Culinary and Kitchen-Related Pet Peeves

[rockdoggydog]

Delaurenti's has all butter puff pastry in the freezer section for 2.69 a lb. Folded, but easily unfolded and used.

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PFI has all butter puff pastry for much less and unfolded.

Rocky

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Very cool. I'll have to go check it out.

Are they open on Sundays?

lalala

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Nope, not Sundays.

Their site seems to be down, but here is some info.

PFI

Rocky

Edited March 3, 2007 by rockdoggydog (log)

[John Talbott]

Friday March 9th, Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher "Tastings" column in the WSJ listed pet peeves about wine service, presumably in the US, but some are unfortunately applicable even to France. They were:

Pouring wine into tiny glasses.

Overfilling glasses when you've ordered a bottle.

Underfilling glasses when you've ordered by the glass.

Not letting customers pour themselves.

Decanting without permission.

Decanting out of sight.

Serving reds too warm and whites too cold.

Taking glasses away that still have wine in them.

Ditto for bottles.

Serving wine by the glass without identification.

Storing wine over the stove, etc.

Agitating the wine before pouring.

Dirty glasses.

[GlorifiedRice]

I was just at the grocery store and was checking out when I noticed someone had wedged a plastic tub of Guacamole and a box of frozen mini tacos in the magazine rack near the check out! I felt both items. BOTH totally warm to touch. I totally, positively cannot stand that "I dont really want this after all, so Ill just leave it here" mentality!!!

Its wasting of food and it pisses me off so much! Cant people just hand it to a grocery store worker? I saw 3 containers of Yoplait and a block of tofu frozen solid mixed in with the frozen Pizza the other day too. You cant sell tofu after its been frozen and I bet the yogurt separates once thawed...

Whats YOUR grocery store peeve?

Edited July 14, 2007 by GlorifiedRice (log)

[annecros]

Ug. You nailed mine. Perishables in the magazine racks.

Where has your butter been? Restocked or not.

Makes me all the more a fan of the back is the new front mentality.

[GTO]

Exactly that. There's always ice cream or a pineapple sat on top of the magazines. If ever I help my mother with the shopping, I always go mad when she says: "Ok, just leave it there"

"No, for the love of God, I'll take it back, it will take 30 seconds!"

Edit: Also, think of the people working there, the floor staff. Their jobs are bad enough, boring enough as it is, without having to cart unwanted groceries back to their rightful places every 5 minutes.

Edited July 14, 2007 by GTO (log)

[foodie52]

Yup. And those of us who work in grocery stores hate that, too. In addition to the reasons you mention for hating it, consider this: stuff left out is considered "shrink" and affects the bottom line of the business and that is passed on to the customer. A couple hundred dollars a day in careless behavior by customers plus shoplifting all adds up.

[Peter the eater]

In the produce section prices are often given only in pounds. The scale is only in kilograms. I can do the math, but give me a break - how hard would it be to take a damn sharpie and mark in the pounds?

[FistFullaRoux]

Not only the issue with things left out, but how many of those get put back in the cooler? Unscrupulous, yes. But a very real possibility.

[pennylane]

Not only the issue with things left out, but how many of those get put back in the cooler? Unscrupulous, yes. But a very real possibility.

I was just going to make this point. I actually see grocery workers doing that all the time here. I've also seen them pick up pastries that had been dropped out of the box onto the floor, dust them off and put them back in the box and on the shelf to sell.

[tino27]

I don't know if this is a general trend, or just something in the area in which I live, but it seems that now that most grocery stores have switched from brown bags to plastic bags, no one seems to know how to pack up your order correctly. Honest to god I've gone into a grocery store, purchased three items and got one item in each bag. They actually seem surprised when I tell them to "pack them heavy".

The other peeve I have related to bagging is when the bagger attempts to put the hazardous products (rat poison, bleach, etc.) in the same bag as perishable goods.

Maybe this only annoys me because I spent a summer as a bagger during high school and there was definitely an art to properly packing groceries.

Kids these days! They just don't know how good they have it!

[K8memphis]

I hate it when they bounce my frickin produce down the counter.

Apples or bananas, potatoes, onions whatever.

I just wanna break their little fingers.

[jumanggy]

Oh, definitely people queueing at the Express Lane when they shouldn't. I have never seen anyone put a perishable item on to the Impulse Buys, but I guess it does happen... It's just I haven't witnessed it (thankfully rare here I suppose). But I would get pretty pissed if that happened. (I don't usually think of the produce-bruising, but from now on I think I'll take notice.)

