Culinary and Kitchen-Related Pet Peeves

[Dianabanana]

Refrigerated potatoes. Our local food co-op, which is ostensibly committed to the ideal of quality food over profit, does this. I have written to explain that this turns the starches to sugars and makes the potatoes brown too fast and taste weirdly sweet. They replied that they lose too many potatoes to sprouting otherwise, and so will continue to refrigerate them. Unbelievable.

Having a completely separate "natural" or "organic" food section in the regular grocery store, forcing me to check in two places (normal section and organic) for each item to see what the choices are at that store.

Checkers who comment on my purchases, especially the ones who ask, dumbfounded, "What do you do with [insert not particularly obscure produce item]?" I know this is my opportunity to spread the gospel, but I can't help it, it just annoys me.

[rooftop1000]

Checkers who comment on my purchases, especially the ones who ask, dumbfounded, "What do you do with [insert not particularly obscure produce item]?" I know this is my opportunity to spread the gospel, but I can't help it, it just annoys me.

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Sometimes I buy wierd stuff just to confuse them. I bought a black radish and it got rung up as a fig...I was actually impressed she made an attempt to figure out what it was. And I had no idea the actual price of the radish or the fig so I let it go

tracey

[jayt90]

A few things that annoy me:

Packers or cashiers who browse through my magazines;

Being behind the person who is trying to pay while on a cell phone, and having to do it twice. And they are rude to everyone around them.

Management and clerks paying little attention to the overscanning regulation. In my domain if there is a price overscan the customer gets a $10 adjustment, and the right price, but only if they insist on their rights.

[Jaymes]

I just thought of another one...  People who leave their carts just sitting in the parking spaces after they've emptied them--even if they're only a few steps away from the cart corral.  How lazy can you be?  A) it takes up parking spaces, B) it results in loss/damage to carts which is only going to be passed along to all of us in the form of higher prices, and C) it's just plain rude!

Never mind the "damage to carts." How about the damage to cars? I've got two big dings in the side of my car that I got from carts rolling aimlessly across the parking lot.

[Ted Fairhead]

Checkers who comment on my purchases, especially the ones who ask, dumbfounded, "What do you do with [insert not particularly obscure produce item]?" I know this is my opportunity to spread the gospel, but I can't help it, it just annoys me.

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One checker at Treasure Island in Chicago asked my wife who was buying Bird's Custard Powder (a British creme anglais), "Do you really feed your birds this stuff?

[Jon Savage]

All of the freaking checkouts are some permutation of express lines at my local supermarket. WTF -- I might actually like to buy more than 10-15 items ar once and would like to be able to do so w/o some line nazi glaring at me 'cos I have more than the express line allows.

Seriously - no normal check out lines at all @ this Vons. I appreciate that it is @ the beach and all but some of us do actually umm.... live here...

[Dianabanana]

Ooh, forgot one: Express lane signs that say "10 items or less." It's fewer! FEWER!! I'll tell my husband that's what he can put on my gravestone: "It's 10 items or fewer!"

I know I sound like a nut. It really bugs me, though!

[plk]

My regular grocery store is so great that whenever I have to go to the giant chain store next door for something like jars (I refuse to buy anything perishable from them) that I am completely shocked by how it's set up. I can't find anything, the signage is woefully incomplete, and I can't find a salesperson anywhere. The checkout lines are packed and there is NOBODY on the floor I can flag down. I suspect that the store is intentionally set up in a way that's not easy to navigate in order to encourage impulse buys as I wander the aisles searching for mystery hard-to-find items such as cinnamon. Or Bell canning jars. WHERE COULD THEY BE? I don't know. I know where they should be, I'll tell you that. Then when I finally get my two non-perishable items, I don't want to wait in line behind people with 100 items in their carts, so I always try the self-checkout, which is always a mistake. This is how it goes:

Me: scan, dammit, scan!

Machine: ...

Machine: ...

Machine: *beep* Please put item in the bagging area.

Me: puts item in the bag in the bagging area

Machine: Extra item in the bagging area. Please remove item from the bagging area.

Me: What the ... *looks around for help, sees no one and decides to move the bag to the floor*

This continues for each item. At least there are six self-checkouts, and there's never a line (hmmm ..), so I don't think I've actually blocked anyone. I hope.

[Toliver]

One of my local chain markets (rhymes with "safeday") has apparently recently enacted a "we're the friendliest market in town" campaign.... every employee greets you, asks if you need help, follows you around to provide additional "service".... etc.

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Von's, which is owned by "Safeday" , has been doing this "I'm-your-friend" schtick for about two years and I also find it annoying.

