Unlocking The Secret Of Kroger's Mysterious Trap-Door
Reader Colin was watching his groceries travel along the conveyor belt at the Kroger checkout counter when he noticed some of his fruit snacks suddenly vanish from the line of items. With his interest piqued, Colin looked carefully and discovered a strange hinged door at the end of the belt. Upon making the discovery, the cashier slowly raised the steel flap and discovered Colin's lost fruit snacks along with a bounty of hapless groceries that had that had been arbitrarily swallowed by this clandestine trap. Because the items had already been scanned and purchased, the cashier offered them to Colin as a prize for unlocking the secret of the mysterious trap-door. Colin's letter, inside...
Hello,
I had an experience tonight that I thought might help quite a few people save money when they grocery shop, especially nowadays when every dollar counts. I was doing some late-night grocery shopping at my local Kroger Supermarket and as is customary this time of night especially on a Sunday there was nobody around to help the cashier bag my groceries. While my girlfriend stood across from the cashier to pay for our items, I stood at the end of a second conveyor belt that pushes the items from the cashier to a larger area where the items are collected for the bagger.I noticed, thanks to my vantage point where the bagger would normally be, that after the cashier scanned a handful of packets of flat fruit leathers that as they moved to the end of the conveyor they actually fell in a opening between the belt itself and a stainless guard at the end of the belt. I immediately informed the cashier as to what had happened. I was surprised that the stainless steel piece was actually hinged and even more surprised that when he opened it, there was far more in there than just my few packets of fruit leather. There were at least four large, flat, foil packets of tuna fish filling up the void at the end of the belt. As the cashier was taking the leathers out of the trap, the cashier mentioned that I could have the tuna if I wanted, as it had been paid for.
This left me wondering how may times I've lost Kool Aid packets, taco seasoning and many other similarly shaped items in a such fashion. Of course, none of these things are a big monetary loss, but a waste of money all the same. If it happened before an item is scanned, I'd say no big deal, however seeing as how this can happen after the item is paid for, I'd say that savvy consumers should keep an eye on their similarly packaged items and make sure that they don't literally fall through the cracks!
Sincerely,
colinjay
We're not sure what such a door is for, but to think that innocent Kool-Aid packets, seasonings and other slim groceries which have already been purchased, are being systematically abducted on a daily basis gives us cause for concern. Are there any shoppers or cashiers out there that can tell us the true purpose of this grocery-eating menace?
(Photo: Getty)
This is a test using rich text formatting and html links. It's the generic "company" ad that should appear on all posts with the Company category if they don't have an ad attached to a specific company.
Post a comment
Comments:
It is what he says it is. It looks like a piece of leather that is naturally fruit flavored. I wouldn't go near it.
The door is probably there to access the belt for maintainence.
Fruit leather is tasty and delicious; don't knock it till ya try it. :D These trap doors are at the end of every bagging conveyor belt I've ever seen; they're designed to prevent small items from jamming the belt.
@AD8BC: It's exactly like a fruit roll-up only slightly thicker and packaged flat in a size and shape resembling narrow baseball cards.
Now I need to stop at whole foods tonight and pick some up.
Dammit.
@AD8BC: No, actually fruit leather is garb worn by fruits (and vegetables) into the S & M lifestyle.
Fruit leather is often worn for large fruit gatherings where orgies and fetish sex occur. This is commonly called fruit salad. Those in the know say arshmallows may be involved.
Think of a pear in assless chaps, broccoli in a harness, and bannanas? Don't even go there!
And the Sunmaid Raisin gal? A tranny!
That's absolutely ridiculous, especially the tuna packets which are a relatively expensive grocery item.
Is this something that would be within Weights & Measures' jurisdiction? If so, I'd recommend alerting your local one, because obviously the cashier and probably the management don't care about this "flaw."
Because the items had already been scanned and purchased, the cashier offered them to Colin as a prize for unlocking the secret of the mysterious trap-door.
I don't know why, but this had me thinking that the cashier was some sort of pirate. "Arr, you be discovering the secret Kroger hideaway! Have your fill of booty!"
