Tuesday, February 10, 2009

i realize i'm not always the most environmentally attentive person but...

it irritates me when customers:
-demand a bag for one or two small items
-when asked if they need a bag respond with a cheery, "why not?" (as if they are completely ignorant of today's evironmental concerns)
-buy a reusable bag and then make you fold it neatly and put it in a plastic sack
-require unnecessary double bagging

Because HPB promotes recycling, conserving and general environmental awareness, we encourage customers to decline bags. It's silly, but to help me pass the time at the register I play a little game with myself. I try to guess each persons response to my posed question: "do you need a bag for that?" Over time I've developed my own stereotypes based on my little game. Not in a bad way, just as a way of predicting their answers. I would say I'm probably right about 84.3% of the time.:) Every once in awhile someone really surprises me with their response. I've become so good at this game, that I can even tell by the way a person pauses whether they will respond with a yes, no or why not. The things I do to pass the time.:)

It seems to me that declining plastic bags for small purchases, using reusable bags as much as possible and re-purposing the paper and plastic bags that you do aquire are all simple ways to conserve and to contribute to environmental awareness.

5 comments:

Alaina said...

Yes! And that's funny that you know the choice before it's made. :)

Stephanie said...

Oh those customers...so cheery about something annoying. They just don't think about it all. Sometimes I actually wanted to question the person's choice, "Seriously? You really need a bag for these two paperbacks?"

liz nelson said...

i have had to stop myself from saying that before, steph.:) i've been tempted many times.

Heather L. said...

How fun! I would so love to come and watch! :) What gets me is the cashiers at Walmart who like to fill a bag so full and then double bag it -- not just one, but several. I'm wondering if they have any idea about the evironment.

Andrew said...

You should select some of the photos and quotes from the presentation at this link, http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016, and use them with your buyers... and sweetly say something like: "You can have a plastic bag if you like, but do you know the harm they cause our environment?" while pointing at the pictures of birds and animals stuck in plastic bags...