Yes, it’s a penny for a carrier bag.
As of July, our store has implemented a campaign which is intended to reduce the consumption of plastic carrier bags by charging a penny for them. This penny is then donated to a charity which re-plants the trees which are cut down to make the bags in the first place. It’s all part of a bid to prevent global warming, or something, I’m not sure. It’s another way to make money.
You would not believe the amount of people who complain about having to pay this penny. I at first was skeptical, thinking that nobody would be intolerant of having to pay such a small amount, thinking, “That’s not going to reduce the effects of climate change at all!” How wrong I was. One customer had spent over £30 on books in our store, only to ask for a refund on principle of not paying a penny for a bag. It amuses me that these customers are all too soon to complain about global warming, yet they still expect their free bags as if they are entitled to them. At the end of the day, the company is producing the bags, they have the right to charge for them. You don’t “earn the right to a free gift”, y’know what I mean?
I guess the plan did work as expected. A lot less people use carrier bags. I’m sick and tired of hearing, “I wouldn’t normally have one, but I’ve forgotten mine,” though. Don’t freakin’ complain about having to pay the penny if you could’ve taken steps to avoid needing to buy one. If you sleep in and miss the bus, you don’t blame the bus driver, right?
3 Responses to “Yes, it’s a penny for a carrier bag.”
Charging people for plastic bags is something of a PR-stunt, as a company you might purchase less bags, but the bags are actually made from a byproduct of other industry (Processing natural gasses if I remember right).
The core components of plastic bags will still be made, but it’ll just be put to other use, the entire “Planting a tree” thing is strictly to look good to customers, who it seems are not the happiest people to be charged a whole penny. (Which I believe is the lowest amount I have seen a store charge for plastic bags.)
By Silent on Sep 1, 2008
You don’t need to tell me that the company I work for aren’t interested in combatting global warming. If they spot any opportunity to make money, they will. It’s a total rip. My argument is more with the customers who get arsey over a penny than the company’s morals behind it.
Regardless, the bags are still being given to us, thus still being made. It’s just that to give them away, we must charge. There are regular customers who we discreetly don’t charge but that’s beside the point again.
Nevertheless, other stores are charging 5p for bags and we do provide re-usable bags for ten pence. I have an issue with the kind of abuse they dish up for me when all I ever did was followed the rules. And all over a penny? They need to get a life. They’ll find anything to complain about given the chance.
Thank you for your response.
By Lanares on Sep 1, 2008
Lol… Working in retail you become pretty desensitised to how people act, or in most cases overreact, but it’s cases such as these that can still shock and leave your mind reeling when you go home at night. You know it shouldn’t bother you; but it does.
As you say, it’s the sheer hypocrisy and petty-mindedness of these people. I was working in retail before it became fashionable to be concerned about global warming and the company line was that every customer should leave with a bag; free advertising of the best kind. This was clearly reflected in the customers viewpoint as well as you would soon hear about it if you forgot to pack their stuff in a bag. Then it turned and suddenly these companies were the villains for their excessive use of the plastic bags that customers so bitterly complained about not receiving.
The companies needed to do something. As Silent pointed out, the exact effectiveness of reducing the amount of plastic bags in use is hardly going to make a dent considering that most of those that complain about their use still jump in their car to travel a short distance to the shops. As it was said though, it’s a clever move by the companies, they need to be seen to be making an effort so they penalise those who don’t. They increase profits while appearing like a caring and responsive company. Hat’s off to them as it is the art of PR at its finest.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t help when you’re faced with an outraged customer. This is the same one who condemned your company for it’s wastefulness, the same one who forced them into action and now they’re angry at “you” because of the outcome that they have helped shape. This becomes especially irritating when they’re complaining over such a small amount when they’ve just spent twenty pounds on a few overpriced complete-trash celebrity-gossip magazines that are “such good value for money”. Bless them…
By UHTMilk on Sep 15, 2008