Damn, it should read: 'marshmallows'
Yes, only a little thicker. My wife buys them by the dozen.
On a separate note, I would assume the trapdoor is for maintenance of some sort. So you can easily remove kids wearing crocs that have gone for a joyride on the conveyor. Either that or it's where the cashiers hide their victims...if only the hearts would stop beating...
So it's only made with the hide of the fruit? Through some fruit-tanning process?
I love the picture that goes with this story. I could see how a customer could miss the falling groceries, but I'm surprised a cashier wouldn't know about it.
@mbouchard: That's exactly what it's for, and for when things like produce bags get stuck in it. You flip up the door, remove the hang up, and get back to work. Well, that's the way it was explained to me when I was a checker in high school.
Hello everyone...I love this site and this is my first comment here, so please don't get on me too bad ^_^
I used to work at Dollar Tree when I first got out of high school and our registers had the same thing on them. I was under the impression that the door was there so items can be retrieved easily that may have fallen through...not to give as a prize to smart customers.
That being said, we never had an issue like Kroger did. The only thing that we had to pull out was money that customers put on the belt to pay me. Our belts were notorious for motion sensor malfunctions.
@SkokieGuy: I never knew that fruit could have such a sordid lifestyle. I'll definitely think twice before I toss a salad again. Fruit salad, I mean.
@mbouchard: I think you're right; however, when I worked in a grocery store for a couple of years, I had a manager who explicitly told us never to lift the door, even when the belt was off. Supposedly it was for safety reasons, which is complete bullshit. He was kind of a dishonest asshole (when I took 2 weeks off to take exams at school, he acted like he didn't know me when I returned and wouldn't put me back on the schedule), so I am pretty sure he was just looking to re-shelve whatever ended up under the door.
My kids love fruit leather. I make it by blending fruit and spreading the resultant fruit paste on the shelves of my dehydrator. Cheap, easy, and nutritious; the store bought stuff likely has preservatives and sugar among other additives.
so did you keep the extra food or not???
There has to be some amount of a gap between the belt and the counter or the belt wouldn't move. The door is there precisely for retrieval of items like kool-aid packs.
I worked at a grocery store for 10 years. I can't imagine a checker or bagger wouldn't know about it unless it was their first day. Typically the checker makes a point to NOT put things like taco seasoning and kool aid packs on the belt because it's a given that the conveyor will eat them. So either this person was really new or particularly jaded and didn't care.
You're with me, fruit leather!
Seriously, if the gap is big enough for a tuna packet to slide underneath, that is likely a safety hazard and a child's fingers could get caught.
I'd suspect OSHA would regulate this.
@HighontheHill: fruitibu or fruitiboo I don't remember how it's spelled, but it is the bomb and natural.
The door at the end of the belt is so you can do a few things:
- Have access to the belt if it breaks
- Pull money out when some idio... nice pleasant customer... throws a $100 bill on a moving surface and then complains that they thought that the presence of $100 bills would somehow stop the moving surface.
- Get thin things that slide thru out.
- Vacuum all the dust, dirt, glitter, small animals out
- Give the ADHD riddled kid who just ate half the candy rack something to slam up and down loudly as mommy asks them if they realize what they are doing
It's not some secret hiding place where Kroger steals your groceries back.
That is, however, what it is for at Kmart.
I would be pissed whether it happened to me before or after I paid for it.
You go to the supermarket, get a bunch of items for a recipe, and then when you get home, the items are not there. that just plain sucks.
@AD8BC: Yes.
[www.stretchislandfruit.com]
If you're up to trying some, don't bother with Tropicana's.
The cashier should be passing thin items directly over to be bagged...
Before nowadays, dollars didn't count? Hmm.
It's a door to access the belt for cleaning and getting thin items that fall between the belt and the end of register. Occasionally the hinges get a bit loose open up a bit easier than they should letting in slightly larger items (especially if they've been wedged underneath and are being pushed on by the items behind it).
"especially nowadays when every dollar counts" Why must people include such silliness in every article in an election year. Doesn't every dollar always count? And if it does, why are you buying fruit leather when you can have real fruit for the same price?
