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They're the SAME BASIC THING.

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  • They're the SAME BASIC THING.

    A woman came in demanding "acini di pepe"; it's the pearl pasta that goes in Italian wedding soup. Very hard to find and we don't carry it specifically because the only brands that make it are Italian-American. We do carry something very similar called "fregola"; it's toasted pearl pasta. Basically couscous.

    SC: "I'm looking for a-see-ny, the pasta that you put in wedding soup. Do you understand what that is?" (what the frack is it with people and 'do you understand' to me lately? )
    Me: "Ah, you want acini di pepe. We don't carry that one, it's very hard to find but we do have something very similar." I guide her over to the fregola, right next to it we have varying sizes of another pasta called malloreddus(sp) that could also work, it actually cooks up super-nice in soups.
    SC: "I don't want the colors, I'm looking for the wedding pasta." (note: "wedding pasta" itself is a completely different product) "Is pasta supposed to be colors like that, maybe it's gone bad?" (right behind her is a literal rainbow of pasta, if she turns around her head will explode)
    Me: "This fregola is toasted once dried, this gives it a better flavor and the toasting adds visual interest to a dish. It's the same thing as acini, just a regional variation."
    Lather, rinse, repeat I don't know how many times; each round she's staring at me harder and seems to be trying to trip me up somehow.
    SC: "I don't want the colors, do you know what you sell?"
    Me: "This is the closest thing we have to what you want. I told you that acini is very hard to find."
    SC starts picking up other pastas nearby; the malloreddus, a really teeny star-shaped pasta, the fregola that she was so against a minute ago. "What about these? Will these work?"
    Me: "Fregola is fine for wedding soup and is the closest you'll get. The next closest thing we have is that malloreddus you're holding. The smallest size should look close to acini once cooked."
    She grabs the malloreddus and huffs off without even a thank-you; fine by me, I have too much to do anyway.
    "I am quite confident that I do exist."
    "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

  • #2
    Do you know what you sell? Yes, that's why I'm telling you we don't sell it.
    What an idiot. She sounds like one of those who thinks all service workers are stupid. It explains the "do you understand" too.

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    • #3
      What a picky person!

      By the way I have actually found acini di pepe that is made in Italy here, so it does exist. I'm curious why it's hard to find?

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      • #4
        Quoth Silent-Hunter View Post
        I'm curious why it's hard to find?
        It could be that so few people buy it, that very few stores (at least in the US) carry it. For example, my grandmother's holiday feast usually had dried corn along with the turkey, stuffing, etc. We had turkey, because an uncle had a turkey farm. Even now, nearly 100 years later, we have turkey for most holidays. Gotta love traditions. Anyway, the dried corn came in a little box (I forget the brand) from the grocery store. She must have been the only purchaser of that brand, since I've looked in vain for it.

        Similar deal with many hobby products now. Locally, I cannot get parts--even service items--for most of my older locomotive models. The hobby has changed a lot since I bought those units in 1990, and they've since been discontinued. Hobby shops don't usually stock parts for locomotives that old, at least ones that aren't made by Lionel. My only options are adapting what I can find, or ordering replacements online and modifying the model(s) to fit.
        Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines. --Enzo Ferrari

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        • #5
          Yup, that's it. Seeing as every single buying decision has to filter through Corporate, only two people in a year asking for the specific item doesn't justify going through the hassle/expense to actually get it. We work exclusively with small producers who typically have no exposure outside of their home region; the only reason we have Barilla is there are a few cuts that we can't get from anyone else.

          protege, Savory Spice Shop sells dried corn if you're still looking
          "I am quite confident that I do exist."
          "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

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          • #6
            Quoth protege View Post
            . Anyway, the dried corn came in a little box (I forget the brand) from the grocery store. She must have been the only purchaser of that brand, since I've looked in vain for it.
            Knorr's Dried Corn?

            Little Amish guy on the box?

