Bag Packers in Supermarkets

TheDriver

So is it me or are they becoming more common. Every time I go into the supermarket, there is some primary school or a section of a GAA club from a village I have never driven through.

Supporting my local club or school is one thing, but shopping in a supermarket, the last thing I like is being manipulated into supporting schools from other villages.

I wonder do supermarkets feel under pressure to say yes to clubs etc?

Ace2007

I thought this was going to be a thread about "the old times when a cashier would put your shopping in a bag for you"

anncoates

TheDriver wrote: »

Supporting my local club or school is one thing, but shopping in a supermarket, the last thing I like is being manipulated into supporting schools from other village

So basically it's less about the inconvenience and more about internecine bogball feuds?

ArtyC

TheDriver wrote: »

So is it me or are they becoming more common. Every time I go into the supermarket, there is some primary school or a section of a GAA club from a village I have never driven through.

Supporting my local club or school is one thing, but shopping in a supermarket, the last thing I like is being manipulated into supporting schools from other villages.



I wonder do supermarkets feel under pressure to say yes to clubs etc?

I always try to go to a til without a bag packer - say the basket til.....These days I've to tot up my shopping as I go because money is so tight. I feel like a right dick giving them nothing but I can't help it..

kneemos

Good way to get rid of coppers,otherwise let the parents pay for Fiacra's training gear.

Lenin Skynard

TheDriver wrote: »

Supporting my local club or school is one thing, but shopping in a supermarket, the last thing I like is being manipulated into supporting schools from other villages.

You should sneak over there and steal some delicious juicy lemons from their lemon tree.

Sulla Felix

There's no room for them at the express/10 items or less checkout in either of my local Dunnes or Supervalu. One of the younger managers takes particular joy out of kicking all the aul biddies with full trollies out of that lane and into one of the normal ones. :pac:

Smidge

If its a relatively decent cause I'll throw a few shecels in the tub.
But I WONT let them pack my bags.

Bleach in with the tomatoes
Firelighters in with cheese
Raw meat in with cooked
Every fecking time :mad:

kumate_champ07

not nearly as bad as chuggers, and they dont mind if you have no change. Ill give some coins depending on what its for and if Im not broke that week. I wouldnt pay for some school trip where the students go overseas to 'help' poor people

TheDriver

Smidge wrote: »

If its a relatively decent cause I'll throw a few shecels in the tub.
But I WONT let them pack my bags.

Bleach in with the tomatoes
Firelighters in with cheese
Raw meat in with cooked
Every fecking time :mad:

and spuds on top of the eggs....

Holsten

Have not seen them in years.

Sir Arthur Daley

I have changed my shopping experience to Tesco online with home delivery over this.

Smidge

TheDriver wrote: »

and spuds on top of the eggs....

...........on top of the bread

sammyjo90

Most annoying things ever! I swear they've never packed a bag in their lives! ALL OF THEM!

Smidge

What we need to do is organise a national bag pack to raise funds to organise a training course to teach bag packers how to pack bags.

delw

I just politely say no thanks & pack my own bags but always throw some coppers in the bucket as long as its for a sports club but see the dance clubs.....grrrrrrrrr............

( i know im weird )

PizzamanIRL

Wait til the 1c and 2c coins go out of circulation and pour bags of them into their collection box on your way out.

shruikan2553

I just go to a till without them if there isnt a self service place. Why is it they are terrible at packing a bag? Its like playing for the local gaelic team and constantly trying to the the ball into your own goal.

nicki11

Hate them I'm a student and I can't afford to eat decent food sometimes and I don't see why I should be guilted into paying for the coach's ticket to Chelsea while the kids parents pay for everything else

WikiHow wrote: »

I have changed my shopping experience to Tesco online with home delivery over this.

I just use the self service worst place is Dunnes as I can't avoid them (no self service)

The Narrator

I usually call them spongers and tell the to fcuk off.

