Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Dumb questions

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Dumb questions

    My job's retail section is far from your average grocery store. 100+ types of pasta, bottled squid ink, and nettle pesto, to name a few reasons.

    "I need grated cheese in a jar."
    Our cheese counter is just over yonder.
    "I don't want that fancy stuff, just grated cheese in a jar! You know, the glass jar, it's called 4-something!"
    ...we don't carry salmonella, sorry. (apparently my old store is still unaware of the recall)

    "Do you carry pasta?"
    ...yup, these six aisles.
    "I don't see any good brands...oh, there's Barilla. Wait, I can't read the package."
    I'll let the "no good brands" comment slide for now. You don't need to read Italian to know how to cook it.

    "I need tomato paste. Not this 'pulp' stuff."
    Pulp is what you want if you're making pasta sauce (like you just told me you are). You use the paste for flavor.

    "Do you carry Swiss Miss?"

    [looking at six different brands of gianduja cream--which is the 'original' Nutella]
    "You don't have Nutella?"
    ...we don't have that specific brand because everyone does. What we carry is a bit pricey but way better (I bet you could extend one of our small jars by mixing it with Nutella).

    "I'm looking for caramel syrup."
    ...

    Lots of people coming in today looking for products we don't carry (and I'm not sure why they would think we do).

    On another note, Loacker Blackcurrant Quadratini are awesome.
    "I am quite confident that I do exist."
    "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

  • #2
    This is what I love about other countries-they have things we've never heard of...

    Gianduja....no idea.Might try using it to zap a wart with
    Quadratini...hmmm some sort of Mafia blackcurrant?
    Swiss Miss...yep,I'll have one.Make her nice and blonde and buxom and Alpine.
    The Copyright Monster has made me tell you that my avatar is courtesy of the wonderful Alice XZ.And you don't want to annoy the Copyright Monster.

    Comment


    • #3
      More dumb...

      "Do ya sell subs here?"
      ------------------------------
      "Where's your white balsamic vinegar?"
      [shows customer a light 'must' vinegar which is equivalent]
      "No, that's not it! You should know your products!"
      We do carry some 'white' balsamic vinegars, just not the usual brands you see in the supermarket or cooking stores. Just because the label is in Italian doesn't mean I can't read what it says (part of our product training was basic label reading, and I picked up the rest from mom). The difference is mainly aesthetic, I can really only help you if you'll tell me what you're using it for.
      -----------------------------------
      A woman demanded to know where the sesame oil and tamarind was. Er... I told her truthfully that we do not carry those items and her best bet would be the international-food aisle at the chain supermarket (they have an entrance into the mall).

      She snapped at me "You don't know. I'll go ask someone who knows your products!" flounced off to bother someone else (cutting in front of a few people waiting to pay), and J paged me to the office then to work on some pricing. While I was with J, I asked him if we even sold sesame oil and tamarind; a customer asked me and didn't like the answer, said she was going to "ask someone who knows something"

      He said no, purchasing manager said hell no, and J then said that just after he paged me one of the cashiers called him on the walkie wanting to know the same thing. He of course said no, and apparently the cashier relayed that the customer "wanted someone who knew what your store carries." That would be J. If he says we don't have it, we don't (although for an item like that if any of us say we don't have it, we don't). I didn't see SC when I came back to the floor and assumed she left completely.
      "I am quite confident that I do exist."
      "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

      Comment


      • #4
        Dreamstalker, the products at your work must be mostly European? For example, you have items with Italian packaging, but not Asian items. I'll admit, some of the things people are asking for don't seem that crazy. Not that these people should be mad at you for not carrying them, I just can't get a handle on the type of store you work in.
        Replace anger management with stupidity management.

        Comment


        • #5
          My store carries primarily direct Italian imports (the sweets section is mind-boggling), with the rest being small local producers.

          The only "big" food brands we carry are Loacker (way more flavors/types than any other store), Monini oil (direct import, vastly different selection-wise from a typical supermarket) and Barilla pasta (direct import, different type of wheat, comparable price). Also the eponymous brands of two celebrity chef partners in the company.
          "I am quite confident that I do exist."
          "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

          Comment


          • #6
            Okay, that makes sense. I was picturing an all-purpose gourmet grocery store.
            Replace anger management with stupidity management.

            Comment


            • #7
              100+ types of pasta,
              MUST. SHOP. THERE!!
              When you start at zero, everything's progress.

