Spokane courtesy clerk bags third in the nation for grocery packing

A part-time courtesy clerk at the North Division Rosauers placed third in the country at a grocery bagging competition this week.

Michael Le, 20, has worked part time at Rosauers since he was a sophomore in high school – about four years . Though he has participated in the annual grocery bagging competition before, this year is the first he has gone to state and then national levels.

“At first I thought it was some kind of crazy joke,” Le said of when he learned he was the top bagger in Washington. “But no, it’s a real thing. I could not believe that we have something like a national bagging championship.”

Contestants from every state gathered in Las Vegas on Monday to compete for a $10,000 cash prize from PepsiCo and “bagging rights” based on their speed, technique, grocery weight distribution, style, attitude and appearance while loading up supermarket staples. The bag-off is an annual event, held by the Washington Food Industry Association.

“The competition at the national level is always fierce. Michael did a great job representing Washington state and his home store,” Tammie Hetrick, CEO of the Washington Food Industry Association, said in a news release. “Now, Rosauers customers will know their groceries are in good hands if he’s at the check stand.”

This year’s top prize went to Rocco Cammarota, a Georgia Publix Super Markets clerk, while second went to Makenzie Wood, a Fresh Market clerk from Utah.

Courtesy clerks are “the last point of contact before a customer leaves the store, so it’s a pretty important position,” Rosauers’ Chief Operating Officer Gordon Thompson said. Le has a “great personality and great customer service, and we are fortunate to have him on our team.”

“Believe it or not, I’m kind of nutty about strategics,” Le said of his bagging technique. “Like before, they give me a set of items for me to practice with, and I just look at the ounces on the label. It’s like calculating how much they weigh on the scale.”

From there, cans go with cans, boxes with boxes and perishables and snack foods on top. Six packs of bottled sodas can be tricky to arrange, often getting caught in bag handles or corners during competition.

“Also, I want to give a shoutout to my cousin, who (went) with me on that day,” Le said, adding that his cousin, Bobby Nguyen, taught him a lot in between competitions. “Pretty awesome guy.”

Third place put $1,000 in the sack for Le – money that he intends to use for tuition at Eastern Washington University and other living expenses. He is currently waiting to hear back about an application to the university’s nursing program.