Grocery Bagging Customs in VI.

I don't think they get paid to do that other than the tips. Hopefully they are banking their money for their college years. I usually speak to them and asked them of their college plans. Most are receptive and industrious. I have no problem tipping $2 most times at all. At least they are working and getting the work ethic down, rather than causing trouble in the streets.

RL

Right on Ronnie. That's my take as well. They are working learning the value of money and to make the decisions associated with it. We usually tip @ $2. It's been like this for a long time on STX, respect.

I'm on STX and we always tip 2-3 dollars for our weekly shopping trip. At Plaza they do NOT get paid. And I saw a sign at the front desk recently reminding them to bring in their report cards, so evidently there are some criteria to get/keep the jobs.

The young people we've dealt with are pleasant and well spoken, and they work hard. All ok in my book.

I have never run into a Grocery Bagger, I didn't like. These Kids are polite, helpful and are working for their money.
I do not have the time or inclination to watch and see how much they make in an hour. I would suggest if your pockets are that deep, go to a store and shop till you drop and bag yourself. Cost U Less (that's a trip) no bags but a great assortment of box's.

My experience is much like Ronnie's on STT. The kids I meet are friendly, respectful, and usually have post high school plans. I give $2-$3 dollars per visit at such stores and sometimes more on a really large order or for very good service.

I think that kids who are enterprising enough to get a well-paying job without sweating have already demonstrated skill and discernment and will probably go far. Some of them may even end up as part of the non-sweating white-collared middle class.

Best,

Islandlola

It makes a difference when you have to hussle for your pay versus a guaranteed minimum per hour.

If you want to slack off, go ahead, your the only one that will lose.

On STT, Food Center is the one that always has kids to take the groceries out to the car. They're not as busy, I've noticed so not sure how much they make but I always tip them & they've always been polite & nice. It's a good way for them to make some money in a safe environment. Pueblo can be spottier as far as helping out to the car but I hate Pueblo & try to avoid it. Plaza Extra has OK kids but I've run into some snotty ones there on a couple of occasions but that's definitely the minority and I try to avoid that store anyway, if possible.

I always tip, sometimes more than others. Like in any other service job, if the service is good, I tip more. The one store I always had an issue with was Marina Market. The kids there are just too young. They apparently don't get any training (for instance bread in the bag with the cans, etc.) I always re-bagged my groceries when shopping there. The young guys at Food Town and Plaza here on STX are always very pleasant. I did hand the young man my green bag at Plaza one day, and when I glanced over at him noticed he had bagged everything in plastic and put the plastic bags in the green bag. I explained the concept of the green bag, and it was the first he had heard of it.

i always give them a 5 and i give the guys that "help" at the dumpsters a couple of bucks as well

Great responses and I agree for the most part. I tip when the kids are friendly and when they are responsive and pleasant which they mostly are. I just got really mad when I saw two of them fighting over who got to bag groceries for one customer (who was evidently a tipper... while ignoring another who evidently was not). It made me wonder about the whole tipping policy, how they were paid, etc. I was told they were paid a base plus tips.

If they are learning the value of the dollar and an hour worked... and doing so in a safe work environment after school... I'm all for that too and I think bagging is an excellent part-time job for kids in school the world around! What I'm worried about is that they are dropping out of school to do this work, earning $12 to $20.00 an hour (granted they'd have to hustle to do that so they'd earn it) and then... they turn 21 and are no longer wanted as baggers and are unwilling to go to any job that doesn't pay what they are now accustomed to. Most young men with bagging skills and no high school education can't earn $15.00 an hour at most entry level job.

I'm REALLY glad to hear Pueblo has a report card check and they have to do well in school to keep the job... if that is the case then it is fantastic. I think I'm going to ask at Plaza the next time I'm there to see if that is true for them as well. I really get upset to see a 17 year old boy that should be in high school working at 10:00 in the morning when he should be in class.

With all the discussion about our young people not having enough opportunity and training, I wish them all the help they can get and I surely would rather see them working. I just hope that they are truly planning for college and packing away the dough for a better future.

Thanks for the replys. I guess it must be common practice in STT as well. I've never seen it done anywhere else.

Sorry.. I got Pueblo and Plaza mixed up. Plaza has the report card check? I'm gonna ask about that, I think that is the perfect thing to assure that the kids are indeed staying in school. Pueblo should do that too.

Some baggers get minimum wage (I thing or less) plus tips, and some are just volunteers and depend on the tips. They get tips from 0.50 to $5 "IF" they are lucky. Most tips are $1 or so, sometimes they get nothing at all. We might look at it as they are getting $12 - $15 an hour plus a base check, but different things could happened. One hour might be slow, and they get nothing or $2-4 and the next they might make $12. Though we might tip, not everyone is as generous.