              Comment


              • #8
                MoonCat: Seconded *drool*

                The local Kroger actually did give carrying several imported Italian brands here a shot, beyond their standard array of pasta sauces and the like -- marinara, 3 kinds of pasta, Italian tube-shaped 'cookies,' balsamic vinegar, etc. The only issue was that they were all 'premium' brands that next to nobody had heard of, and they were rather expensive; thus, the response was basically "Why should I drop $4.50 on a jar of marinara (24oz) when it may not even be any good?" -- It was apparently part of some "Real Italian food month"-style promo. MAYBE 30 days after their debut, the entire display went on sale for 75% off or better. At that point, I stocked up Nearly ten pounds of various pastas and five jars of the marinara for about ten bucks, total. Pretty good stuff, but still not "four bucks a jar" good ~_~
                "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                Comment


                • #9
                  Our stuff is a bit on the pricey side compared to something similar at the nearby supermarket, but the focus is on artisanal producers, knowing exactly where the ingredients come from and the technology used (or not used!) to produce it. One thing I love about this job is I'm constantly learning something new about items.

                  Today I found absinthe candies (yes, I bought a box). They're a hotter seller than I predicted.
                  "I am quite confident that I do exist."
                  "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Quoth Dreamstalker View Post
                    ...Today I found absinthe candies (yes, I bought a box)...
                    As K-G might say, "Absinthe makes the heart grow fondler."
                    I am not an a**hole. I am a hemorrhoid. I irritate a**holes!
                    Procrastination: Forward planning to insure there is something to do tomorrow.
                    Derails threads faster than a pocket nuke.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Questions of the day:

                      --Truffle honey. Two different people asked me; this is in addition to a few people a few weeks ago. Not something I've heard of ever, and mom says it wouldn't taste very good. Was tempted to experiment until I saw the price of truffles ...somehow I don't think adding truffle oil to honey would have the same effect (what that is I know not).

                      --Gluten free vinegar. When I said I didn't know but I would ask someone, custy said no, asked for the name of our company and said she'd look it up online. Not sure what the plan is there (a quick google search shows that it is indeed a thing, but most vinegars are considered safe). Same person asked about gluten free oil.
                      "I am quite confident that I do exist."
                      "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Over the last week or so I've gotten some... odd questions. Stuff I haven't been asked in the *mumblemumble* years I've worked there. Remember, I work at a fabric and crafts store.

                        On the phone: Do you sell postage stamps?
                        No.

                        Lady in the store: Do you accept EBT?
                        No.

                        On the phone: What's the maximum amount of cash back you give?
                        We do not offer cash back.
                        Replace anger management with stupidity management.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Quoth Dreamstalker View Post
                          --Gluten free vinegar. When I said I didn't know but I would ask someone, custy said no, asked for the name of our company and said she'd look it up online. Not sure what the plan is there (a quick google search shows that it is indeed a thing, but most vinegars are considered safe). Same person asked about gluten free oil.
                          So far as I know, the ONLY vinegar which MIGHT NOT be gluten-free is malt vinegar, because it's made from grain. As for the other vinegars I've heard of:

                          - White vinegar is distilled, and gluten doesn't vapourize at the temperatures involved, so it won't get into the end product.

                          - Cider vinegar is made from apples, which are gluten-free.

                          - Wine vinegar is made from grapes, which are gluten-free.
                          Any fool can piss on the floor. It takes a talented SC to shit on the ceiling.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            The only vinegars we carry are wine and one cider vinegar that I know of. As for the gluten free oil...any olive oil is safe I'd think. Not sure if SC was trying to test me in some way (proving what exactly? her comment about looking the company up online was just odd) or really was that clueless.
                            "I am quite confident that I do exist."
                            "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              J told me why we don't carry truffle honey (it is a thing). As made from recipes one can find online, refrigerated shelf life is a few days to a week. Making it shelf-stable at room temperature requires artificial preservatives which the company doesn't believe in...while we could make small batches in the refrigerated case, the cost far outweighs the demand.

                              More dumb:

                              --Someone shoves a phone in my face open to a Sephora webpage and wants to know if we sell the toothpaste on the page. I say no and direct her to the Sephora store across from us in the mall. In hindsight, I could have said yes and directed her the same way but then she might have thrown a tantrum at guest services when she failed to see the big Sephora sign across the way and guest services would have sympathized with SC and grumped at J.

                              She came back ten minutes later "They don't have it. Do you?"

                              --Nondairy creamer.

                              --Vodka sauce with no dairy (isn't that called "vodka"?)

                              --Kikkoman soy sauce...SC was oddly persistent, bothering four of us in succession. Of course SC said she comes in three times a week and "always bought it here before".
                              "I am quite confident that I do exist."
                              "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X