French Vanilla Iced Coffee

The other day I went to a grocery store to stock up on hamburger. They had a sale on 93% lean hamburger, which is the only one I’ll eat. $2.69 a pound, and I generally pay twice that amount. Sl, I was all ready to stock up.

In the meat case they had packages with 2 patties each, and they weighed a pound. They had packages with 3 patties each, and they weight 1.5 pounds. It’s not rocket science to know that each patty was approximately 8 ounces, or half a pound.

Right?

So, I asked someone in the meat department — a middle-aged man — if I could have some made up at 5/6 ounces each. I was told no. I pointed to the sign that said they would be glad to help the customers with special requests, but he went in back and the meat manager yelled at him that they didn’t have time.

I asked what other size they came in, and this guy told me the 4 ounce package that was on the shelf. I told him they weren’t 4 ounces and he insisted they were. I told him there were 2 in a package and it weighed a pound, and he said, “see? 4 ounces each.”

I told him there were 2 patties at a pound, making them 8 ounces each, and after a bit of chat he said, “well, I flunked math in school.”

No, really?

I’m told to shop around for a bit as it will take them a while to make up 5 pounds of 4 ounce patties. (I watched another kid come out of the back, grab the 8 ounce patty packages, and take them in back, obviously they were just reissuing them).

When I came back, they looked so good I asked for more. This confused the kid totally. I said, “93 lean , 4 ounce patties.” He asked how many pounds, and I told him 3 pounds. He then says, “ok, 4 packages.”

At this point I was scratching my head and wondering why people in this particular town and this particular store (out of town, not local) hired people to work in the meat department, where ounces and pounds and addition/subtraction is needed.

2 Comments »

Did you have a paper route when you were a kid? I did. Got it when I was 14 I believe and had it until I was 16. Back then, papers were delivered after school, and were a way to teach responsibility. Kids would learn about delivering on time, collecting money, dealing with the public.

In our area, the papers would be dropped off around 4 pm and most kids had 35-50 papers to deliver. We’d get our bundle, count them, and then put them in our bags or a shopping cart we ‘borrowed’ from a supermarket, and off we went. We’d be sure to put the paper in the door and shut the door if it was raining or snowing. We’d fold the paper into thirds to fit it into mailboxes.

I had a helper for the heavier paper days, until she began stealing money from me by collecting and then claiming the customer didn’t have money for a tip and I’d get it next week — pocketing the quarter each time.

If we ran out of papers, since my house was the last on the route, I’d either call the office and ask for another paper, or run to the store and drop a quarter and buy one. Each week I’d collect from each customer and then on Saturday would go to the bank and buy a money order to pay for my papers. We weren’t allowed to pay by a check from our parents, just a money order, but back then the convenience stores didn’t sell money orders, and the bank gave them for free. Really really, to quote Shrek.

Seque to 2007. I pay for my newspaper ever year by check to the newspaper office, adding in a tip. I never see my paper delivery person, but know I have had many. They get their papers around 5 AM and that means at 6 am I hear their car pull up, door slam, heavy footsteps on my stairs …… or they throw the paper with a loud thud. I’ve had carrier who are old enough to be my grandfather.

Yesterday my newspaper had a poorly typewritten sheet of paper by my new carrier, apparently. He said that if the paper is not there, to call him and not the newspaper office, as they charge him $1 or $2 for each missing paper. WOW. What happened to the office calling the carrier to report the missing paper?

Also, in bad weather, the paper is delivered in a plastic bag. I toss mine. However, my carrier asks me to now save it as he has to pay for it. Not only that, when the paper comes in a rubber band, I’m now asked to save those, too, as he has to pay for them.

So, now I’m supposed to remember to save my plastic bags and rubber bands and leave them for some anonymous person who slams my door shut on Sunday mornings when I want to sleep late?

Things have certainly changed. Now carriers drive cars to deliver the paper, and at $3 a gallon, they must not be making much at the end of the week. I give credit to older men who are trying to pay the bills and are taking on an extra job, but think it’s wrong of the newspaper office to charge them a buck or two if my newspaper is missing.

No Comments »

I’m a huge fan of self checkouts at supermarkets. If they don’t have them in your area, let me explain. Basically you go to the checkout counter and scan your items yourself, and bag them yourself. You put your money into the self-checkout machine and it can give you change, too. I like it because it’s often quicker than dealing with clerks who love to chat with co-workers but mostly as I can bag my own groceries.

One of our supermarket chains, Stop and Shop, has a clerk who hangs around at the 4-5 self-checkout stations, helping when people need it, bagging if they have nothing else to do, etc. Shaw’s Supermarket, another chain, doesn’t have one specific person for this job. They have a front end person whose job is to supervise all the registers/checkouts and that includes helping people who need it.

Of course, people who haven’t a clue use these things. They don’t know how to find the 4-digit produce code on their produce, they don’t know where to find the scanner code, they don’t bag when you’re supposed to. And, these machines aren’t reliable as they often yell at you, “item removed from bagging area” and if you put the item back, “please remove item from bagging area.” MAKE UP YOUR MIND.

The worst has to be when you’re in a rush and don’t pay attention and push the Spanish button instead of English. All of a sudden this machine spits out Spanish at you and you can’t make it stop. Sorry, I’m in America, I speak our language. But, I digress.

Today, Stop and Shop showed me a new way to check out, but it’s so much more than that. When you walk into the store, you scan your shopper card. A button now flashes and a little gizmo is yours. The idea is you pick up the gizmo, plastic and paper bags, and as you shop, you scan the item then and there and bag it as well. When done, you simply take your gizmo to the self checkout, scan in your gizmo, and pay and leave. Simple, huh?

Aren’t I taking a job away from someone this way? What if it scans in the wrong price? Now I have to try to find someone who works for the store to delete it from my gizmo and put in the right price.

They also explain that they have the right to ‘audit‘ your groceries at any time they wish … in case you ‘forget’ to scan an item and bag it and try to leave the store.

I know at the large Wal-Mart Superstore, they did away with self checkouts. I asked why and they told me due to theft. People would scan in all their items at the register, bag them, and walk out the door, without paying! And, I’m told, at local supermarkets they do the same thing.

Look, I love to bag my own items, but if you expect me to start scanning them as I shop, bagging as I shop …. Uhm, why don’t you offer me lower prices if I’m doing my own bagging and scanning? You’re obviously saving money on the cost of an employee, so why not pass the savings on to me?

2 Comments »