I love it when they ask me while checking out "Did you find everything you were looking for?" Never mind that it's a little late to ask me that question while you're checking me out.

My favorite response is "I found everything I was looking for except for low prices". Needless to say, I don't do much of my shopping there anymore.

[Porthos]

I've added my 2 cents before over poorly bagged groceries but...

Last week I bought a package of dill as part of a larger foray into a Kroger (ugg!) owned store. I bought several other produce items for the same dish and my wife picked up produce she needed. We did other shopping there as well. 2 days later I'm cooking the dish the dill goes in (which is going on a road trip with us) and can't find it. Call the wife at work - she never saw the dill. I clearly remember putting it on the belt so I figure that it stayed at the checkstand when we left. Quick trip to the store to get the dill because this recipe really needs fresh dill.

Fast forward to being on our road trip. I go to get one of the the 2 liter bottles of gatorade purchased for that trip that we had left in the car - lo and behold there is my now-baked-baked-to-death package of dill. Arrggg! Yes, I know that I left that bag in the car - but would it really have been that hard to keep the dill with the rest of the produce instead of putting it in a bag with multiple bottles of fluid that weigh 4 pounds apiece???

[Pontormo]

This must have been mentioned already and it's more of a problem in older stores whose aisles accommodate no more than one cart passing another as shoppers head in the opposite direction.

In the U.S. supermarkets promote items by placing them strategically in front of cases and shelves so that only a single cart can squeeze by. Often, they're precariously stacked and look as if someone never finished stocking the shelves and just left the boxes out. This trend is right up there with draping garments over racks to prevent you from glancing quickly at whatever's on sale.

Safeway is especially annoying. The company blocks passage with heavy three-tiered cast-iron stands that look like end tables for gardens in a Spanish Mission. Bump into one and you're bruised.

[Toliver]

This must have been mentioned already and it's more of a problem in older stores whose aisles accommodate no more than one cart passing another as shoppers head in the opposite direction.

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They do this on purpose. You can find out more from this MSNBC article on "15 ways stores trick you into spending".

9. Stop, stop, stop. You add items to your cart only if you stop, right? So stores are designed to maximize the number of stops you have to make: aisles in which only two carts can fit, colorful and attractive layouts, escalators and, my favorite of all, sample vendors. Even if it's not conscious to you, every time you stop moving in a store, you increase your chances of putting something into your cart.

And there's also this tactic:

10. Staple items are placed in the middle of aisles, nonessential and overpriced items near the end. Why? If you enter an aisle to get a "staple" item (i.e., a high-traffic item), you have to go by the other items twice -- once on the way in and once on the way out. That gives these items two chances to make their pitch at you.

[prasantrin]

At my local Safeway, I picked up a copy of Home Baking by Alford and Duguid for only $12. This is a big, heavy hardcover book, probably weighing more than 5 pounds. I bought that, and 2 bananas, and my moron cashier put the bananas and the book in the same bag. I made a point of taking the bananas out of the bag while I was waiting for my change, but I don't think he noticed.

[lesfen]

My beef isn't exclusive to the grocery store, but I notice it there the most... it's the person standing TOO CLOSE to me in the check out line. Way too close. When I'm behind someone in a line, I treat it like cars on the freeway... two car lentghs on the freeway, two people widths in line. (Well, maybe not two, but at least one and a half.) Why? Because I respect your personal space. There is nothing that will set me on edge like being repeatedly nudged by someone's purse, or merchandise, or body. STEP BACK! There is absolutely no reason for you to be right on top of me! Ugh! It gives me the willies just thinking about it.

My space ( ).

Your space ( ).

This makes me sound like a crazy person, I realize, but jeez... take a step back.

[phatj]

I avoid the personal space invasions in the checkout line by standing in front of my cart. I find it easier to unload the cart this way, too.

Peeves of mine include:

Not being able to find plastic bags in produce and meat department;

Meat packages leaking blood, with no paper towels, let alone antibacterial wipes in sight (or sometimes, they have paper towels but no trash to deposit them in after using).

[Toasted]

Get ready to throw up. Like most of us here on eG, I try to buy from the local markets and family chains. I want to help support the local businesses and keep them going. So, I sometimes shop at a grocery store even though it's more expensive then the Stop & Shop down the street. You know how they have all that take out food in plastic containers- ready to go for a quick dinner? Well, I witnessed the person packing the food licking her fingers after every item she put in. No gloves, fingers in mouth until they got too sticky and she rubbed them on her uniform. I asked to speak to the manager and his response was " I just got in, I'll look into it later". I sent a letter to the owner asking him to look into the situation but never got a response back. I still believe in supporting the local stores but I will never shop at that one again.

