"I don't know what happened," the grocery store clerk said to me during a recent visit. "We were sent these paper bags that don't even have (the store's name) on them. The handles are being removed from the bags so customers don't get used to them. When I heard that, I thought, 'Seriously?'"
That was my reaction, as well. Unfortunately, knowing how petty some customers are, whoever decided to remove the handles probably made a wise decision.