i refuse to bag my own groceries. i was a box girl for six months about a year and some change ago and it was dreadful, soul crushing work. seriously, big grocery corporations are the epitome of evil. hate hate hate.
i think the west coast equivalent to kroger is ralphs and i hate ralphs. you always have to wait in a three mile line just to pay too much for your bread because they find it necessary to hire fourteen box girls/boys to sit there at the end of the check stand and stare at each other's numerous facial piercings all day.
i hate vons/safeway as well, but for vastly different reasons. when i worked there, i had strep throat one time and my boss told me that if i went home early she was going to fire me. i said "do you want all these customers to get strep throat? 'cause they will...it IS contagious. that's how i got it, you know," and she goes "well, that's not really your problem is it? how about you go bring in carts from the lot instead" keep in mind, this was in the middle of summer and it was triple digit weather, and i was made to wear long sleeves to cover my tattoo (but now i'm seeing full sleeves going uncovered and box girls wearing shorts to work..what?!) and oh, i HAD STREP THROAT. i ended up going home and keeping my job because i told one of the other supervisors i felt like i was going to pass out, and lucky for me, she actually had a heart and at least a little bit of compassion.
but at any rate...my point is: grocery stores suck at life and everything encompassed therein.