As you know, bringing your own shopping bags is not only environmentally friendly, but also expected in Germany. You can, of course, purchase sturdy plastic bags at the check-out counter for about 10 or 15 cents per bag. The fun begins when the cashier begins ringing up your items.

Bag-it-yourself

Now that you have your newly-purchased sturdy plastic grocery bags, or pulled out your handy cloth bags, it is time to bag your own groceries. A lot of foreigners are astonished that there is no in-store bagging service. But everyone here, and in many other European countries, is used to it.

There are perils and pitfalls of bagging your own groceries for the inexperienced food shopper in Germany. First and foremost, be aware of the shoppers behind you in line at the check-out counter. If you aren't super fast and efficient bagging your items yourself, you may encounter a few grumbles and side glances. So, as Stephen Covey says, "begin with the end in mind".

Conveyor belt loading tips and tricks

When you are finished your shopping and it is your turn to put your groceries on the check-out counter conveyor belt, place your items on the belt in the order that you want to put them in your bags. That means heavy, square-shaped or other sturdy items first. Examples include canned goods, milk (sold in Tetra Paks in Germany), wine, crackers, etc. Then load up the cheese, meat, yogurt and other items of a less durable nature. Finally, place your fruit, veggies, eggs and other easy-to-damage items on the belt.

If you are buying a crate of drinks, you only need to put one of the drinks on the conveyor belt and let the cashier know that you have a full crate in your shopping cart. The cashier can usually see the crate in the suspended mirror and will simply verbally confirm that you have a full case. When they scan the one drink they will enter the appropriate amount for the whole case. This prevents the conveyor belts from being damaged by the heavy crates.

Have all of your bags ready beside you, and as the cashier scans each item, load them quickly in your bags. Only fill the bags half full with the heavy or sturdy items: Reserve the top half for the less durable items to come. Once a bag is full, swing it into your cart and then proceed to fill up the next bag.

If you just can't keep pace with the swiftly scanning cashier, just load all of your groceries back into your shopping cart. Then take your cart to a quiet corner and pack your shopping bags in a no-stress environment. Some people even wheel their cart out to their cars and pack the food in waiting containers in their trunk. These could be shopping bags or even collapsible plastic boxes.

Conveyor belt etiquette

As you load your items onto the conveyor belt, you will notice plastic dividers for customers to use to separate their purchases from those of customers in front and behind them. Unfortunately, there is no formalized etiquette about using these dividers. It seems like a small point, but in reality, it can be really annoying for those of us who practice good shopping manners.

Should you put the divider in front of your purchases or it is the responsibility of the person in front of you to put a divider at the end of their purchases? What about the customer in front of you who hasn’t put a divider either in front or behind their purchases? Is that rude? Is simply having a space between two customers’ purchases enough of a signal to the hard-working cashier to stop ringing in items? I would argue that etiquette requires you to at least put a divider behind your purchases. You may in fact have to put one in front of your purchases as well, if the customer before you isn’t practicing some form of good conveyor belt etiquette. And that just might give you the right to grumble or glance sideways at the customer in front of you!