I hope this blog doesn't turn into me dwelling on all the little things I find challenging here in Brazil. But this one really made me shake my head. Let me know if you have the same response when you finish reading this...
I am VERY excited that a wholesale store has just opened within about 5 km's of our place (like Costco: Buy in bulk, get good deals) It allows me to get fantastic prices that I previously had to head into Fortaleza for, and allows me to avoid the heat and congestion of Caucaia. The only down side is that you have to bring your own bag/boxes or buy them. (Effectively ruining my free source of garbage bags, but I'll get over that.)
Back to the story... I finish my shopping at this sparkling new store and unload my purchases at the checkout, remembering to ask for my bags at the beginning. (Trying to be extra efficient.) I even lay out my purchases in the order I want them packed! I pay, walk to the other end to retrieve my already-packed cart... Only to find that absolutely everything was loose in the cart, with the bags neatly folded... at the bottom.
Before I knew it, I was tearing a strip off the packer, wondering why in the WORLD he would not have USED the bags I so begrudgingly bought. (On the plus side, I will take it as a sign that I am becoming more and more comfortable with Portuguese, seeing the words flew out of my mouth long before my brain realized what my mouth was doing!)
The response from this poor flustered kid? "Umm.... we're not allowed to...." Is what I believe he said as he bolted away at an impressive speed.
So with a shake of my head that rivalled my puppies wake-up head shake, I turned and went back to my cart, unloading everything from the cart to get the bags, then packing everything into my newly purchased bags, then back into the cart.
Are you shaking your head yet?
I am still trying to decide if I will ask a manager WHY they have grocery packers on their payroll if they don't (can't??) actually pack groceries. Then again, I have learned that for the most part, WHY questions are an exercise in futility here. Generally the only result of asking 'why' is an elevation in my blood pressure.
I guess next time I will just have to modify my check-out counter strategy.
Hahaha...yes this made me laugh and shake my head :) If you ever happen to find out the answer to that boy's job description, please share! Thanks for writing, Kim! I enjoy reading what you have to say!!
ReplyDeleteHmm. My groceries have never been bagged for me here. I'm gussing that if I questioned it, the cashier would probably do a double take at the foreigner who apparently doesn't know better, and say it's not part of the job. They are pretty good about handing you the empty bags though!
ReplyDeleteI guess I should appreciate it more when bagging service does exist. (It doesn't always.) The thing that completely baffled me in this situation is the fact that they had clearly hired several people to bag groceries. They were all nicely lined up at the end of the checkouts. But they are not allowed to bag groceries?!? Wouldn't it save the company money if they didn't hire people to do a job they are not allowed to do? I've got a bulk trip planned for next week (we are hosting a church retreat... for 50 people!) so I'll see what happens then.
ReplyDeleteOh Kim this sounds just like Heidi's experiences in Brazil as well.
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