Going to the grocery store

Going to the grocery store.  Some people hate it, but I don't.  I don't mind going at all.  It's just paying high amounts of money at the end that I hate.

I think the ways that stores deal with the baskets (buggies) in the parking lot is always interesting.  Yeah, I know, if I find grocery baskets interesting, I need some help in my life. :) 

One store I go to has those return basket areas all over the parking lot.  No matter where you park, you aren't more than 4 parking spaces away from a return spot, making it very easy to put the basket in a safe location.

Another store I go to only has two basket return spots in their entire parking lot.  I never end up near one.  I either walk it back to the store front or sometimes leave it in the parking lot.  I hate doing that, but my kids sitting alone in a hot car is worth more than the time it takes to wheel the basket back up to the store.

Another store makes you pay a quarter for a basket and you must take the basket back to the store's door to get your quarter back.  We are all cheapskates, so it works.  Never is a basket to be found sitting in the parking lot.  It's a small parking lot, so it isn't too inconvenient, but I still don't like having to do that with my 4 year old in tow.

I remember a day when grocery stores hired baggers.  They bagged the food for you - not the cashier.  They pushed the basket with your groceries out to your car and loaded it all into your car for you.  Some baggers accepted tips, others did not.  Now, if there is a bagger, he puts your stuff into a plastic sack while chatting about school or co-workers to the cashier.  As soon as your last purchase is in the sack, he walks off, never offering to help.

To be honest though, if a grocery store has a self-checkout area, I use it and by-pass the cashier and bagger all together, never giving them the opportunity to help me out.

Customer service - I guess it goes two ways.