The freshness police and other morons

[mattm04]

That's just not possible

The SC approaches holding a item.

SC: Excuse me but do you have any of <item> that is fresher.
Me: *looks at date on box* That was just made out earlier today.
SC: Do you have any FRESHER, you know what I mean, in back.
Me: Let me check. *I go in back and get one, label it and had it to the SC*
SC: *looks at date* It's the same date.
Me: Yes sir. As I said they were just made TODAY so they will have the same date.
SC: Do yo understand what I want. I want the FRESHET one.
Me: Sir, they were made just a few hours ago. That don't get any fresher.
SC: Your no help. *the SC stomps off not getting the item*

Why did you ask then?

We have the FE registers and side registers in some depts. that were installed for if a customer just wanted to run in and get a couple items from one dept. As long as you pay for the merch before you leave, we don't care.

SC: Can I pay for <item> here or can I pay with the rest of my shopping.
Me: *sees cart full of stuff and SC heading for FE* You can just pay up front with the rest of you shopping.
SC: Ok.

The SC walks toward the FE but gets maybe 20 feet before turning around.

SC: I;m going to pay here. I don't want to get in trouble for stealing.
Me: Ok. *i ring them up* You change is $XX.XX. *hands them change and receipt*
SC: I don't want the receipt. Keep it.
Me: I have to give it you you*policy*. If you don;t wan it the trash is *points* there.

Wait, so you want to pay me for three items from my dept, then pay up front with the stuff from the rest of the store because you don't want to get in trouble for stealing, even thou you haven't left the premises Then you pay but don't want the proof that you paid. I hate stupid people.

[Kristev]

Never go through a store without your receipt. Did that shopper's brain run out of steam, or are they intending to hide something they actually plan to steal in their overloaded shopping trolley?

An item in the trolley without a receit to verify it would probably not even be noticed. Thief!

[Mr. Anubite]

Maybe he was expecting you to make an <item> for him on the spot?

[freaktard]

I had my own freshness-obsessed customer a few decades ago when I worked at a bakery while I was in college.

Imagine if you will, the loudest, most nasal, screechy voice you can imagine, then make it louder. Then raise the pitch an octave. That was this customer.

At least once a week, she would come up to the display rack, poke hard at whatever poor, defenseless loaf of bread was in reach, then she would turn to us and screech;

"IS THIS BREAD FREEEEEEEEEEEEESH? I ONLY WANT IT IF IT'S FREEEEEEEEEEEEESH! REEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAALY FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESH!"

To make it even worse, she would pronounce "fresh" as "fraysh." I hate that.

[sms001]

Donuts came into the c-store (as I imagine they do almost everywhere) once a day. They would ALL get put out at the same time in the display case, live their happy little donut lives, and then ALL get thrown out when the new ones came in.

The occasional customer would pull out his eliteness and wave it around. No old donuts for him! "Where are your freshest donuts?"

A few weeks into this game and I hit on a solution that was fair, truthful, and satisfied most of the freshy junkies: "The freshest ones are in the back rows sir, that's how we tray them up."

Most don't really want the freshest Xxxxx. They want to get a deal no one else is getting.

[Magpie]

I confess to being the "do you have any fresh ones" once. . My mom had sent me out for bagels, and I mustn't have been listening properly (really, how many 10-year-olds listen?), because I missed that what she wanted me to ask was "do you have any that are still warm from the oven". Never made that mistake again. (Mom was upset that I didn't have any that were still chewy - they weren't the best bagels, so they weren't nearly chewy enough to begin with).

[HYHYBT]

The part about the label having the same date reminds me of this one guy... OK, you know McDonald's sells pies. We'd use a pricing gun to stamp their expiration time on the box (when it worked; otherwise, a pen did just as well.) So at 3:15 PM they all had stickers that said "17.00"

A guy came up and started questioning me about why we were trying to sell him YESTERDAY'S pies. Yes, somehow, he understood that the "price" was really a time in 24-hour format, but thought, despite it being in the future, that that's when it was *made.* To be fair, though, he took the explanation pretty well.

I think those pies caused more confusions of the trivial sort than anything else on the menu: I've been asked whether they're really pies (or are they sandwiches?), been told they're not really made with apples, one guy who'd paid a total of $1.06 for his order in *exact change* still thought, after looking at his receipt, that he'd been charged 95¢ each for the two of them...

[VenomX]

I go through this daily...

We get Copenhagen in every monday. They ALWAYS have that mondays date on the bottom as the made on date. People always ask what date is on the bottom.

The winner so far is the guy that came in on a wednesday and asked for a can, I grab one and hand it to him. He asks if I have anything fresher? I tell him Copenhagen is only made on mondays and since that can came in on that weeks monday and had that weeks monday it was the freshest he can get.

He hmmm'ed and ahhh'ed a bit so I just had to add a little more..

I told him if he believed that THAT can of Copenhagen was made on the date on the bttom of the can he was a fool. He asked what I meant so I told him our wholesaler gets it to us around 7am. That means Copenhagen started at 12am made the millions of cans they make. Then ship it by truck to our wholesaler who then receives it, they then enter it into their system, place it into their wharehouse. The employees then take all the orders from the system collect them and put them on each truck depending where the trucks have to go.

Then the truck drives 29 miles from there to us making stops inbetween dropping off stuff to other stores. The driver must wait until the stuff is counted and checked against the invoice of each store.

I asked if he really thought all this could be done in 7 hours? He looked at me expressionless, put the can down and left.

[LillFilly]

Wow. New epic level in pickiness. So, the fresh stuff comes from the magical land of 'In the Back.' I'll have to remember that. I don't care so long as it's a decent date and not sprouting mold, which might possibly be more intelligent than the people we write about!

[joe hx]

At <old pizza place> we had pizzas ready to go ahead of time. Some guy came in and wanted a fresh one. I told him they just came out of the oven, since they did. Nope, he wanted a fresh one. So I said okay, I'll make you a *fresh* one. He leaves. The pizza comes out. And sits. And sits. And sits. Later he comes back in and thanks me for making the *fresh* one, which was less fresh than the one he could've gotten from the beginning.