Alone......all by itself....is that so difficult??

I always thought I knew what the word alone meant....until now.
If someone asks,"Hey,what did you do last night?" If no one else was home with me,I would say,"I was home alone." Alone. That would indicate that no one else was with me. It wouldn't somehow translate into,"I was home alone having a party with ten people." Somehow,having other people there would make me very much un-alone,right?

Along with alone,we have "by itself." This is another expression for alone. "The picture stood on the shelf,by itself." What image does this bring to mind?
A)The picture is on the shelf and there is nothing else on the shelf.
B)The picture is on the shelf with lots of other knick-knacks.

See,I would answer "A." Apparently,I don't understand what these words mean because no one understands me when I use them.

I shop in the same supermarket several times a week. It is a better quality supermarket and believe me,I pay the price for it but it's worth it to me. However,the people who bag my groceries have a different understanding of alone and all by itself.

I have bread issues. I don't like my sandwich bread flattened and squished to the size of a saltine cracker. I don't think that is a lot to ask.Sometimes,I grab the bread and put it in a paper bag and then hold on to it for dear life because I know more stuff will get thrown in with it and I don't want that!!

When the cashier asks me how I want my groceries bagged,I always say,"Everything can go in plastic except this one bread (which I point to so that she will know which one I am referring to). I would like this bread,alone,in a paper bag,all by itself,please."

The cashier always seems to understand. She relates this information to the bag person and this is where the trouble begins. Saturday,I went in to shop and of course I bought a bread. I like fresh bread in the house every other day. Like I said,I have bread issues. When the young man received his bagging instructions from the cashier he nodded and proceeded to bag my groceries. I wasn't paying attention until he yelled,"Did you buy eggs?" I looked up confused. "No,why?" I asked. He said,"I would've put them in here," and he pointed at my bread bag which was stuffed with rolls,popcorn and my precious bread. ALONE!!! ALL BY ITSELF!!!
How did that turn around to mean with eggs,rolls and popcorn? Do I not understand alone?? Is it me....Seriously....Is it?

Today,I had to pick up a couple of things so of course,I bought a fresh bread. When the cashier asked,I gave her my usual instructions. She related them to the bag guy who I have to add is an older gentleman who I really enjoy. He's in his 70's and he is very sweet and kind. I felt confident that this would be ok. He usually does what I ask.

Imagine my shock and horror when I looked in the paper bag and saw rolls and SunChips on top of my bread. When I pulled the bread out from the bottom,(of course it was on the bottom!)the middle was squished to the size of a cracker. That's when I decided to write this post. Clearly,I need help understanding the definition of alone.

Can someone please tell me what alone and all by itself means??? Please!!!........Thank you!