With ‘Food’ in the subject heading, one may expect a discussion about a delicious recipe or a wonderful restaurant but, this time I am going to discuss something interesting (at least for me) about grocery stores.
When I was young ... now, isn’t that the quintessential opening line. Anyway, there was a time when superstores were nonexistent. One had the luxury of individual butchers, bakers ... and candlestick makers ... with an emphasis on the plural.
One could visit a butcher and give detailed instructions about the required piece of meat, and this was the normal practice. Once taken home and cooked, if the meat did not meet one’s satisfaction, a complaint would be made and, usually, the butcher would offer a bonus portion next time.
The same would occur at the fruit and vegetable shop. If there was a rotten apple somewhere, an acknowledgement would be made and an acceptable recompense would be agreed at the return visit, much in favor of the customer. It was considered very important to maintain good customer relations.
Today, there is usually just one superstore serving each neighborhood and, in my opinion, good customer relations have virtually disappeared.
For example, some time ago, I bought some chicken pieces from a well-known supermarket. When the package was opened at home, it was necessary to hurriedly open a window to remove the terrible stench of putrid chicken. Being angry, I immediately returned to the supermarket. The manager, when confronted quite politely, said that I could choose a replacement package. This done, I returned to the cashier, who pointed out that the new package had a higher cost (approximately 20 cents), and insisted that I pay the difference. When the manager returned, I explained that the journey to return the original chicken had cost me more than 20 cents, he simply gazed at the ceiling and refused to negotiate further. Therefore, I retrieved the putrid chicken, but cannot explain what I did with it. It should be sufficient to say that, when discovered some days later, the cost of cleanup would have been much greater than 20 cents. And I have never returned.
I recently bought some mouldy strawberries from a superstore and, to be honest, did not trouble myself with a return visit, knowing that I would simply be offered a similar container. So much for Mexican strawberries.
My point here is the attitude of large supermarkets that believe that you are obliged to be a return customer, no matter what, because they are doing you a favor by establishing themselves in your neighborhood. I find this unacceptable when all imperfect groceries could be returned to the wholesaler for a refund ... and probably a discount on the next order.
Just a final thought; would they get more respect if, instead of marking dated produce with a ‘50% Off’ sticker, they sent it to the local Food Bank?
I wonder if I should name the aforementioned supermarket?
