AIBU to expect Sainsburys staff to know what mincemeat is?

[trinity0097]

Hubby was directed to beef section when he asked for 'mincemeat, the sweet type for mince-pies'. Surely at this time of year grown up staff should know what this is and where it is in the store?!

Ideally, they'd have received training on products that are associated with Christmas (mincemeat, stollen, marzipan, foie gras etc
bwah ha ha ha ha!

You mean something fairly simple like 10,000 different and constantly changing products?

No something simple such as working on a help line and not knowing that some products are not suitable for some people because of their religion.

Is it really too much to expect someone who earns a living ON AN ADVICE LINE to be able to give advice. Or to at least know the words halal and kosher?

Is it really too much to expect someone who earns a living ON AN ADVICE LINE to be able to give advice. Or to at least know the words halal and kosher?

No, but I wouldn't expect someone to know the details of every single product a store stocks. I would expect them to be able to say "Hang on madam, I'll just check for you" before they look it up. But I wouldn't expect them to know off the top of their heads.

Not knowing is 100% fine! Bear in mind supermarkets use lots of causal over Xmas period too.

AS long as I get the answer "I don't know but I will find out for you" I am happy with that.

I do take them to it, or to a colleague on that department who would know, but I still don't know where absolutely everything is. 99% of the time, I can take a customer to the right aisle, but I wouldn't know what shelf the product was on or necessarily what side of the aisle it was on without looking. It's impossible to know the exact placement of over 10,000 products!

I have to say - most staff at my local supermarkets (Asda and Aldi) are always very helpful and knowledgeable. So I'm not sure that it's always the case that cheap supermarket = untrained staff. I've had poor service in Waitrose, for example, which does pride itself in offering excellent customer service.

It could be that training simply varies from store to store, rather than chain to chain?

It's got a man and a dog and I think it might be set in France. Or Italy. Or somewhere European'...Bit of tolerance and willingness to find out go a long way towards building a civilised society.

silverapples There's a bookshop near me that prides itself on this. The have signs up saying so.

Also there was a chain of record shops, I think Our Price, that used to have an ad campaign saying something like: 'You hum it, we'll find it.'

It wasn't because hubby asked someone in the 'wrong' section, he asked a lady in the home baking aisle, where I eventually found the item! She marched him off the to meat section, despite him telling her it wasn't minced beef he wanted, but mincemeat for mince pies!

I don't expect every member of staff to know every item, but key seasonal items should be a part of training.

I didn't eat mincepies throughout my childhood as I believed they had beef mince in them. I thought my parents were bonkers eating these half sweet half savoury pies. I also have no idea what an annual is? Luckily for all of you I have never worked in a supermarket.

I had no clue what a Christmas annual was, but I am not British. I know now though, because I was in Waterstones in a desperate pre-Christmas rush yesterday.

I don't expect every member of staff to know every item, but key seasonal items should be a part of training.

We're not given any training like that unless it's our department, though. In our case, (I'm deli) we had three new types of ham and our salmon is on offer this week. That's it. I don't know anything about the seasonal products on bakery, just like they know nothing about the ham on ours. It just doesn't happen. If people want better service/knowledge, they need to be willing to pay higher prices to pay for said training. It won't happen when most retail staff are temporary/seasonal and on close to minimum wage.

Hands up anyone else who thought Royal Jelly was for the bath or halal was just to do with meat? No, just me then?

I do cook with quinoa though and was once outraged that Asda didn't sell sanguinello juice so does that redeem me

So what if they don't know what YOUR food items are?! Surely as someone who buys these things you should know yourself which aisle they're in. I'd presume mincemeat for mince pies would be in the homebaking aisle.

I wouldn't really care if the checkout assistant didn't know if my parsnip was a carrot or my melon a coconut. Everything has stickers for scanning now. Why on earth are people suggesting vegetable name training?!

livinginawinterwonderland

Which would have been fine, but that is not what happened.

"cheesecake wasn't just a thing made of cream cheese with a biscuit base but was also a cake made of flaky pastry with desiccated coconut on the top." what!?

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

The OP isn't talking about orzo. Mincemeat is a key seasonal product that's popular as mentioned up thread. I don't give the shiniest of shits where the person works in the store - they should know what bloody mincemeat is and if they don’t know where it is they should ask one of their colleagues as I was told back in the day when trained at the place I used to work in (on checkout). It's basic.

It's managers I blame, they're just not choosy enough with the applicants.

This is one elaclaw

My mum used to buy them all the time. They are very dry and possibly the most disappointing cake in the world. They're exactly the kind of cake you'd expect to find in Greggs.

I think I much prefer normal cheesecake!

Limited that looks like the most unpleasant cake I've ever seen

I've just explored that link. It links to a blog by a baffled Kiwi foodie who actually liked it.

She links to the cake's own FB page. It appears to be a London delicacy like jellied eels and pie and mash and green liquor. I never knew.

It's the kind of cake sold in bakers I call wasp shops, because they have more wasps in the window than cakes.

I highly rate the Eccles cake as a regional foodstuff. Unassuming but quietly confident in its charm, particularly when warm.

Bit like the people of Lancashire. Or is it Eccles in Kent?

Anyway, it's got mincemeat in it.

Ooh! Wash your mouth out with soap - Eccles cakes do not have mincemeat in! They have a blend of currants, sugar, and spices. They do not contain any other dried fruits nor suet, both of which are key ingredients in mincemeat. I'm very partial to both a good homemade mincemeat and a nice eccles cake [dribble]

Muppets You're right. I googled Eccles cakes after my post - I have too much time on my hands.

I do like them though. And garibaldi biscuits.

I had quite a Spartan upbringing despite being from the blinger part of blingiest Essex.

Blame/thank it on my parents' tough East London origins.

Actually, that's not true. My parents were as soft as shit and completely indulged us. And I will thank them for it forever even though it probably didn't do much for my work ethic