[Pebs]

I can't stand it when people have to carefully inspect every single freakin green bean to make sure it's perfect while everyone is waiting for them to get out of the way. They're beans dag-nab-it! Who cares if you lose .001 oz when you have to pitch one.

I also have horrific checkout karma. If there is a line that looks the shortest, I will be the longest wait if I'm in it. But nothing ever struck me as funny as much as this. A tiny little old lady took forever to unload her groceries on to the counter, in part because she was so short and in part because she either had Parkinson's desease or something that made her hands shake. (which isn't what's funny) She waited until everything was scanned and then went into her purse looking for her wallet. It took forever but everyone was patient. Then she took out her credit/debit card. It took forever for her to swipe it. And then when she had to choose debit or credit, hitting the button was near impossible. When she finally nailed it she hit it about 8 times in rapid sucession. It then dawned on us that if she chose debit we would have been there for an hour unless her pin number was 1111111 or 5555555. The horrified look on the cashiers face was priceless. Thank God it was credit and she only had to sign her name.

[Peter Green]

I'm personally distressed by the worldwide phenomenon of grocery stores forbidding you from taking pictures of their products.

What are they afraid of?

[rooftop1000]

They are afraid of this....

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=106535

tracey

[GlorifiedRice]

I absolutely hate when other shoppers leave their carts in the way of traffic.

Especially at the ends of aisles and just chat away with long lost friends and they glance at you and still chat away! Go stand near the ready made pizzas or floral area and chit chat!

[Toliver]

I am sure this can be applied to soda brands other than Pepsi but...

Is there a reason why all of the Pepsi products are not on the shelves next to each other? I was in Albertson's to get some Diet Pepsi and thought I'd find it next to the regular Pepsi. But noooooooo. The Diet Pepsi is further down the aisle from the regular Pepsi with other non-Pepsi soda products shelved between the two.

You might argue that perhaps they want to keep the diet sodas separate from the regular versions to avoid confusion but the different kinds of Pepsi have distinct labels so even if they are next to each other on the shelf, I'm not likely to grab the wrong kind of Pepsi since I know what the Diet Pepsi 2-liter bottles look like.

I can't imagine Pepsi doing this (isn't it more logical to group all of your products together, especially if you're the one stocking the shelves?) so I'm thinking it's the store that's spreading the product out.

Can anyone offer an explanation?

[ratgirlny]

Living in the NYC area, with the tiniest, dingiest, rudest supermarkets in the country, I can think of many peeves. Here are some of my faves :

- bagged lettuce with slimy leaves even before the expiration date. I never buy bagged lettuce because it is so rarely fresh.

- the move to bagged and sealed produce in general. It is getting harder and harder to find loose produce.

- cashiers who wad the receipt up with the change so you have to untangle the mess before you can put your money away

- people in front of you in the line who put their cart behind them while they stand and pay. Our checkout converyor belts are very short, so this means I can't reach the belt to start loading my groceries.

- people who shop while gabbing on cellphones. Just like in traffic, they aren't paying attention and often ram other people with their carts

- everything about deli counters. Why do I have to stand and wait behind 10 other people? Why can't they take my order and let me come back later, like at the pharmacy? Stop n Shop now has these computers to let you put in an order, but they are broken 90% of the time.

- the complete absence of baggers in the NYC metro area. I often am shopping with a todder in the cart. It is hard to bag, pay attention to what the cashier is doing, and keep a toddler from grabbing all the candy at the same time.

- and the lament for years of all parents - candy in the checkout aisles.

[Toliver]

- and the lament for years of all parents - candy in the checkout aisles.

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My local grocery stores generally have one checkout lane that doesn't have candy in it. If the stores you frequent don't have such candy-free checkout lanes, speak to the manager of the store and request it. They can only say "no" but they might say "yes".

[rooftop1000]

I cant really call this a peeve as a customer but...as I was checking out the other day the woman in front of me had lots of produce. The cashier did OK on things with stickers and numbers on the twist ties. She even asked what the Kirby Cukes were, but the poor girl just gave up when she got to the Carambola(star fruit) and the Horned Melon and rang them up as gourds. As gourds, together they cost $ .98 and she ran some Cubanel ( frying peppers) as chiles mixed also much cheaper than they would have been.

So, said lady made out well on her items but it could have gone the other way in price and she wouldnt have noticed that either.

I am going to catch the manager that I know and suggest they walk the kids (staff) through the veggies once in a while....

tracey

[nibor]

I once had a checker (in Princeton, New Jersey...) ask me to identify a vegetable for him. It was a cucumber.