            If so, Central Pennsylvania may be the the last and only market for it because my Grandma still makes it for T-giving, though nobody touches it

            Speaking of family, my Dad has once or twice tried to berate a hapless clerk over why something he "bought all the time" was discontinued. Mostly because he refuses to do the actual berating and tries to have someone he's shopping with do it for him "Go ask him why they don't have it" and when we refuse or explain to him why (you and maybe 2 other people bought it twice a year, that's why they don't have it) he'd give up and go home grumbling about out-of-touch stores.
            Last edited by Argabarga; 10-30-2017, 02:23 PM.
            - They say nothing good happens at 2AM, they're right, I happen at 2AM.

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            • #7
              Quoth protege View Post
              It could be that so few people buy it, that very few stores (at least in the US) carry it. For example, my grandmother's holiday feast usually had dried corn along with the turkey, stuffing, etc. We had turkey, because an uncle had a turkey farm. Even now, nearly 100 years later, we have turkey for most holidays. Gotta love traditions. Anyway, the dried corn came in a little box (I forget the brand) from the grocery store. She must have been the only purchaser of that brand, since I've looked in vain for it.

              Similar deal with many hobby products now. Locally, I cannot get parts--even service items--for most of my older locomotive models. The hobby has changed a lot since I bought those units in 1990, and they've since been discontinued. Hobby shops don't usually stock parts for locomotives that old, at least ones that aren't made by Lionel. My only options are adapting what I can find, or ordering replacements online and modifying the model(s) to fit.
              I know it well, John Cope's dried corn. Used to come in a green box, with a bearded Amish man on the front. Now comes in a some kind of resealable pouch. My mom LOVES it. I hated it as a child, but will eat it now. Don't know where you are, but I've found it in PA, and you can also find online, but might be a bit pricier. But its still out there!

              Comment


              • #8
                Quoth Argabarga View Post
                Knorr's Dried Corn?

                Little Amish guy on the box?

                If so, Central Pennsylvania may be the the last and only market for it because my Grandma still makes it for T-giving, though nobody touches it
                hehehe. My mom loves it, and I now tolerate it. But since its just me and her, and neither one of us cares much for turkey, I'm making a non turkey dinner for both of us for Thanksgiving. I've found it at Giant, near Harrisburg, so you're probably right. But as i don't go that way very often, i don't really get it much anymore.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Quoth protege View Post
                  It could be that so few people buy it, that very few stores (at least in the US) carry it.
                  <snip>

                  Similar deal with many hobby products now. Locally, I cannot get parts--even service items--for most of my older locomotive models. The hobby has changed a lot since I bought those units in 1990, and they've since been discontinued. Hobby shops don't usually stock parts for locomotives that old, at least ones that aren't made by Lionel. My only options are adapting what I can find, or ordering replacements online and modifying the model(s) to fit.
                  I've been bit by that at the grocery, for a year or two now I can't find two of my favorite varieties of Progresso soup (Pasta E Fagoli and the tomato soup with shells).

                  For the model parts, a new option has opened up: 3-D printing. Check it out, it's come a long way over the last few years.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Quoth Shyla View Post
                    Do you know what you sell? Yes, that's why I'm telling you we don't sell it.
                    What an idiot. She sounds like one of those who thinks all service workers are stupid. It explains the "do you understand" too.
                    This is why I don't work retail anymore. I still work in customer service but I rarely get treated like that. I spend most of my day explaining things to my customers and they <gasp> actually listen, even the angry ones. I am considering picking up a second job in the spring but I just don't know...
                    "Is it hot in here to you? It's very warm, isn't it?"--Nero, probably

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth Dreamstalker View Post
                      SC: "...do you know what you sell?"
                      Yes, Pasta.

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                      • #12
                        The dried corn is still popular here in PA. I grew up one county over from Lancaster County. You can find the box of Copes in all the stores around here. And I have a local, 6 store, Mennonite owned, grocery store chain here to get all that stuff.

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                        • #13
                          Also, Amazon.

                          It may not be the cheapest for the unusual stuff but they, or someone selling through them, normally have it.

                          A quick search shows them having both the pasta and dried corn
                          Lady, people aren't chocolates. D'you know what they are mostly? Bastards. Bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling. Dr Cox - Scrubs

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