Paper or plastic? is more than a genial question that a supermarkets price checkers ask.

Its a way retailers can save big bucks each and every day, if you answer it THEIR way.

Their way is plastic, because that substance is much cheaper than those big brown bags with handles. Many clerks, if only unconsciously, will smile at you if plastic is your choice.

Theyve been told to make plastic the default choice, to reach for that first.

But instead, if you put their hands in reverse gear by saying, I prefer paper, which is my choice, theyll pump the brake, shifting into slow-mo mode.

Did you say paper? theyll ask, making you repeat your reply, just for the record, so others in line can start to grumble at the extra time your groceries are taking to bag.

Yes, you repeat, wondering if you are suddenly speaking Martian or if you have offended your bagger.

Recently, clerks have been telling me exactly how much those traditional bags, the ones that are, literally grown on trees, cost.

At Trader Joes, a specialty chain, the guy volunteered they run 8 cents apiece, which means I consumed about 32 cents worth of the stores money the other day.

TJs, as its known to some of its clients, offers a raffle if you bring back those brown bags on your next visit. If your number is selected, youll win $25 worth of groceries.

That tells you just how much the simple question, Paper or plastic? is worth these days.

But as with any self-serving campaign that companies implement, zealots can go too far.

Last night, at Ralphs, a traditional chain supermarket, the clerk intentionally overloaded the last bag, saying Im just going to put the rest into this one bag, here, and save some money.

I was concerned the bags would burst before I could get them back to my kitchen, especially because one contained two gallons of milk and a few half-gallons of juice, making it weigh, probably, twenty pounds or more.

I understand the pressures to economize here and there. But its better to find non-sensitive areas in which to do that.

Its okay to try to save a few pennies, but its wiser not to tell the customer, especially if hes spending thousands of dollars in your store every year!