Well. That was disgusting.

[Kittish]

So back around the beginning of the month I did my grocery shopping. Get home with the loot and get it all stowed away. Including a pork shoulder blade roast that got stuck directly into the freezer, still in the thick plastic bag it was sold in.

Yesterday I took it out of the freezer and stuck it in the fridge to let it thaw, in anticipation of cooking it tonight.... About that... I cut open the bag and I'm assaulted with the stench of rotting meat. UGH... I checked the 'use or freeze by' date, and it was July 8. I bought the roast on July 1 or 2, and had it in the freezer inside of 24 hours. It had to have been bad already when I bought it.

What I'm going to do is go to the store I bought the roast at, try to find an actual manager, and let them know what happened. I do want to let someone who can maybe do something about it at the store know that they may have a problem. While a refund would be nice, I don't really expect to get one, nor am I going to ask for one.

Gravels me to have to throw away an entire roast. I had planned on boyfriend and I enjoying meals for two or three days from it.

[eltf177]

I for one would definitely demand my money back, and would be very leery of ever shopping there again!

[sms001]

Bummer! Hope the store is understanding. I'm guessing (if everything at your home is copacetic; fridge and freezer temps) there was a packaging mix-up. someone ran the wrong dates or some such.
Hate that smell - puts you off for a while.

[Kittish]

I for one would definitely demand my money back, and would be very leery of ever shopping there again!

Couple of problems with that. I don't have the receipt anymore. I don't have the meat anymore (I threw it out. Literally. Took it outside and slung it as far into the desert as I could. The coyotes can have it.). I don't even have the packaging, it got rinsed out and put in the outside trash can.

And this is the first time I've ever had a problem with meat from this store. I'm inclined to think sms is probably right, and it was a once off thing.

[wolfie]

I suspect some idiot picked it up, decided they didn't want it, and put it down - in the "dry" (non temperature controlled) area of the store. Some other idiot, after it had enough time to warm up to room temperature, decided to be helpful and put it back in the refrigerated section with the other meat.

[sms001]

...some idiot.... Some other idiot....

You'd think after all the posts we've had about it, and how often we've all seen it, that this would spring to mind immediately, but it didn't, and I bet you're right.

[Evannah]

Eww! I'm always wary of meat, and I think this would definitely make me a vegetarian for a few weeks.

Slightly off topic (as in it's not meat):

Years and years ago my nan opened a box of cornflakes and filled her dish up with cereal but got a little more than she bargained for - a metal scouring pad complete with patches of rust.

She didn't ask for anything, but did get compensated for it.

[carryonnow]

Somewhere there is a courtesy desk associate thanking you for not bringing the rotting product back to the service desk and INSISTING that he/she take a whiff. Trust me, we believe when customers say something smells off...your nose is as reliable as ours.


My offer to resolve the problem depends on a couple of things....the number of times I have dealt with the customer, the way they choose to speak with me, and the proximity of the DM. If I have never had to resolve a problem for you AND you are polite, you are leaving my store with a replacement product of similar value (no, it doesn't have to be the same cut of meat) AND a gift card. If I see you every day of the week because the meat is bad, the milk is warm, the bread is stale, the tomatoes were mushy, the bag ripped in my garage and I dropped my bananas and stepped on them....then you will get store credit...use it as you choose, when you choose, if you choose....because no matter what you buy...you will return it...because the courtesy desk is the sum total of your social life.

Now, if the DM is nearby--I follow company policy far more closely because he can be an uptight miser.

[Kittish]

The only time I've ever gone to customer service in that store to claim anything, I'd forgotten and left an item at the check out (I habitually use the self check there, it's just easier for me). I called the store and explained what happened, they said bring in my receipt, so I did. Got there, and they replaced the item no questions. Of course, it probably helped that they keep a log of purchased items left at the registers, and the item I had forgotten was listed in it.

As far as the rotten meat, I was NOT going to let that stay in my house even a single minute longer than I HAD to, and sure as hell not going to subject anyone else to that stench. I'd rather not wind up wearing the contents of my own or someone else's stomach, thanks.

[mathnerd]

Even the best stores can have a bad moment, though it sucks that it had to be your roast.

Slightly off-topic, my benchmark for "gross" has been raised significantly in the last couple months. I have a mastiff, and he likes to hunt gophers. This means I occasionally have to clean up gopher spine and skull bits that have worked their way through his digestive system. I only thought I knew what gross was before that.

[Jester]

Mathnerd, you'll appreciate this. Years ago, when I had my first cat, Gibson, one day he walked into the living room, presumably through the cat door, with a freshly killed bird in his mouth. He walked up to me and laid the bird at my feet, and looked up at me expectantly. Basically, he'd laid a hunting trophy at his master's feet and was waiting for his master's approval. And I looked at him, and said sternly, "Gibby, you....you....you normal cat." And gave up. I mean, what was I to do? It was one of the few catlike things he actually did well.

Well, upon receiving my resignation to his nature, which he took as acceptance, Gibson tore that bird apart, leaving only feathers and bones in the end. It was a bit gross, but I couldn't fault Gibson, because he was just a cat being a cat.