OCONOMOWOC — Go to almost any grocery store, and you'll notice there aren’t a lot of dedicated baggers anymore. Self-checkout stations seem to get bigger every year. But at a Sendik’s in Oconomowoc, one employee has taken his bagging skills to the national stage.
“I like bagging for people, and I hope everyone else likes me bagging for them too," Paul Dowe, a grocery bagger said.
He has been the right hand man to check-out employees for five years. During that time, he has perfected his craft and learned how to precisely place each bit of food inside a bag to maximize space without fear of it breaking.
"The pasta, I put like in a bag like with the canned food. I try to put it in the canned food like stacked up, so it won't tip over," he said.
This past year, he put his skills to the test by entering a state grocery bagging contest. He won.
“I want to let them know I’m the best bagger," Dowe said.
Soon, he will compete with the best baggers from around the country at the National Grocers Association's Best Bagger Championship in Las Vegas in February.
“I’m kind of nervous, kind of excited," he said.
Competitors are judged on bag organization, weight distribution, speed, and overall enthusiasm. They’ll have an assortment of foods they have to put into three bags—paper, to be specific. That's good news for Dowe.
“Plastic bag is like very light, and it’s harder to kind of stack stuff up, and paper bag is a lot easier to bag for," he said.
Watch Paul's story to see just how good of a grocery bagger he is...
He knows grocery baggers aren't as common as they used to be. Self-checkout stations inside stores continue to take up more real estate. In fact, most of the time I just do self-checkout and bag my own groceries. So, I wanted to know how he felt about this competition. Does he like it? Or does he think the art of bagging is going away?
“Some people like to bag their own groceries too," he said.
He doesn't mind self-checkout. Everyone has their own taste. If a line is shorter, or they want to bag their own groceries, or just aren't thinking about the difference while checking out, that's okay. Those self-checkout machines can’t take away his personal touch. That's something his manager sees as one of Dowe's strongest attributes.
"He gets to know people on a personal level which is really cool. So he's more than just a bagger. He's going to make your day better when you're in here, and that’s the greatest thing about him," Evan Anderson, the Oconomowoc store director, said.
For the next two months, Dowe be training. Each customer presents another chance to get better.
Hopefully, bring home the title and the $10,000 cash prize. We're rooting for you Paul!
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