Was I wrong or MM?

[Deleted]

At the deli yesterday I asked for 1/8th pound each of 3 different meats and 2 different cheeses. H was with me and thought I was rude to get so little and the deli sales person complained loudly that I was only getting so little. That's honestly all I needed though, and any more would be wasted. I'd rather pay for what I needed. Was there a minimum I should have gotten?

[FrozenSunshine]

MM.

I order cheese by the slices all the time.

[Deleted]

You were MM, not wrong!

[cricketwife]

MM. Not wrong.

[Deleted]

I don't buy more than I need, although that is usually a 1/2 pound. You should have responded in kind to the complaining employee. I would have probably asked, "Do you have a problem with doing you job?"

[CloudBee]

Nothing wrong with that!

[hannamaren]

I have got 3 slices of salami before. For pizza topping.
Why would they care?

[thegooser]

I mean, would you buy more sweaters than you needed if it made it easier on the salesperson? Likely not. Same thing. I vote MM!

[polarbearfans]

I order what I need. If that is 2 slices of cheese, I get two slices of cheese.

[Deleted]

Oh, and the deli sales person complained because they didn't know what that would look like on their scale. So I converted it to a decimal for them.

[curbsideprophet]

I would not say it was wrong, but it does seem a bit extreme. I try to at least order 1/4th lb. In your case I would have cut back on the variety. If you were only getting one type of meat and one type of cheese I could maybe see ordering such a small quantity.

[Deleted]

Nov 25, 2012 19:41:08 GMT -5 @ruralrabbit1 said:

Oh, and the deli sales person complained because they didn't know what that would look like on their scale. So I converted it to a decimal for them.

Wow.

[pugz]

I usually do at least 1/4lb, but typically just get the hillshire farms deli meat that is pre-packaged.

I don't think you were rude.

[dexteroni]

It's fine to ask for any amount you want. I've gotten 2 and 4 slices before when that's all I need, usually for a recipe. And I would email the grocery store about the deli worker's attitude. That is not cool.

And you're not really asking if we side with your H, right?

[yellowbrkrd]

Nothing wrong with that. DH often orders deli meat by the slice bc he knows he'll be out of town and will only need so much.

[Deleted]

Not rude. It's not like the deli guy is being paid on commission and losing out on another sale. I love it that he complained about not knowing how to measure it so you converted for him.

[gibbinator]

Nov 25, 2012 19:41:08 GMT -5 @ruralrabbit1 said:

Oh, and the deli sales person complained because they didn't know what that would look like on their scale. So I converted it to a decimal for them.

Um yeah, the deli person just is rude and lazy

[Deleted]

Your money is green! No problem with that.

[IrishBelle]

You're the customer and there is nothing wrong with that!

[livinitup]

Rude? For a custom order? I suppose you could have bought the prepackaged stuff at their weight. But then, the deli guy wouldn't have employment, right? That's the whole point of custome service, no?

And I can't imagine how it would have been so much better for the deli guy to slice-out another 1/8 or 1/2 pound. How the hell is that better for him to slice more??

[explorer2001]

I order by the slice all the time. I think the smallest weight I've order is a 1/4 pound but that's because for me it's easier to figure out slices if it's less than that.

As far as your H, he complains about everything. You know he's wrong. It will be easier for you to do what you need to do if you stop giving his baseless ramblings credence.

[justkly]

I am a deli manager at a grocery store. We will not slice meat/cheese unless you are getting 1/4 pound or more. Sure, YOU might be MM, but the amount of waste produced if each consumer were to do that would shut the deli down. NOT MM to the rest of your fellow consumers.

[moolarkey]

I never order less than 1/4 lb when having items sliced. It has never occurred to me to order less and especially not to order by the slice.

[4speedy]

I don't think you were in the wrong AT ALL! That being said, I think I might have ordered by the slice, instead. It's not a matter of not knowing the decimal conversion on the scale, I just simply wouldn't know what a 1/8 pound pile of sliced meat would look like. If I were the clerk, I probably would have to make a few trips back and forth to the scale to get the weight just right. But if you said "I need 4 slices of each," that would be quick and easy for everyone.

[jackie011]

Nov 25, 2012 20:35:24 GMT -5 justkly said:

I am a deli manager at a grocery store. We will not slice meat/cheese unless you are getting 1/4 pound or more. Sure, YOU might be MM, but the amount of waste produced if each consumer were to do that would shut the deli down. NOT MM to the rest of your fellow consumers.

Huh? How is she creating waste? How is the deli losing money? I didn't know deli counters were on such razor slim hourly margins that this type of order would shut down the deli?

RR- If the deli has an issue with this, they should have some sort of signage requiring a certain sized order.

[justkly]

Everytime we open bulk deli meat and slice, we have to throw away the first slice (per health department). So, in order to slice your 2-3 slices for 1/8 pound, we would have to waste 1 slice each and every time. I'm sure you can do the math and see how a company could not sustain a department if their waste was anywhere from 25-50%. Oh, and that clerk was incompetent. I would never hire an employee that did not understand basic math.

[StJess80]

Now I want some meat and cheese.

[chia]

Nov 25, 2012 21:02:00 GMT -5 justkly said:

Everytime we open bulk deli meat and slice, we have to throw away the first slice (per health department). So, in order to slice your 2-3 slices for 1/8 pound, we would have to waste 1 slice each and every time. I'm sure you can do the math and see how a company could not sustain a department if their waste was anywhere from 25-50%. Oh, and that clerk was incompetent. I would never hire an employee that did not understand basic math.

No, if too many people started ordering 2-3 slices, your store would just raise the price per pound by 20-25% to cover the cost of waste.

OP - I think it's totally reasonable to order what you want.

[CloudBee]

Nov 25, 2012 21:02:00 GMT -5 justkly said:

Everytime we open bulk deli meat and slice, we have to throw away the first slice (per health department). So, in order to slice your 2-3 slices for 1/8 pound, we would have to waste 1 slice each and every time. I'm sure you can do the math and see how a company could not sustain a department if their waste was anywhere from 25-50%. Oh, and that clerk was incompetent. I would never hire an employee that did not understand basic math.

You're really snippy in this thread.

[niemand88f]

When I worked in a deli in HS it was a little annoying to slice really small amounts. We wrapped the remaining piece of meat in saran wrap, and would usually throw away that whole piece of plastic each time it was opened (otherwise it wouldn't stay wrapped again), then re-wrap with fresh plastic after slicing. So it was a little wasteful with regards to plastic usage. I would never have complained to a customer though. There were much worse requests and worse wastes- like 1 pound of the smallest diameter salami sliced paper thin! Or customers leaving packages of deli meat around the store after they decided they didn't want it.

Personally if I want really small amounts, I try to stick to just 1-2 items. But I don't think OP is wrong to have ordered that either.