Bag Your Own

Every Madrid grocery store I have ever been in makes you bag your own groceries. After you are done shopping and waiting in line, there is a frenetic rush on the part of the customer to unload his/her stuff on the counter, start fumbling for plastic bags, open them (they are all stuck together), start bagging your own groceries, get your money out to pay the checker, finish bagging your own stuff, and then try to get the hell out of there. All the while there is another customer right behind you pressing forward - willing you on.

They really need to catch a clue from the American model. In the U.S., you stand there very comfortably watching someone else do the bagging. You can, 1) look for more crap to buy in the checkout line, 2) make sure they are not overcharging you for something (maybe this is why they don’t have baggers in Spain), 3) get your damn money out so you can pay, and 4) just generally have a nicer, calm experience. Even the Corte Ingles ( the fancy store in Madrid) does not have baggers.

It really would be a win-win situation if they started hiring baggers. The line would move faster, the customer would feel special and important (another thing they have to work on in Spain), there would be more jobs for very grateful Spain dwellers, and …. the only other thing I have is - I say that they should have them.