I find that works quite well.

orangesoda

Have never encountered it myself but gaa door to door ticket sellers is very common, even if the club is from miles away

131spanner

I did it at Dunnes for the local club when I was 11 or 12, it was probably the worst two hours I've ever put down. Except for the sound lady who gave me a KitKat out of a multi-pack, she made it all seem worth while

mikemac1

It's usually the local soccer club wanting money for a tournament in Germany

ROCKMAN

The Narrator wrote: »

I usually call them spongers and tell the to fcuk off.

I find that works quite well.

cough (b**ls**t) cough.......

no sorry I believe you ..........

Nino Brown

Let them pack the bags, pay for your shopping on the debit card. Then say "I've no cash lads, do ye take card?"

I always pay by card, so this has actually happened to me, I never carry coins

Fishyfreak

Jaysus, just throw 50c in the tub yas pack of miserable [EMAIL="b@stards"]b@stards[/EMAIL].

If your shopping is substantial enough to warrant a bag packing i'm sure you had no idea how much it was going to cost (give or take 10/20 euro) before you even got to the till. :rolleyes:

Greenmachine

TheDriver wrote: »

and spuds on top of the eggs....

That was going to be one of mine. Lets not forget washing powder in with your tiger loaf. It both crushed the bread and leaves a fresh floral scent. Shame the taste is wooful.

whiskeyman

Jaysus, just pack your bags yourself!
Most should ask if you want your bags packed anyway. A polite 'no, you're grand' will do!
Probably getting an increase in them now with the summer coming up, as Fiacra and Sneachta want to head on a sponsored walk across the Great Wall of China. Fair play lads... great use of funds that.

OldNotWIse

Fishyfreak wrote: »

Jaysus, just throw 50c in the tub yas pack of miserable b@stards.

If your shopping is substantial enough to warrant a bag packing i'm sure you had no idea how much it was going to cost (give or take 10/20 euro) before you even got to the till. :rolleyes:

Not really the point though. Its the method they employ, same as chuggers. Put you on the spot and pressure you into giving them something. Now, if they want to take my list and do my shopping for me thats fine but I will not be pressured into parting with any money regardless of who is standing there in my way. I ignore them so they have to stand with one arm as long as the other. Their own fault for being there. Now feck off ye little spongers. Buy your own fuucking hockey sticks.

looksee

One of my hates, and I try to avoid them, but I will throw a few bob into the bin, even though I tell them no thanks for the packing.

Santa Cruz

Great way to get rid of old ****e coins from Egypt or Turkey etc

893bet

Another reason to choose Aldi!

Oranage2

Last time I was in super value the cashier packed my bag.

I remember another time in Dunnes, every till was jammers except for a few and when I got to it I realized why, because those few tills had bag packers.


Irish people are funny, they would rather make up some elaborate story or queue for an extra 15 minutes to avoid looking stingy.

iDave

No problem with it myself. Gives young people something to do for an afternoon, conveniences elderly customers (or lazy ones i.e. me) and helps fund those brilliant 'internecine bogball feuds' that many people around the country enjoy being involved in. Seems win win to me.

MonkeyTennis

Lifes hard enough without some 12year old giving me dirty looks for the 6pack and meal for 1.

Lenin Skynard

No problem with it myself either. I generally just throw them a bag and tell them it's for soft stuff, then I throw over the bakery products/bog roll as it comes. Fifty cent going to the local under-10s football team isn't going to break the bank and I'm not flush by any means.

clappyhappy

I usually do my shopping on a Thursday or Friday, that way I avoid them in my area anyway.

Most annoying are the guys that stand outside the shop representing some cancer organisation or the homeless. It is usually the same guy doing all and I doubt if one cent goes to the proper organisations.

One day he was collecting for lung cancer, my sister passed him on way into shop and gave €2,. When she came out he was sitting in a car smoking a cigarette. She went over to have words with him about the hypocrisy she then saw 2 or 3 different charity vests in the back seat. After a few words he gave her her money back. I think he hides now when he sees her coming!!

Sadderday

I wouldnt go out of my way to avoid them and I would always throw a few coppers in the bucket especially if theres kids doing it BUT.... in dunnes on saturday I had only my card.. didnt even have a euro for the trolley- the security guard gave me a trolley.. anyway, went to a till with no packers, suddenly a packer appears and asks if I want help ... I said no thanks, he said are you sure and I said thanks a million but Im grand. spotted a bucket there anyway, he went off and i said to myself that I'd look in my purse for even a couple of 1c coins...

