us enough hours to be able to have them. We do bag our own groceries most of the time and use sanitary wipes and hand sanitizer but our nearest sink is in the back of the store and we can't leave our register. The sinks at your grocery store sound cool though. Are they right up front? I wish we had those.

 

[DisneyKT]

Wow well there was a guy last week in our local grocery store eating all sorts of fruit. He even bit into a pear and put it back when he saw some cherries. LOL. Plus he was touching everything else.. Maybe I should ask if he could be banned from the store? J/K

 

[clarabelle]

Can you use soap on produce? (I am asking -not making any kind of statement)

 

[themarquis]

I OF COURSE WASH MY FOOD WHEN I GET HOME...I'd be dumb not to!

if you wash it, what's the issue?

it's dirty ... then you wash it ... then it's clean ... then it's safe to eat it... am I missing something?

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I wouldn't use soap on produce, but they do make produce brushes and they do make a produce rinse that you can buy.

Honestly, people take the whole germ thing too far. You don't need antibacterial soap. It is the actual action of the washing of the hands with soap under running water that gets rid of germs. Antibacterial soaps are increasing the incidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. If you wash your hands properly, there is no need for antibacterial soap. Problem is, most people take about 2 seconds to wash their hands so they're actually making the problem worse. Sorry, big pet peeve of mine and the fact the grocery store had a sink with antibacterial soap right there just irks me.

OP: I would be upset in your case too. I'm not a complete germ o phobe and understand that ten million people have touched my produce, but it's different when you're seeing the action sequence firsthand.

 

[Bluestars]

OP - I wouldn't want someone coughing all over my food either. I also wash food thoroughly when I get home, but you still have exposure to all of those germs in the mean time. I agree with you, it's disgusting. I admit that I'm very picky about my food though.

 

[DarthKTrava]

I work fast food and have gone in many times while sick. I do wash my hands with hot water and soap, especially after having to blow the nose. I don't wear gloves because they irritate my hands. And when I do have to cough, I turn my head and cough into my upper arm and into my shirt sleeve (which I DO NOT TOUCH!!!). I don't cough into my hand as I know that can be a way to transfer germs (and if I do, to the sink I go!).

I would love to take days off when sick but I simply cannot afford to.

 

[Nancy]

I am a very clean person. I bring lysol wipes with me to the grocery store. I hate cart handles. yuck. I know that a lot of people touch produce, grocery items before I even see it. It's the NERVE of this lady that ticks me off. Who in their right mind has the NERVE to stand in front of someone while TOUCHING THEIR FOOD coughing, hacking and such with out excusing themselves to go take care of things. Obviously she was in the wrong, or the manager would not have thrown all of that food away and given me a $20 gift card...

Managers hand out cards all the time. I do agree she should have at least used sanitizer on her hands though before handling your items.

Be aware that many stores have policies that checkers/baggers may only leave their lines for one break every so many hours. If you're in that position you're going to be saving that for the time when you really need to go to the restroom.

The manager probably did the whole reprimand for show, and she went along because she had to. The grocery business is cutthroat, and the rules can be really draconian sometimes.

sure can be. I did it for almost 17 years and if she had walked away she would have gotten into trouble for it most likely.

Yep, always blame someone else....

in this case they can, working in a grocery store is tough, calling in sick is discouraged and I have seen people fired for calling in too much (3 days in a row). No paid days off for part timers, no sick days even for the full timers..you need to use your vacation days and if those are gone you don't get paid.

I worked as a cashier in high school. I wasn't allowed to leave my register for anything. So I find it hard to beleive that the cashier could have just wandered over to the handwashing station whenever she felt like it.

I also wonder if the manager was sensing the same tone that I am.

she wasn't a cashier she was bagging..so what she could have done was maybe call someone over to take over for a second or she could have asked for hand sanitizer, I would hope the store must have some.

Yep, all of my produce is put in those plastic bags and I tie a knot in the top.

me too.

Wow, I am really surprised at the responses here! OP, at least *I* am on your side! LOL!

I had a cashier at Walmart licking her fingers every time she had to open a new bag. Yuck! You can bet I called the manager when I got home. Can you imagine touching money and continually licking your fingers. Yeesh!!

That's funny because I used to train the cashiers and that was one fo the things I had to tell them...do not lick your fingers to open the bags..gross on both ends.

What about grocery stores(ex. Walmart) where the cashiers bag their own groceries? They have to handle the money and the food. In my book Money=germ warfare.(but I'm probably biased I have to handle large amounts of it daily as a bookkeeper.) I always put fresh items in plastic bags for that reason. There's always going to be a chance for cross contamination if food is not bagged in some way.(placing it in the buggy, being left out in the open air etc.) Can you tell I work in a grocery store? We do not have baggers where I work. Corporate doesn't give us enough hours to be able to have them. We do bag our own groceries most of the time and use sanitary wipes and hand sanitizer but our nearest sink is in the back of the store and we can't leave our register. The sinks at your grocery store sound cool though. Are they right up front? I wish we had those.

