In Europe we do our own bagging, so at first I was mystified by the whole notion of able-bodied, healthy adults needing someone else to perform the simple task of putting stuff in bags, placing the bags in trolleys and pushing them a few metres away to the car.
Now I've reached a reasonably advanced state of aplatanation I've learned to appreciate it.
This is what I have gleaned from chatting to the baggers in Santo Domingo and Punta Cana-Bavaro supermarkets over the years combined with some exclusive inside info
Baggers only work for tips, but they can earn more than a paid employee, minus benefits of course.
If they just bag your shopping at the checkout and you take it out yourself, a tip is not expected.
If they take the trolley to your car, a tip of RD$50 is standard.
Some people tip less, some don't tip at all, others tip much more generously.
If the bagger takes the trolley further afield, for example if your house is within walking distance of the supermarket (as is the case in Punta Cana Village) a larger tip is in order, according to factors like distance, time, and number of floors to climb to the apartment.
The baggers have a rotating system to ensure everyone gets their turn. They have to wear ID tags and in some cases are issued supermarket T-shirts
I've seen women working as baggers but it's rare. I recall seeing this in Super Pola Bavaro.
Most baggers work just for tips but some are also supermarket employees earning some extra cash before or after their shifts. Many of them are students.
My son (18) worked as a bagger for a few weeks last summer holiday and he brought home an average of RD$1000 per day. He was given the morning shift (8am to 2pm). The afternoon/evening shift was more lucrative. Some of the baggers work both shifts.
The worst tippers, according to my son, were restaurant and villa staff doing mega-shops for their employers, requiring more than one bagger to take several trollies to their vehicles. More often than not, no tip would be forthcoming.
Biggest single tip received by one of my son's colleagues while he was working there was RD$1000.
BTW - It's great that supermarkets are finally instructing their baggers to use fewer bags - unless the customer insists - and the baggers and cashiers no longer give us that nose wrinkle of incomprehension when we bring our own reusable shopping bags.
