Here in the East of England I continually encounter this habit at stores operated by Tesco, Morrison, Sainsbury ASDA and Waitrose. I’ve tried suggesting to staff that this is not acceptable, I’ve given stores feedback where I’ve found feedback cards and surveys, and I’ve suggested this as an area for attention by trading standards. Am I the only person offended by this?

Have bags got more difficult to open as stores have made them in some way less damaging to the environment? Are staff actually trained to lick their fingers to open the bags? Is this all part of the movement to get us to bring out own bags and not ask for plastic bags in the store?

I recently encountered a member of staff in one shop who had one of those little sponges in a plastic pot to moisten her fingers to open bags – a much better proposition than fingerlicking….. but is even that necessary?

You can generally open these bags quite easily by pulling the handles apart slightly and then opening the bag using the little triangular tabs that pop up in the sides. Have staff lost the art of doing this?