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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have offered feedback on a new supermarket worker?

92 replies

StitchWitch · 03/10/2014 22:30

I bought cheese at the cheese counter today and was a bit taken aback that the girl (very young, very clean looking) handled the cheese with her bare hands. After serving me she brushed back some attractive wisps of hair that weren't under her hat and as she handed it over I - much to DD and DS's mortification - asked very politely about their hand washing policy. She looked new and I wanted to make sure she would do it at least if prompted. She said 'oh yes, we wash our hands', gave me the cheese, rearranged her fringe again and turned immediately to serve another customer barehanded. I didn't feel there was any particular danger in this case, but I was pretty sure she wasn't following their guidelines and it made me wonder what other hygiene rules she wasn't following.

I didn't want to make a fuss over nothing so checked the food standards website for guidelines (no bare hands on food, no loose hair etc) before going to customer services. I just said very politely that I felt a bit uncomfortable for the reasons above and the lady looked appalled. She called a manager and I explained it to him in the context of her looking quite new and it being a training opportunity. He was brilliant, perfect attitude. He confirmed that everything she had done was against their policies and confirmed that she was new and obviously needed a bit more training. He thanked me for drawing it to their attention without making a big fuss, and assured me the girl's manager would talk to her about it. All sounded very positive and not punitive. Do you think I did the right thing?

OP posts:
wooooosualsuspect · 04/10/2014 10:20

I work in catering I know the hygeine rules inside out. I wouldn't stand watching some girl on a deli counter though.

Original poster
StitchWitch · 04/10/2014 10:25

I watched the sink, simply because I was concerned and it was clearly visible from the yoghurt aisle :)

OP posts:
Original poster
StitchWitch · 04/10/2014 10:33

Now I've registered the egg element (which I only realised this morning whilst cooking scrambled egg and immediately cleaning every associated surface to avoid an anaphylactic reaction in my client tomorrow) I'm pretty confident I wasn't being unreasonable regardless of what others might think who perhaps don't have such pressing reasons to be concerned about hygiene.

The rules are there for a reason. An earlier poster mentioned an allergic reaction after somebody didn't wash their hands between wearing latex gloves and handling her food. The allergic reaction that could have ensued here could be life-threatening to my client. Cross-contamination is a life or death issue for some people. My hygiene at home ranges from quite relaxed when it's just family (and my sister is even more relaxed which doesn't bother me) to utterly flawless at work because it has to be. Washing my hands between each different food type is second nature even when it's just family because you don't switch that sort of thing on and off.

OP posts:
Original poster
StitchWitch · 04/10/2014 10:35

And I spoke directly to the girl first and wouldn't have taken it further if she'd taken the hint and washed her hands, even though there would have been every chance it was a one-off wash.

OP posts:
raltheraffe · 04/10/2014 10:38

It would not bother me at all. Its not like she had Ebola.

HappyAgainOneDay · 04/10/2014 10:45

The girl at the OP's shop needs to know what a hair grip is and how to use it. Apart from the hygiene side of things, it's not etiquette to fiddle in any way with your hair while you're out. I think this has probably died a death because the Duchess of Cambridge is always using a hand to flick her hair back. (It would be nice if she were to wear it up).

I was in Sainsbury's recently and the cashier grudgingly let me have a carrier bag but licked her fingers before separating a few. I declined and asked if I could separate one for myself and told her why. You don't have to lick your fingers for this purpose. I had a temporary job at Tesco and was shown how to do it without licking.

googoodolly · 04/10/2014 10:49

YABU. It's not like she's spitting all over the food or coughing everywhere or sneezing.

As for your allergy comment - if you're that allergic, don't buy things off the counters. We cannot guarantee there's been no cross-contamination either on the counters or before the product arrives. I work on the pizza counter and if a customer tells me they have a severe cheese allergy, I have to tell them we cannot guarantee their pizza will be cheese free, same with a mushroom allergy or whatever other toppings we have available. It's a busy, messy job making pizzas and the cheese does spread between product. I can't wash my hands between making every pizza - we simply don't have the time.

