I’ve blogged about grocery shopping and/or my grocery store a few times. Usually, it’s to complain. My complaints are not unfounded — it’s true that our store changes things (products, aisles, sections, everything) around far too often, and that the baggers continue to put things like raw meat in bags with things like fresh produce.

But, in the interest of fairness and niceness, I figured it was about time I blogged about a few things I actually appreciate about the grocery store I frequent.

1. Self-checkout

I am a big huge fan of the self-checkout lanes. In part, because I have the freedom to make sure the raw meat gets bagged separately, as is right and proper. But also because if I don’t have an overflowing cart, it’s usually faster for me to use a self-checkout register, where there is usually no line. Even scanning and bagging the groceries myself, I can get out of the store much more quickly than if I were standing in line at one of the full-service registers.

Admittedly, my progress can be held up by a certain 4-year-old who loves to “help” me scan the groceries (which usually results in an electronic voice scolding us to “Place item on belt” — L. just isn’t fast enough getting the scanned items to the conveyor). I’ve also run into trouble the one two three multiple times I have caused the machine to freeze up. I think I’m just too fast for the cash register sometimes and it gets overloaded, in which case I need to go pay at a different terminal.

But other than that, self-checkout is most awesome. So thank you, grocery store, for providing five or so self-checkout lanes for my convenience.

2. Free food samples

Now that summer is here, I more often than not have a kid or two along with me when I do my grocery shopping. My boys are pretty good shoppers, but still — is grocery shopping anybody’s favorite activity? Especially 11- and 4-year-old boys? I think not. So I find it incredibly nice of our grocery store to offer free samples during busy weekdays. The sample tables are scattered throughout the store, and there are often four or even five on any given day.  Just last week, C. (11) enjoyed part of a hot dog, some barbecue ribs, and some blue corn tortilla chips during our shopping trip. And only a few days ago, a nice lady gave L. (4) two yummy cookies, which got me through at least the next three aisles.

Yes, I realize that these samples are intended to persuade me to purchase additional food. But I’m a pretty staunch list-shopper. I make my list, I shop from it, and I go home. However, if they give us yummy food and a substantial coupon, I might be persuadable.

Either way, giving my kids free food samples while we shop is definitely cool. If I’m lucky, I can even get out of making lunch when we get home, because they’ve munched their way through the store.

3. Tall people

I am not tall. I like to say I’m 5’3″, but I might actually be closer to 5’2″. Which means that while I can reach the top shelf at the grocery store, I can not reach the top-shelf items if the front row or two have been taken and the remaining items are at least halfway back on that uppermost shelf. (Yes, Black Beans and Grape Nuts, I’m talking to you.)

As it turns out, when I find myself in the “I’m too short to reach the food I need” dilemma, there is often a tall person in the aisle with me. A kind tall person, no less. And even though I tend to be quiet and shy, when it comes to obtaining the ingredients for this week’s Lime Chicken Tacos, I will speak up and ask for help. I’ve never had a tall person refuse my request, glare at me, or harumph about handing some canned goods to me.

For that I am grateful.

Okay, technically, I know that my grocery store does not intentionally provide tall shoppers to help short people like me. But clearly, they researched the area’s demographics and situated their store in such a way that there will nearly always be some helpful tall people around. Right?

Well, either way, tall, helpful people are very much appreciated by short, beans-buying customers such as myself.

*****

What about you? What is one thing your grocery store does right?