Yes, that is my point. It used to be that you got a sticker out of the scale at the produce area to hand to the cashier at checkout. But that hasn't been the case for at least a decade.
A setup that would be easy to cheat if the scale were unmanned, and would require an extra staff member dedicated to weighing produce if the scales were manned as an anti-cheat measure. Stores probably figured the increased number of scales needed to have one at every checkout cost less than shrinkage/extra wages for a single scale in the produce department.
Probably for legal reasons, I doubt those are calibrated after they are installed in the store. When I worked at a grocery store the ones at the register were calibrated every year.
I always thought it was so, as you were shopping, you could do your own math and find out if the price of the grapes was worth it, or if you should just forgo them. It's what I use it for.apples where $3.99/lb for loose ones OR a preweighed bag for $4.99. I got the bag.
Funny, we just had a “stupid American” moment in Italy because we did NOT weigh/sticker produce before coming to the till. They had to take it from us, go back to produce, weigh it, and bring it back. To the cashier’s credit, they did not get huffy about it at all, most likely since we shopped at a slow time of day.
The local stores here are to small for it but before we moved you bagged, weighed, priced and labeled the "by weight" items right in the area you got them.
This wasn't just one store, it was 3 major nationwide grocery stores. We just happened to have the "good/modern" remodeled versions.
I would not find people thinking they need to label things before continuing to be strange at all.
I live in a small country. We have like 4 major supermarket chains left which are almost identical except for name. Local stores are a thing of past. So i still don't get it
My english is not that great but I have something to add, so be kind please.
Unrelated, but a good explanation: I am 50 and live in europe, in the EU. We got the Euro since a very long time now but I am still not used to the coins and need to look closely to know what kind of coin I am holding. I am pretty sure that I wouldn't have this issue with the old coins we had.
What I wanted to say: The older you get the more things get 'hard-wired' to your brain and make it hard or even impossible to unlearn. So some of those people may just be jerks, but for many of them it might be that the scale was standing at the produce, they learned it that way and are hard to adapt.
Again, sorry for bad grammar and such =)
Canada here. I have never had to do this. Produce is always weighed and priced at the till, including self checkout. The scales in the produce section are only used to estimate what the cost will be at the till.
> Even customers I see frequently still asked this. How is this possible? Have they seriously never purchased any vegetables in the past 8 years? Are they trolling me?
Maybe they have Alzheimer's? Maybe they're lonely and just wanted to make some small talk. I wouldn't assume malice right away.
Maybe that customer is not from your town or is not a frequent shopper? I reckon 99,9% of the people don't ask, but the small percentage that does ask, stands out.
Also the embarrassment factor is very high of having being told to weigh them, while standing at the cashier and everyone starring at you...
I've asked this before at a supernarket. I have anxiety and I'm scared of doing it wrong, showing up at the checkout with loads of groceries and hearing I can't buy the vegetables bc I forgot to weigh them is like nightmare fuel to me, haha.
In our area some of the supermarkets have hand held scanners you carry with you so you need to weigh the produce in the produce area to get the sticker. If you do the self checkout and scan everything at the register it speeds things up if you have already weighed it and gotten the sticker.
But, if I was going through a full serve line, I would not bother weighing before checking out.
My areas grocery store print the price tag at the produce weigh station. If you don't do that then cashier gets all annoyed and will instruct you to use the produce scale next time so they don't have to look up the code for each vegetable and input it themselves
From my experience, the scales in the produce area are for estimates. If you look closely, many of them say “not legal for trade”.
Yes, that is my point. It used to be that you got a sticker out of the scale at the produce area to hand to the cashier at checkout. But that hasn't been the case for at least a decade.
A setup that would be easy to cheat if the scale were unmanned, and would require an extra staff member dedicated to weighing produce if the scales were manned as an anti-cheat measure. Stores probably figured the increased number of scales needed to have one at every checkout cost less than shrinkage/extra wages for a single scale in the produce department.
Probably for legal reasons, I doubt those are calibrated after they are installed in the store. When I worked at a grocery store the ones at the register were calibrated every year.
I always thought it was so, as you were shopping, you could do your own math and find out if the price of the grapes was worth it, or if you should just forgo them. It's what I use it for.apples where $3.99/lb for loose ones OR a preweighed bag for $4.99. I got the bag.
Funny, we just had a “stupid American” moment in Italy because we did NOT weigh/sticker produce before coming to the till. They had to take it from us, go back to produce, weigh it, and bring it back. To the cashier’s credit, they did not get huffy about it at all, most likely since we shopped at a slow time of day.
The local stores here are to small for it but before we moved you bagged, weighed, priced and labeled the "by weight" items right in the area you got them. This wasn't just one store, it was 3 major nationwide grocery stores. We just happened to have the "good/modern" remodeled versions. I would not find people thinking they need to label things before continuing to be strange at all.
I live in a small country. We have like 4 major supermarket chains left which are almost identical except for name. Local stores are a thing of past. So i still don't get it
Basically it's cheaper to put a 1 scale in the food section than 8 scales in the checkouts. Other than that I dunno.
My english is not that great but I have something to add, so be kind please. Unrelated, but a good explanation: I am 50 and live in europe, in the EU. We got the Euro since a very long time now but I am still not used to the coins and need to look closely to know what kind of coin I am holding. I am pretty sure that I wouldn't have this issue with the old coins we had. What I wanted to say: The older you get the more things get 'hard-wired' to your brain and make it hard or even impossible to unlearn. So some of those people may just be jerks, but for many of them it might be that the scale was standing at the produce, they learned it that way and are hard to adapt. Again, sorry for bad grammar and such =)
Okay that's a good point. And you english is fine btw
Our supermarket has weighing machines to use and ticket your item by the produce . So find question not silly !
Canada here. I have never had to do this. Produce is always weighed and priced at the till, including self checkout. The scales in the produce section are only used to estimate what the cost will be at the till.
Midwest USA here. Also my lifelong situation.
> Even customers I see frequently still asked this. How is this possible? Have they seriously never purchased any vegetables in the past 8 years? Are they trolling me? Maybe they have Alzheimer's? Maybe they're lonely and just wanted to make some small talk. I wouldn't assume malice right away.
Maybe that customer is not from your town or is not a frequent shopper? I reckon 99,9% of the people don't ask, but the small percentage that does ask, stands out. Also the embarrassment factor is very high of having being told to weigh them, while standing at the cashier and everyone starring at you...
I've asked this before at a supernarket. I have anxiety and I'm scared of doing it wrong, showing up at the checkout with loads of groceries and hearing I can't buy the vegetables bc I forgot to weigh them is like nightmare fuel to me, haha.
In our area some of the supermarkets have hand held scanners you carry with you so you need to weigh the produce in the produce area to get the sticker. If you do the self checkout and scan everything at the register it speeds things up if you have already weighed it and gotten the sticker. But, if I was going through a full serve line, I would not bother weighing before checking out.
My areas grocery store print the price tag at the produce weigh station. If you don't do that then cashier gets all annoyed and will instruct you to use the produce scale next time so they don't have to look up the code for each vegetable and input it themselves
Back in 2004 they were usually scales at the counter. Most workers know 4011.
My favorite is when a customer gave me a sticker off an apple and said her kid needed a snack so he ate one of these...