Last month, Publix was invited to participate in the first-ever Florida Best Bagger Competition by the Florida Grocers Association (FGA). An associate from each of our Florida divisions — Jacksonville, Miami and Lakeland — put their bagging techniques to the test during the event held in Orlando, Florida.

While this is a first for Florida, our Atlanta Division is no stranger to this event. They have been holding bagging contests for the past 22 years. The Atlanta Division contestants compete in state competitions sponsored by Publix and the Grocers Associations of Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. The winner of each grocers association contest moves on to the National Grocer Association competition.

“The contests are fun and get quite competitive. They are also used to create a focus each year on proper bagging,” said Atlanta Division Customer Service Retail Coordinator Brent Beikmann.

Contestants are judged on speed, proper bag building techniques, weight distribution between bags, style, attitude and personal appearance.

“Our initiative to properly use paper and plastic bags includes training our front service clerks on best practices, establishing items per bag goals for every store, and encouraging our customers to use reusable bags,” said Customer Service Business Development Director Marty Oliver. “Our front service clerks are the last associates serving our customers with the opportunity to leave them with the best impression of our service. These contests are just one more way for us to call out how important their role is to our success.”