The packer on the till beside me was doing someone elses shopping and he says to me loud as day.. 'you can still make a donation you know' ... i was so annoyed, its so rude! he was an adult and I was embarrassed as it was. So i found a 1c and 10c in my purse and threw it into his bucket... livid that I was spoken to like that where I choose to shop.

Pumpkinseeds

I've bag packed for a local animal charity a few times, because they really needed the money and all the money went on the animals needs not peoples salaries(everyone volunteered). Then Dunnes banned all bag packs by animal charities. I give to charities that benefit the local community not anyone elses community and I do find it annoying to see bag packs for non local groups.

As for packing, I always say I don't need any help but I'll drop some coins in the bucket/box. The worst experience I had doing bag packs was when I asked a woman if she would like me to pack her bags, she looked at me for a very long minute then said 'Alright,you look reasonably competent) I was 40 for Christ's sake:mad:

WilyCoyote

Smidge wrote: »

...........on top of the bread

on top of grapes

OldNotWIse

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

I've bag packed for a local animal charity a few times, because they really needed the money and all the money went on the animals needs not peoples salaries(everyone volunteered). Then Dunnes banned all bag packs by animal charities. I give to charities that benefit the local community not anyone elses community and I do find it annoying to see bag packs for non local groups.

As for packing, I always say I don't need any help but I'll drop some coins in the bucket/box. The worst experience I had doing bag packs was when I asked a woman if she would like me to pack her bags, she looked at me for a very long minute then said 'Alright,you look reasonably competent) I was 40 for Christ's sake:mad:

I'd give to an animal charity alright.

Dravokivich

WilyCoyote wrote: »

on top of grapes

This is turning out to be a really big bag of stuff. Hope it's sturdy enough for ye.

doolox

I try my best to avoid paying them off by packing my own bags and getting out in self service or other queues. I have spoken to managers about this practice and some supermarkets allow only collections at the door rather than at each checkout but it is not as common as it once was.

That and charity muggers get up my nose.

shruikan2553

Next time I see them I must buy some tissues, Vaseline and a magazine while just staring at them.

MadsL

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

Then Dunnes banned all bag packs by animal charities.

That incident with the Jack Russell and the sausages huh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKjPosgpxlw

rubadub

Fishyfreak wrote: »

Jaysus, just throw 50c in the tub yas pack of miserable [EMAIL="b@stards"]b@stards[/EMAIL].

Surely the true miserable bastards are the parents of the kids who will not fork out the money for their kids trip or new jersey themselves.

Its not much different to people putting their kids out to beg on the street, I'd have more respect if they begged/packed themselves rather than trying to get more pity from people by making their own kids do it.

Santa Cruz

shruikan2553 wrote: »

Next time I see them I must buy some tissues, Vaseline and a magazine while just staring at them.

Maybe you could dig up a few old copies of Mandy to throw in as well

Pumpkinseeds

MadsL wrote: »

That incident with the Jack Russell and the sausages huh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKjPosgpxlw

As far as I know it was a psycho in Galway who was refused an animal by a local animal charity. Said psycho is allegedly from a well to do business family and he took to protesting outside the supermarket where the charity was doing a bag pack. He made a lot of fuss and after that Dunnes banned all animal charities bag packing in all their stores.

So 1 wan*er gets his own way and every animal charity that desperately needed the funds raised from bag packs lost out. Hope he dies screaming.

I don't mind most charities collecting by bag packing, even though I never actually let them pack the bags. They'll always get whatever spare shillings I have.

I really really object to the Killbogger Village School Of Irish Dancing Camogie Sea Scouts getting in my space and making me feel guilty because I don't want to sponsor their yearly hike up Everest. You're not a charity, you're fund raising for non essentials off people who are struggling to make the essentials these days, and you're really annoying me.

123balltv

I say no thanks but I'll give you something anyway
it does annoy me how they still stand at the till often in pairs leaving me
no room to pack im claustrophobic at the best of times

evolving_doors

sorry I carry cards only