Minor things: people paying for very cheap items with credit cards

Uncontrollable things: the bar code not registering or the price tag fell off... Then the cashier has to order some poor employee to hunt for the item

[Amida0616]

"Minor things: people paying for very cheap items with credit cards"

I Pay for everything with a credit card, its just as fast as cash, IMO Checks however should be banned from use.

[chezcherie]

mine is when they don't count back your change (you know... stating the amount of your order, and counting back to what you gave them: "$18.50, nineteen, twenty" as they place the change and the dollar in your hand"), but just announcing the amount they claim to be putting in your hand, with the change on top, and the receipt on top of that,, rendering an unwieldy pile of paper, coins and bills that result in a little juggling act on your part as you attempt to (a) verify that it is correct and (b) get it into your purse, pocket or wallet. no one counts back change anymore, the way i was taught in the old days, and i'm a grump about it...privately.

err...semi-publicly now, i guess.

Edited July 18, 2007 by chezcherie (log)

[Octaveman]

What pisses me off is when the weights of meat are wrong. I usually look for chickens over 5lbs and I saw this one bird that the label said was over 6lbs. It looked small so I took it over to the produce section and weighed it. Just barely 4lbs. I showed the store manager. She said "it seems heavy" and walked over to weigh it for herself. She didn't say anything after that except asking if I'd like another one. On a previous day at this same store, whole chickens were on sale (I buy only whole and cut them up myself) and amongst the birds with the correct sale pricing there were birds that were the original amount which was almost double the sale amount mixed in. I also told this manager of this problem too. I was pissed at her attitude. Here we have a meat department trying to screw over the customer and she's not batting an eyelash. From now on, I check everything.

Another thing that irks me is when stuff is placed in the most illogical of areas in the store making it damn near impossible to find unless you go down every single isle and look at every single thing on the shelves.

Exactly, nobody should care whether a CC is used to pay for a candy bar or the weeks grocery's. If you're behind me, you should just be greatful I'm only buying a candy bar. I too pay with my check card for everything. Don't have to worry about making sure I have enough cash on a daily basis and if I find myself stuck without cash, I won't have to pay up to $5 for not using my banks ATM. Besides, I can get in and out faster than the dope trying pay with exact change.

[Eden]

"Minor things: people paying for very cheap items with credit cards"

I Pay for everything with a credit card, its just as fast as cash, IMO Checks however should be banned from use.

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I think as long as someone isn't paying an $80 tab with pennies, let people pay with whatever works best for them. If it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg... I also use plastic (milage points!) but have friends who are check or cash only.

My big peeve recently is underbagging! I know it uses more paper, and I really try to remember my cloth sacks, but if I'm buying two bottles of wine and a big can of tomatoes they can da** well give me a double bag! (Undertrained summer staff )

[Porthos]

Trust me the following has happened - more than once - and I shop in a union-staffed store.

Canned goods on top bananas, tomatoes, bread, etc.

Frozen food in with the flour - the frozen food sweats which dampens the flour (or sugar).

I tend to pay with my debit card with generally is faster than dealing with cash.

I don't like my 2 liter soda bottles put into the plastic bags so I ask for them to be put directly into the cart, which they do - but sometimes with glances that aren't necessary.

Want to have a little fun: Sometimes when I am asked if I want paper or plastic I ask if there are any other choices.

eta: I can't believe I missed my BIGGEST peeve. I shop where they have those horrid miniature shopping carts for kids to push around. If parents actually watched over their kids who are using them I would be ok but in general the kids are left to terrorize other customers while they push them around like guided missles. I sometimes do my shopping while in my wheel chair and then I have to be doubly careful so as not to collide with the unsupervised attack minors.

Edited July 18, 2007 by Porthos (log)

[Slamdunkpro]

Departments that post hours and don't keep them. My local store has hours posted at the service counters for meat, fish, and deli. the seafood counter is supposed to be open until 8pm, I've never seen it staffed past 6:30. Once when I asked a manager about it he started singing "Look for the union label" to me. I got it.

[dockhl]

ARRRGGHH~~

Little old ladies who wait until the entire order is rung up to dig through their purse to look for their checkbook, pen and finally start writing it out.

Did you not know that you were at the grocery store?

