Location: 481 River Rd, Edgewater, NJ
Not the most exciting news in the world but this is MY Acme so I'm pretty excited about it. Confused as to why the checkouts weren't replaced when Quality Built went up on the walls last June. Better late than never I suppose. Hoping the floors are getting replaced next, at least around the permitter and in Produce. I still find it surprising this store did not get a floor to ceiling remodel like we've seen at some other locations. Business here still seems to be on the rise, which cannot be said for a lot of Acmes out there. I've been a regular shopper here for nearly 20 years and there are days that the Acme is far busier than the Pathmark ever was.
Acme checkouts are among the nicest in the grocery store industry.
As much as I love the new registers, I absolutely HATE to see the end of Pathmark's unique "bag your own" checkouts. I prefer to bag my own groceries so I often get in line at one of these registers. Even if the line is longer than other, it moves much faster since the cashier doesn't have to do the bagging.
It was hard getting a good picture here without being too obvious. The registers have two belts for bringing groceries back to the bagging area. The cashier sends the first customer's items down the one belt and then flips a divider to send the next customer's items down the other belt. It's genius. I've only ever seen these checkouts in Pathmarks.
If they had those types of checkouts at our ShopRite, my dad would love it-- he's a self bagger.
ReplyDeleteThe Mahwah A&P now ACME had them before the recent remodel
ReplyDeleteI truly hate ending up at a store where the only choice is having the cashier bag. I end up with 37 items in 28 bags.
ReplyDeleteDitto. I always bag my own groceries when I go to the store. If the cashier bags it I end up rearranging all of them most of the time.
DeleteI remember the Food Basics in south Paterson had them, and they really were pretty great.
ReplyDeleteAlso remember them in the Edwards stores (at least the one odd one we had up here in NY), which made sense as they were then a "warehouse type" store where you had to do it yourself.
ReplyDeleteAlso had to bring or buy bags (or they sold cardboard tote boxes for about $0.25 that could be reused many times).
While many stores the cashier may bag the items, you don't have to let them do it - just grab the stuff once they scan it before they have a chance to pack it and do it the way you want to. Most would be happy to have the help, after all it makes their job easier.
And then you have the customers with a good $200 order just stand there doing nothing to help the cashier. Their prerogative for sure but it winds up bringing the line to a standstill. Signage hanging above and on the register lights called out these checkout lanes as bag-your-own so only shoppers willing to do so would use them creating a very fast and efficient checkout process.
DeleteThe problem is in stores like Wegmans where the checker stands force the cashier to bag as they scan. If every store had a belt on the side, I'd bag my own everywhere.
DeleteI tell the cashiers at Wegmans I'll be bagging my own. They'll happily pass the items to the rear counter. Wegmans is one store where I occasionally let the cashier do the bagging. They're trained more thoroughly and can usually be trusted not to crush all your stuff.
DeleteI was recently shopping at Wegmans. I bought 18 cups of Chobani yogurt, a gallon of milk, 3 lbs of apples, 2 bags of candy, and 2 containers of Kozy Shack pudding. The cashier gave us 5 bags, and the milk was not in one of them.
DeleteAll of that would have fit in 2 bags!
Cub Foods had the checkstands with the divider (customer bags their own groceries) and so does Food For Less (ditto).
ReplyDeleteBagging is a lost art. It use to be part of the training process. It was done with a se se if pride. Acme sponsored bagging contests each year, with a company wide playoff. Why? Because it prioritized an important customer service function,bags were expensive,so dont waste them ,they promoted team work and they were fun.
ReplyDeleteAll the shoprites around me have them. Most people I know bag their own groceries.
ReplyDelete