Jill2015 · 04/10/2014 10:53

Thanks Stitch.
It used to bother me in one place I liked for lunch, the staff wore gloves handling food, e.g. picking up sandwich fillings, but then would grab door handles etc, still wearing the gloves. I don't go there anymore.

ResponsibleAdult · 04/10/2014 11:12

Food hygiene is an important issue. I wouldn't be too uptight at the cheese counter, because as pp said there are millions of microbes of bacteria in cheese.

However if it were the butchers counter I would complain. I have refused to take meat as it was poorly handled and have also asked the person serving to wash their hands after handling one set of meat, and moving onto another. Cross contamination, different sell by dates, possible parasites, all recipe for potential disaster

did speak to manager at Waitrose about the butchers counter, got an apology and comment about retraining clutches pearls.

maddening · 04/10/2014 11:18

Ours use a plastic sheet to pick up the food - I think they do wear gloves.

silverten · 04/10/2014 11:24

Whether you think the hand washing/gloves issue is a thing or not, it sounds like you made the perfect 'complaint'- quiet, sensible, discreet. Gives the shop a chance to sort things out without a big hoo-ha. I bet the manager wishes everyone was like you.

TaliZorahVasNormandy · 04/10/2014 11:27

My friend works at sainsbury's deli counter, they wear clothes and use sheets of plastic to pick up the food.

TaliZorahVasNormandy · 04/10/2014 11:28

gloves not Clothes, clothes are standard Grin

Original poster
StitchWitch · 04/10/2014 11:29

Responsible, rules are less strict for food that's going to be cooked and I would be less worried for that reason. Glad I'm not the only one to complain, though!

Maddening, if she'd used a plastic sheet, the clingfilm wrapping from the cheese or the bag the cheese was going in to, we would not be having this conversation!

OP posts:
Original poster
StitchWitch · 04/10/2014 11:30

Lol Tali, I wondered!

OP posts:
Oldraver · 04/10/2014 12:15

A couple of years ago an assistant sneezed into her hand then picked up the plastic sheets they used and served me with my ham...I was mortified and couldn't say anything immediatly but went back and told her why I didnt want the ham...the manager was fuming.

A week later I saw her sat on the floor back to a unit (she was finishing her shift and waiting for the new server) and she got up stood with her bum perched on the server area (the shelf bit on her side of the counter) took her hat off and started twatting around with her hair....I think she was asked to leave after that

ResponsibleAdult · 04/10/2014 12:34

Fair point stitch, they should all be handling all food properly. It's quite off putting, although the packaged meat handling could be just as bad, we just don't see it.

differentnameforthis · 04/10/2014 13:41

Cross-contamination is a life or death issue for some people.

Which is why gloves are an issue. If she handled a block of cheese with latex gloves on before I purchased it, I would suffer from the cross contamination of that.

Oral thrush last time. No laughing matter. I was very poorly with it.

Original poster
StitchWitch · 04/10/2014 14:19

Yes, agreed. I've already acknowledged that gloves are not the solution. The gloves they use usually aren't latex, though.

OP posts:
googoodolly · 04/10/2014 14:26

They are. The only gloves we have available at work (supermarket counter) are latex.

LosingAllTheLego · 04/10/2014 14:29

I can't believe anyone would stalk the deli counter to check what the server was doing, and then go to the effort of looking up the official procedures on their phone before complaining to the manager.

What would be wrong with just asking the server to put gloves on or wash their hands?? And what on earth do you think chefs do, or the people who manufacture the food????

PhaedraIsMyName · 04/10/2014 14:41

I wouldn't have even noticed.

PhaedraIsMyName · 04/10/2014 14:46

You sound slightly demented tbh.

Original poster
StitchWitch · 04/10/2014 14:48

I did ask her. She didn't. I watched the sink for a few minutes because I didn't want to speak to a manager if she was washing her hands on a frequent timetable that didn't match my preference but was reasonable.

I also wanted to check that it wasn't different rules for food counters than for home-based food businesses, so I looked it up.

OP posts:
tinylttletrotters · 04/10/2014 14:49

Good for you for quietly bringing it to the managers attention
You gave her the opportunity to washing her hands , she ignored it
Hair thing makes me vom personally

I am no domestic goddess but that's rank