You would rarely see a bagger working there after high school. Someone mention that Plaza asks for their Report Cards, I think Plaza encourages them to go to college, I think they even help them a little in going to college. Some kids that work at Plaza, end up going to College after High School, and some stay on island and get a job. Of course they don't expect the $12-14 they "may" have gotten in tips, though.

Cant you move up from baggier to truck unload guy or shelf stock guy.

One of my high school classmates was a bagger at Pueblo then. Today, at least before Pueblo was sold, he was the Personnel Manager for all of the Pueblos in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Hope that answers your thoughts.

RL

Thanks Ronnie I thought a good old fashion carer was possible for some. You don't have to go to college to not sweat for a living. Learning the trade of plumbing has been very good to me. I have traveled the world quit a bit. Been able to save money, when most of my college friends are in debit. Twelve years after high school I still make twice as much as most of them. Sorry for the off topic, but my point is not going to college dose not make you a loser you do that on your own degree or not. It probable helps with typing fast and good grammar for this message board. Well you only live once.

The main points are these young people learn how to hold a job (be on time, appropriate clothes etc) and how to give good customer service. And that working harder means more reward.

Some of the best jobs on this island are in construction; plumbing, electrical, masonry, .. especially tile masons! The trades are great avenues for rewarding careers, and I don't think college is a requirement either however the top people in the trades still need to have good business skills (estimating costs, time, working with helpers, billing, negociating, etc. they should be able to read and know enough math to get their job done. This means they should have a high school education or equivalent GED. I understand that a huge percentage of local young men drop out of high school here by the 9th grade and that our graduating classes here are 80% young ladies while our 8th grade classrooms are 50/50. That is so tragic and I certainly hope it is true that the kids at Plaza have to show proof of being still in school and making grades to hold their jobs cause that is a great motivator for them to stay in school.

Learning a trade (unless they go off to a school to learn) usually means accepting a job working under someone else and learning the ins and outs from them. That probably means accepting less pay per hour than baggers are obviously making even if they aren't getting min wage along with tips. I hope everyone is right that these kids are aware of that, banking their money, planning for their futures and not expecting that they are going to be able to move directly into a high dollar ph job. Hey... come to think of it... they could do that by just heading down to government lot and getting into the car washing business. I pay $20.00 plus tip to the boys down there to wash my car every week.

What is wrong with paying them a fair and competitive wage, only tipping when the service is exemplary, allowing people to take their own carts full of groceries out if they want to , and maybe the company offering scholarships and bonuses to their top employees of the year..... that sounds so much more real world... and would prepare them better for what they will really encounter later. I'm dissappointed at the store owners now because if these kids are working for free in hopes of tips then the business is benefitting at no cost to them... no insurance, no benefits, no incentive, no obligation to the kids at all. And now I want to tip the little check out girls too because they are working hard but not benefitting from the tips like their bagger counterparts.

Oh well... point being that reality is harsh and these kids have enough challenges ahead of them, I just hope they are not thinking that they can live the rest of their lives as baggers and car washers and I hate to see them not getting their high school diploma and/or not thinking it is important for them to do so.

Everyone have a wonderful Spring Break... I'm headed north to spend the weekend with family. I already can't wait to be back.

Some young people have to drop out of school to help support family for various reasons. I would hate to see a young person penalized and not given a job because they are unable to stay in school. If no jobs are availible to them because they are not in school then they may have to consider earning their money in a less honorable way.

I may have told this story before. Sorry if I have. My husband and I were out one night and he discovered that had a large amount of cash on him. He hid it in the car and then forgot about it. A few days later I went to Plaza Extra. The bag boy was putting the groceries in the car and the cash had fallen out of its hiding place. The young man picked up the cash and tapped me on the shoulder and handed it to me with very wide eyes. I would have never known if he took the money.

"allowing people to take their own carts full of groceries out if they want to "

Carts are expensive and would get stolen, a constant problem stateside as well. I don't blame the stores here for not letting it happen.

Do the "Crucians" tip as much as 50 cents or more to the baggers? I do remember that in the restaurant business that they did not tip very much when I was a server, in fact about 5% was good. I also heard it from other waiters/waitresses on the island.

As someone born and raised here, I've always given them a dollar ever since I was old enough to drive to the supermarket, I think that's the typical "going rate" for the bagger tip, but I'm not sure.

DL,
It all depends on how old you are. If the going rate was $1.00, 10 years ago, maybe you have to dig a little deeper today. I would assume that "all would tip according to the number of bags that the bagger had loaded in their car". I'm sure these kids get stiffed more than we think! It's not fair, but it is a life lesson. So if you have a few extra bucks give it up, it will make you feel better, that you're helping a good kid out.

I usually give them a dollar also, but if I have a lot of groceries I'll give them $2.00 or $3.00 just depending on how much groceries they bagged and put in the car.