That's how the store I worked at was, the cashiers bagged so we handled everything. We did have Purell at ever register and cashiers were trained to use it often. I told them if they coughed, sneezed or blew their nose they had to use it before touching anyone's groceries. They were told if they handled chicken or beef that leaked even a little they were to use it. I even used to wipe down the scanner with it if the chicken leaked on it.


To the op, I can see where you are coming from..if she was there 3 years she would have to be at the least 18 and that is old enough to know what to do when you have a cold and are handling food. Not sure she could have walked away but she could have flagged a manager down and asked for sanitizer at the very least.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

All the anger is being focused on the wrong person. The problem lies with companies continuously cutting payroll to the point where there is not enough staff to cover someone getting sick, making it a matter of "work or get fired". Don't get mad at that poor woman, get mad at the person who made her work in the condition she's in because they probably didn't have anyone else scheduled that could cover her. With the economy the way it is, it's just going to get worse as the easiest fix to combat lower sales is to kill payroll.

While it might not have been a pleasant experience, you have to realize that food has been through a heck of a lot worse than what you witnessed. When it was growing on trees, plants or in the ground, it was being constantly invaded by bugs and worms. Animals could urinate on it. Who knows what health condition the pickers were in when it was harvested and on and on. As long as you wash it before you eat it, it's fine.

 

[Stacerita]

 

[dispor]

All the anger is being focused on the wrong person. The problem lies with companies continuously cutting payroll to the point where there is not enough staff to cover someone getting sick, making it a matter of "work or get fired". Don't get mad at that poor woman, get mad at the person who made her work in the condition she's in because they probably didn't have anyone else scheduled that could cover her. With the economy the way it is, it's just going to get worse as the easiest fix to combat lower sales is to kill payroll.

The common cold (which is what it sounds like the bagger had) lasts a week or longer. Do you really think employers should be required to give employees a week off whenever they get a cold? Talk about the cost of food going up....! IMO, the OP was just asking for the bagger to use some common sense.

Don't get me started on baggers who put my vegetables in the same bag as the RAW MEAT!!!!

 

[disney kid at heart]

Probably, I bet the manager couldn't get OP out of there fast enough.

OP, might I suggest you start a garden and grow your own produce. People touch it, kids grab it, people cough/hack/sneeze on it. That's what the sink at home is for, to wash it.

Unless they've used it as toilet paper I'm not about to get my panties in a twist.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

The common cold (which is what it sounds like the bagger had) lasts a week or longer. Do you really think employers should be required to give employees a week off whenever they get a cold? Talk about the cost of food going up....! IMO, the OP was just asking for the bagger to use some common sense.

Don't get me started on baggers who put my vegetables in the same bag as the RAW MEAT!!!!

No, I didn't say that companies should pay for people to take a week off when they have a cold. What I said was that a lot of retail companies have made it now that their employees couldn't stay home should they even wanted to when they are sick, or work in a less public position during their illness (like in the stockroom).

Its really a lose/lose situation. Either the company makes them work, or they need the money so badly and have no paid leave that they have to work. If they do work while they are coughing frequently or worse, it's impossible for them to wash their hands after every cough or wipe while working at a register, making people angry. There just isn't a perfect answer to make everyone happy.

 

[kbkids]

Grocery stores are disgusting places. Between the zillions of customers riffling through the food with unwashed hands, and the conditions in the back store, a bagger with a cold (while gross) is probably the least of our worries.

You got that right!! I worked in a grocery store for several years, and some of the stuff I saw was just disgusting!! Meat dept - oh yeh, but the produce dept - a very close second!!

 

[Piecey]

So uh...

Am I the only whose local grocery store now has a HUGE thing of "Clorox Bleach Wipes" on a pedastool right by the carts?

I always get a sheet, wipe off the handles and keep it handy with me for when I hit the meat department. I occassionally, depending on how my hands feel, grab a second one on the way out and wipe my hands and cart again before returning it..

 

[Stacerita]

So uh...

Am I the only whose local grocery store now has a HUGE thing of "Clorox Bleach Wipes" on a pedastool right by the carts?

I always get a sheet, wipe off the handles and keep it handy with me for when I hit the meat department. I occassionally, depending on how my hands feel, grab a second one on the way out and wipe my hands and cart again before returning it..

Mine has those too. I don't use them though. Never had in the past so I just haven't gotten in the habit of using them I guess.

 

[Planogirl]

I use those wipes on the handle of the cart and the area where the kids sit if I use it. I'm not a germaphobe either - it just seems like a nice extra.

So the issue is that the bagger was sick and didn't go wash her hands? I wonder if that store allows the baggers to leave their station.

 

[2BigKIdz]

I'm a germ phobe too and that is really gross, but I am also wondering why you wouldn't put your produce in a plastic bag and also wash it before you eat it? It's been in your basket and on the belt unprotected, it's hard to tell what all has been in that basket!

I am shocked that you would honestly want this woman to be fired for this? I think that is pretty excessive. I would have been grossed out and probably told them to credit the produce back and not purchased it but it is hardly an offense for her to lose her job over, IMO.

 

[dispor]

There just isn't a perfect answer to make everyone happy.

Okay, I agree, but coughing and/or sneezing into the inside of your elbow, and having a bottle of hand sanitizer at the register would be a huge step in the right direction...