@SkokieGuy: It's probably there so a child's fingers don't get caugtht.
When my little sister was 2 or 3, she got her finger caught betweeen the belt and metal. I'm not sure what she was doing up there but my mom had a really hard time gettting her out of it. So when I read this article it made me wonder if that was a new feature to prevent this sort of thing from happening. It was also a Kroger where she got her finger caught.
@BlackBirdTA: Of course it's a safety device, but a malfunctioning one.
The belt and flap are not properly aligned if these food items can fit through. The gap should be small enough so that not much more than a paper thickness or two can get underneath.
@BlackBirdTA: Any moving belt has this feature, it's nothing new.
The fact that food can slip underneath means this safety feature is malfunctioning and needs to be realigned. The gap should be tight enough that only a few pieces of paper can pass underneath.
This is a hazardous condition that the store needs to correct and it's probably just simply maintenance and adjustment.
@mbouchard: Actually its just a dirt trap. The only reason it's hinged is so that it can be opened and cleaned out. Some checkout lanes have a fixed threshold at the end of the belt and a drawer that pulls out from where the plastic bags hang. Others have a hinged threshold that just lifts up to clean out the trap.
Most food items don't get caught, but the occasional thin packet will. Most of the stores I shop at are just stainless steel from the scanner to the collection area. Its the ones with the second belt you have to worry about.
Like so many posters before me, I can confirm that this door is for access to the belt, for either repairs or cleaning.
The real money (literally) is under the primary belt. I did installations of cash registers for a budget supermarket in Ontario and we had to access these compartments for our installations. You'd find just about anything under there, including coins and bills. A night when my partner and I didn't make it out of the store with $20 each in loose change was a poor night. One night after we had already picked through, the gentleman who was guarding watching the store grabbed a shop-vac and went through each compartment. They usually get filled with onion skins which are harmless enough, but even after we went through he cleaned up over $50 himself. Mostly pennies and nickels, however.
Found money is the best money. What better way to buy energy drinks and gas!
@winstonthorne: I always think they look delicious but hard on my teeth. Are fruit leathers easy to chew? The leather aspect makes me think no.
@Ash78: +1
@ShirtNinja: I did this myself. I pulled any paper money out, and emptied the rest into a cardboard box. I lit the box on fire in my firepit, and what was left after the ash blew away was pure dinero. It's amazing how many people don't realize that they put money on the belt and it disappeared. They just assume they didn't put it on.
@tomok97: I worked at Wal-mart (grocery) for about 8 months when I was 18, and I'd never heard of it. O_o
@suburbancowboy: That's exactly what I was thinking. If I've planned my meals and bought all of the ingredients I need, I don't want to have to go back to the store the next day because something didn't end up going home with me.
@cmdrsass:
"...in an election year?"
Why, is it OK to include meaningless bullshit in non-election years?
@Git Em SteveDave: I've honestly never understood why people put their money on the belt. It baffles me, really. I mean, the belt moves and will suck your money in. It's kind of a common sense thing, isn't it?
I was just at Kroger's the other day when I visited my girlfriend (we don't have any here, but she has them there), but I didn't notice a door mainly because we used the self-check out line. But next time I'm there I'll be sure to look for one.
Just put your packets and other l'il items on top of your beer. It's safer there. Unless you WANT to get the prize.
I was always a little freaked out by the small gap by the conveyor belt - same with the one on the escalator. After my mom told me I could get my foot tangled in it...gah!I have to jump a little bit and my toes feel funny whenever I look at it. They feel funny right now.
@winstonthorne: They're not knocking it, they're just wondering what the hell it is, and why it has such an unappetizing name.
It's a Dharma station.
@ShirtNinja: Yes, it is. I think the main reason is that it's in front of them. I was always amazed when they were surprised when this happens. They just put items on this belt so that they can be moved forward, what did they think was going to happen? I will admit the guilty pleasure of watching the stuff like coupons and money creep slowly towards the little gap, and would scan items faster in hopes that I would get a dropper and then have to lift the scale up and "dive" to retrieve it. It was almost like a mini break in my shift.
What's a fruit leather? Is that like a fruit roll up?