Cashiers (anywhere) who put your paper money in your hand and then your change. What is up with that? Doesn't it make more sense to give you your change first?

[petite tête de chou]

Filthy, wet conveyor belts.

Fellow customers who stand waaaay too close to me while I'm being checked out. Back off bub, it's *my* turn.

[Pierogi]

OMG..........so many, sooo very many.

The afore-mentioned 5-pound bag of potatoes/5-pound box of Tide/1.5 liter bottle of wine on top of my eggs/tomatoes/peaches.

The afore-mentioned football-tossing of my produce. Don't they realize this stuff BRUISES ????

The afore-mentioned bagging of potentially hazardous matierials (ie, bleach, Windex, toilet bowl cleaner) with things I'm not going to cook or are not securely packaged (oh let's be daring........let's put the Clorox with the cherries !)

The afore-mentioned placement of coin change ON TOP of my paper currency.

The afore-mentioned and MUCH cursed kiddie karts, a bane upon all humanity as far I'm concerned.

The afore-mentioned slimy conveyor belts. YUCK.

But the new ones from me:

Odd weights on packaged meats. Why, oh WHY is it so FRIGGING hard to weigh out a package of packaged meat that weighs a FREAKING pound? Recipes usually call for a pound, or multiples thereof. Can I find a pound package? No way. I get 0.83 pounds. And 1.37 pounds. And 1.29 pounds. And 0.72 pounds. And NO combination adds up to a bloody pound ! Ground beef is especially egregious. 1.19 pounds. At least the dogs are happy.

Wet leafy produce that has been overly-doused from the automatic sprinklers. I'm sorry, when I buy cilantro, or basil, or parsley, or lettuce, or leaf spinach, or whatever, I want to pay for product, not water. And I sure don't expect them to slime the same day I buy them.

But mostly, MOSTLY. and I find this often enough that it absolutely apalls me......product on the shelf past its expiration date ! I find this a LOT, and I shop at major chains. Suffice to say, I check everything. Scrupulously. Especially perishables. And I'm not talking a day or two out of date. I'm talking a week, plus. Un-freaking-believable. Yes, I bring it to the attention of management. Does it make a difference? Not that I've seen. That's why the chains get less and less of my food dollars.

[Safran]

Fellow customers who stand waaaay too close to me while I'm being checked out. Back off bub, it's *my* turn.

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Exactly!!! I then politely look at them and ask if they want to pay for my order. It usually works...they back off.

[phaelon56]

Two grocery store pet peeves:

1) People who bring far more than the allowable number of items into an Express Lane (e.g. 12 items or less) and also the occasional mousy cashier who is too timid to call them on it.

(side note: I complimented the cashier at my local market when she turned away a guy in the 8 Items or Less lane who had about 20 items in his cart - she informed me that management writes her up for poor performance if she fails to do that. Kudos to management)

2) Big giant stacks of items at the end of an aisle that are designed to catch your attention but are either not really on sale or worse yet - there's no price marked anywhere - a total lack of signage.

[chezcherie]

Odd weights on packaged meats.  Why, oh WHY is it so FRIGGING hard to weigh out a package of packaged meat that weighs a FREAKING pound?  Recipes usually call for a pound, or multiples thereof.  Can I find a pound package?  No way.  I get 0.83 pounds.  And 1.37 pounds.  And 1.29 pounds.  And 0.72 pounds.  And NO combination adds up to a bloody pound !  Ground beef is especially egregious.  1.19 pounds.  At least the dogs are happy.

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you know, i don't mind this so much in the packaged meat...what i do mind is when i ask the actual live human to weigh out, for example, a pound of shrimp, and he/she plops some on the scale, and looks at me..."is 1.25 lb okay?" jeez...it's SHRIMP...take a handful off and hit the mark, huh? i know it's sometimes a form of "up-selling" but sometimes it's clearly laziness....and that's some kinda lazy....how hard is it to toss 6 shrimp back in the case? have a little pride, people.....i know a lot of cooks who take unreasonable pride in being able to lop a hunk of butter off the block, and weigh it, and hit the mark they were aiming for exactly...

Edited July 19, 2007 by chezcherie (log)

[Porthos]

Once when I asked a manager about it he started singing "Look for the union label" to me. I got it.

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If the union dictates the hours - that's not a problem. The manager is wimping out. The signage for the hours of operation just needs to be changed to reflect reality. Only my opinion...