Why must grocery clerks stand in the States?

I've been wondering about this a good while.  I think the idea of seated grocery checkers/clerks is a sensible idea.  Why are employees not given a chair in the US Safeways, Home Depots, etc?  It seems inhumane and completely unnecessary to expect an employee to stand when they could do the same job sitting.  Plus, the clerk has to bag the groceries most of the time in the States.

I have not yet seen a grocery clerk with wrist guards on or any other carpal tunnel/RSI device on, maybe by sitting down the posture is better for the hand movements in scanning?

OTOH, the high heels worn by certain employees at Tesco's and Sainsbury's (managers, I think?) look dangerous!

i think it is easier for them  to scan stuff and  MOVE..  something that seems lacking here..    but i guess if they had chairs i'd say the high  bar stools  would be better..    more comfy and  again easy to get out of if they needed  to..  in the states  usually another person bags..  also lacking in the UK.. 
I have seen cashiers  wearing wrist supports in teh states.. it is purely  their preference..

When I worked for K Mart back in the 90's you were only allowed to sit if you had a medical reason. One woman was recovering from cancer and she had a bar stool. It was frowned upon to sit. I have noticed lately in the states that cashiers are to be at the end of their lane to greet customers.

I think they get stools at Target.  I used to be a cashier at Office Depot (a truly bad company to work for, btw-our employee discount didn't even cover sales tax-and we were absolutely not allowed to sit.  They had this big thing about how lazy it made us look. 

I think the cashiers in the UK are so lucky to have the option to sit down.  I use to work for a grocery store while in university and would have to stand for 8 hours, not very nice.

They had this big thing about how lazy it made us look. 

Man, that is whack!  If someone has enough time to consider/complain about how the cashier in the grocery store, Home Depot, Office Depot, etc. looks (never mind the fact that by being there working, they're a/thing but lazy), they have too much time on their hands and need to get a life!

When I first moved here and saw all the clerks sitting down it was actually a bit of a shock! Then it occurred to me that there was absolutely no (valid) reason why clerks shouldn't be allowed a chair. I think saf is right - employers in the States are overly concerned with how their employees present themselves. It's the whole customer service-oriented mentality that I believe is out of balance in the States.

When I first got here I could NOT believe the grocery clerks sat down AND did NOT bag the groceries.  In the states -- I think it's the way some of the check outs are built -- there's less than no room for a chair/stool for the clerk to sit on.

If it's question of preference for customer service in the US or the UK -- after 3 years -- I still don't believe there IS customer service in the UK.

My husband and I were talking about this after that episode of The Simpsons that begins with the bag-boys striking.

There really is no good reason why grocery clerks shouldn't sit down - and probably half a dozen good health reasons why they should.

Yeah, I agree Peedal - they should be allowed to sit, but there's also no good reason why they shouldn't bag your stuff. Sorry, but if I'm paying for groceries - at a VERY tidy profit to the supermarkets I might add - the least they can do is bag my stuff. That just drives me insane. 

See, the bagging thing just doesn't bother me.  I bag my groceries the way I want them done and what else was I going to be doing anyway - standing there staring at them ring up and then bag the groceries?  This way, I can organise them the way I like, not just get them tossed in bags in the order they come down the belt.  Makes it tonnes easier for me to put them away when I get home.

the only time the bagging bothers me is when the clerk starts checking out the next customer and i'm still there bagging my kit.  also, i wish there'd be a machine that would open those damn bags for you - half the problem w/being a speedy bagger is those pesky bags.

Actually, I wish there were the brown paper grocery bags rather than the plastic carrier bags.  But, hey, whatcha gonna do?   

I usually shop with the DH so when we bag together, it's OK. But I HATE shopping alone because I always feel rushed and pressured and like some SLOW idiot when the cashier is done and I'm still bagging and they're all waiting for me to pay.

I guess I just look at bagging as a customer service thing. When i get some sullen kid sitting, barely moving to run the stuff thru the scanner while I'm frantically bagging it just does my head in. But I can live with it. 

I'm a fan of Sainsbury's etc "bags for life", and the TARDIS-like space of my wife's backpack.

I prefer to bag my own stuff. I like to organize it myself, and to be honest, I feel a bit of a spaz in Wal-Mart or Kroger, standing there doing nothing while they bag it for me. Tends to lead to more thought about how much money I just spent, which leads to tetchy arguments with the spouse, and then all-out war in the car park, then bang! another fender-bender.