Suburban grocery bagger headed to national stage

Just like a good hitter in baseball, suburban grocery bagger Jorge Mejia has an ability to know what's coming and he pounces.

Mejia sizes up the customers as they approach his checkout lane. He says his speed and accuracy are a result of knowing how he'll start packing the groceries well before they reach him.

His skills as a bagger at Sunset Foods in Lake Forest will be tested on a national stage with a $10,000 prize at stake on Feb. 29. That's when Mejia will be Illinois' representative with 25 other finalists in the National Grocers Association Best Bagger contest hosted by Food Network's Duff Goldman at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

It's just the third year Illinois is part of the national bagger competition that started in 1985. Judging will be based on speed of bagging, proper bag-building technique, weight distribution in the sack, as well as style, attitude and appearance.

Mejia, 34, of Highland Park, said he takes great pride in doing the job right. He said the customers notice.

“Most people are like, 'Where's Jorge? He has to be my bagger,'” said Mejia, who started at Sunset not long after moving to the United States from Colombia about five years ago.

Lake Forest resident Maria Malloy knows what it's like to see Mejia in action.

On a visit to the Sunset store on Waukegan Road this month, Malloy's 23 items were bagged so quickly she would not have had time to make a dent in a checkout lane magazine if she so desired. She complimented Mejia on his speed before departing the store.

“He's great,” Malloy said. “Professional, fast, really nice guy.”

Mejia's path to Las Vegas started with an internal competition between baggers from each Sunset store in Long Grove, Libertyville, Northbrook, Highland Park and Lake Forest. Those winners locked horns at the chain's annual employee appreciation dinner at Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling, said vice president of human resources Stephanie Sandberg.

“We have a committee of trained judges and timers for these events,” Sandberg said.

After besting his Sunset colleagues, Mejia finished first in a field of seven competitors in the Illinois Food Retailers Association-Grocery Merchandising Association's Best Bagger challenge during the group's annual convention Oct. 8 at Drury Lane Conference Center in Oakbrook Terrace.

He won $500 and an all-expense-paid trip to the final in Las Vegas.

Brian Jordan, president of the state's food retailers and grocery merchandising organization, said the contest is a good way to show the importance of proper bagging.

“You know, the front-end personnel are the people the customer has the last contact with,” Jordan said.

At least six Sunset employees are expected to be at the Mirage in Las Vegas cheering on Mejia.

Pete Commons, assistant manager of the Lake Forest store, said he believes Mejia has what it takes to become the national champion bagger.

“He's always heads-up,” Commons said. “He isn't focused on one thing. … Keeping in mind we're a customer-service store, Jorge just has this smile for the customers. He could see things coming - see things that need to be done beyond just bagging the order that's in front of him.”

National Grocers Association spokeswoman Laura Strange said the competition is designed to show how superior bagging skills are a part of customer service.

The American Paper Institute sponsored the first two bag-packing contests, but the grocers association took over in 1987 and started with a regional Texas/Oklahoma Checkout Shootout in Dallas with former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw as master of ceremonies.

Strange said the 26 baggers vying for the 2016 crown in Las Vegas will compete in the Mirage's grand ballroom. At least 500 spectators are expected Feb. 29, for what she said has become one of the annual conference's highlights.

“It's a high-energy event, where colleagues, family and friends turn out to cheer on their baggers,” Strange said. “A lot of companies often wear specially designed T-shirts and bring bells and other noisemakers, as well as signs to show their support. There is never a dull moment.”