I agree, it's just a shit sandwich for them. They should leave asap if they can.
Also, somehow in Zurich (another place with obscene salaries and real estate prices), the service workers lead decent lives from what I've heard. They're paid enough to live on, and it's reflected in everything involving local labor (e.g. a sandwich at a local kiosk) being super expensive in absolute terms. BTW, I'm not sure if their higher wages are mandated by minimum wage laws or are an just effect of labor market forces.
This is something that has always fascinated me regarding the US, there's so many workers standing around providing "service". Greeters, baggers and what not, maybe this has changed in recent years since I last visited, and previously lived in the US.
Something in Scandinavia which usually would be operated by a single person, likely teenager, instead has 2 or 3 people hanging around.
Grocery baggers, at least, are actually the stores main gofer people. Bagging is done to either make lines move faster during busy periods or as a default position when there's nothing to do, but they also handle go-backs, grabbing products that customers couldn't find, cart return, and restock on the high volume areas.
The cashier or customer manages all that in your regular Scandinavian grocery store. The cashier has two "lanes" so two customers can bag simultaneously, if that is too slow they'll just leave a third pile up and close and hope it's a small order, or see which side goes fastest. Never a problem.
For the few go backs the cashiers has a tiny stash. For the rare question you likely have to find someone restocking somewhere in the store and ask, otherwise their time is wasted. If you forget something, well pay and put the bag(s) by the cashier and go back in yourself.
I guess someone sometimes are sent on cart-return or rebalancing. Though we tend to place those out by the cars so you grab them outside and then put them back by your car when done.
Also, somehow in Zurich (another place with obscene salaries and real estate prices), the service workers lead decent lives from what I've heard. They're paid enough to live on, and it's reflected in everything involving local labor (e.g. a sandwich at a local kiosk) being super expensive in absolute terms. BTW, I'm not sure if their higher wages are mandated by minimum wage laws or are an just effect of labor market forces.