We've secretly replaced this woman's chicken. Let's see if she notices.

[CarcinogenCrunchies]

We sell whole rotisserie chickens, and most people are content to just grab one and go. Sometimes we get people who insist on the freshest product, this being the chickens that are still cooking on the rotisserie. On one occasion, I gave a timeframe to a customer looking for a fresh chicken, and she was going to shop elsewhere in the store until the current rotisserie cycle was done.

When the chickens were packaged and put out, I took a guess as to what row the customer would choose her chicken from. In that row, I put the freshest chicken in front and an older one behind it. Sure enough, the lady came by, reached around and took the second, older chicken! I'm willing to bet she never noticed a difference.

[Rapscallion]

I used to do similar in the dairy cabinet with the cream. We people we knew as 'Diggers' because they always dug to the back for the freshest dates. It was at the back, so it was freshest, right?

Yeah, they rarely looked at the dates and got rid of most of the older cream for us.

Rapscallion

[simpleyme]

we have a selfserve hot case that has burritos and such

i put the oldest to the back and watch all day long as people reach past the fresh and work to get the old out of the back ,

and people who follow the rules and take from the front get the fresh its fun to watch , I need to get a life

[clod75]

I'M one of those who like the freshest too

[Evil Queen]

Why would you do that? Leaving the "old" food in the back guarantees that the older food will not get purchased. Particularly if it's a slow day. I like my chicken fresh, too but come on. As the older chicken sits, it dries out and becomes inedible.

Then it's lost to Shrink.

[RetailWorkhorse]

Not quite, EQ. I've seen the same phenomenon happen in our local grocer when I go in for milk (they've since started to do it in two lines, one line has the fresh stuff up front and the other line has it in the back). It's certainly been interesting.

[simpleyme]

I am afraid everyone knows the secret that the new is put in the back so actually putting the old in the front guarantees loss as people buy from the back first ;-)

it seems wrong but actually it cuts shrinkage and keeps product fresher ,which is the whole point so what ever gets first in first out is the best way

[Kiwi]

and if people actually took TWO freaking seconds and looked at the exp date

then they would get the freshest product

kiwi milk maid since 1997

[JustADude]

Why would you do that? Leaving the "old" food in the back guarantees that the older food will not get purchased..

They do it, EQ, because everyone knows the fresh stuff goes in back and the old stuff goes up front... so they reach for the back. Putting the old stuff in the back actually gets it shifted faster.

Reverse Psychology is a bitch, isn't it?