Tasting Grapes Before Buying

[VandVsmama]

I don't taste grapes in the store. It's gross and it's stealing.

I now grow my own instead and they taste way better than any store grape!

 

[bookgirl]

I’m gen-x. I totally eat raw cookie dough

Gen X we are a force to be reckoned with. LOLOLOLOL

 

[NYCgrrl]

I prefer to use all my senses when shopping for fresh produce which explains why I don’t buy fruits and vegetables that are hermetically sealed in plastic.
I want to smell, touch, and yes, sometimes taste what I’m buying.

It arouses my suspicions when merchants “hide” their goods and inform their employees this is to prevent theft. Funny that excessive packaging isn’t seen as a deterrent to returning the goods and a way of stealing from the consumer.

Madison Avenue at its finest.

Off my soapbox.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I've not tried the cotton candy grapes -- what're they like?

Heaven in a bag.

They are very sweet, and really do have overtones of cotton candy.

 

[White Cat]

Do you taste a grape before you buy a bag? I don’t. I feel like it’s stealing. But so often I’ll buy a bag and they are so sour. We end up throwing most of them away. ☹ I’m so tempted to start tasting.

I agree, it’s stealing.

 

[ronandannette]

The young employee was not wrong.

I'd love to live in the city where LEO have so much spare time they are able to respond to calls from the grocery store and arrest grape samplers. The clerk in this example behaved like an imperious little prig. Much more appropriate for him to have said "Please do not consume any produce without having paid for it.".

 

[Cheburashka]

I was in Costco a long time back and my husband took a grape off a bunch to taste it. A young employee loudly informed us that we were stealing and could be arrested.

I would have complained to the manager about that. What an awful way to treat a customer! I don't taste-test, btw, and don't recommend it, but tasting a single grape is a far cry from arrestable stealing, especially in a store that is known for giving out food samples (pre-Covid, at least). I doubt that employee had the approval of his or her boss to act that way. If the manager hadn't agreed it was a problem and apologized, I would have cancelled my Costco membership & requested a membership refund then and there, and also submitted a complaint to the company afterwards. That's a high insult.

"Please don't taste the produce until after you've purchased it" is easy enough to say, and it's civil.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Depends on who's selling. I've certainly been to farmers markets where there were samples, although they weren't specifically to test one piece of fruit in a bunch. I've been to one where there were rumors that people have been banned for taking samples. One specific person (a reporter) was banned from the store for reporting about it. I was at that store once when I asked an employee about some avocado variety I was unfamiliar with, where he pulled out his knife and cut one right there for me to try out.

This is one of the reasons I buy most of our produce at farmers’ markets. During the pandemic touching much less tasting isn’t allowed but you can bring your purchase back if you aren’t satisfied with the quality. It’s a give and take relationship and brings a sense of respect for the vendors and consumers.

 

[ronandannette]

This is one of the reasons I buy most of our produce at farmers’ markets. During the pandemic touching much less tasting isn’t allowed but you can bring your purchase back if you aren’t satisfied with the quality. It’s a give and take relationship and brings a sense of respect for the vendors and consumers.

It's been the same here, except for many stores suspended their return policies; even big places like WalMart. I'm not a taster but Covid or no, at the prices produce is here, especially over the winter, no way was I not squeezing and smelling the melons and examining the packaged berries and bagged salad to be sure there was no visible rot in it.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I'd love to live in the city where LEO have so much spare time they are able to respond to calls from the grocery store and arrest grape samplers. The clerk in this example behaved like an imperious little prig. Much more appropriate for him to have said "Please do not consume any produce without having paid for it.".

In my city, every time you see someone pulled over there are 5 cars setting around them. They'd probably be thrilled to be called to the grocery store for grape thieves.

 

[DVCjj]

Yes. I try one. (Not worried about about 1 grape killing me)

Can't stand sour grapes.

 

[DVCjj]

I do not taste test. I have found that if the grapes pull off easily from the stems, they are usually sweet. So I just try a few that way. I was in Costco a long time back and my husband took a grape off a bunch to taste it. A young employee loudly informed us that we were stealing and could be arrested. I was flabbergasted.

How stupid that is. Your husband should have told him he would reimburse for the one if they can figure out what he owes.

 

[penn19]

I see people who “taste” chicken wings. And other food stuff. And they leave their remains behind. I feel like if you haven’t paid for it, it’s not yours. It’s just not.

 

[mom2rtk]

I do not taste test. I have found that if the grapes pull off easily from the stems, they are usually sweet. So I just try a few that way. I was in Costco a long time back and my husband took a grape off a bunch to taste it. A young employee loudly informed us that we were stealing and could be arrested. I was flabbergasted.

If they're going to be hard line about tasting a single grape, then they should probably allow returns for grapes that are sour.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I see people who “taste” chicken wings. And other food stuff. And they leave their remains behind. I feel like if you haven’t paid for it, it’s not yours. It’s just not.

RAW chicken wings?!? That’s odd.

 

[luv2cheer92]

I’m gen-x. I totally eat raw cookie dough

I'm Gen-Y and do it (and so does pretty much everyone I know my age haha). So what does that make us? lol

 

[Disneylover99]

I see people who “taste” chicken wings. And other food stuff. And they leave their remains behind. I feel like if you haven’t paid for it, it’s not yours. It’s just not.

What? Do you mean pre-cooked meals?

 

[TwoMisfits]

If they're going to be hard line about tasting a single grape, then they should probably allow returns for grapes that are sour.

Most places, if you bring the bag and receipt, will...but it's a lot of work for a few bucks...

 

[NYCgrrl]

Most places, if you bring the bag and receipt, will...but it's a lot of work for a few bucks...

Exactly which is what the supermarkets are counting on; more money in their pockets and less products in yours. The winners and the losers are easy to see.

 

[soccerdad72]

If they're going to be hard line about tasting a single grape, then they should probably allow returns for grapes that are sour.

If it's Costco, they'll pretty much take everything back, no (or few) questions asked.