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Original poster

Grapes... try before you buy?!

98 replies

Ivycrescent · 28/04/2021 00:11

I remember as a child shopping with my dad in the 80s, he would try a grape or a cherry from the bags of fruit on display, to see if he liked them before buying! Pretty sure he did it with the Woolies Pick n mix too!

Was this common back in the day or was my dad pushing his luck?!
(He was a politics / history lecturer btw, not a criminal type- well not an obvious one anyway!!)

OP posts:
HipsyOngeza · 28/04/2021 00:16

Yes it was a thing. I never did it often.

Butterfly44 · 28/04/2021 00:18

Yes, but now everything is plastic wrapped and there's cctv everywhere .... not to mention covid and touching things

reecespiece · 28/04/2021 00:19

Yes, it was definitely a thing!

Anordinarymum · 28/04/2021 00:20

I never try grapes before I buy them.. or strawberries or blueberries or raspberries. I never eat half a bar of chocolate before I get to the checkout either :)

GreyhoundG1rl · 28/04/2021 00:26

It wasn't a thing. Just because some people did it doesn't make it a thing.

DramaAlpaca · 28/04/2021 00:26

It was definitely a thing. Back in the day you'd never buy a bunch of grapes without trying one. No way would I even think to do it now, how times change!

melj1213 · 28/04/2021 00:30

My mum always used to try a grape or cherry when they were sold in open bags to make sure they were ripe and not too tart/sour before she bought them.

If things come in sealed packets then you have to take your chances that they are not going to be bad, but if packets are open then I don't see the harm in trying one as quality control before you buy the whole packet.

AdaColeman · 28/04/2021 00:32

I was shocked to see in M&S some time ago, a lady scrabbling through the bags of grapes eating a few from each bag! I've never bought M&S grapes since!
She and her kind must have eaten plenty, as that store is closed down now as unprofitable! Grin Grin

Original poster
Ivycrescent · 28/04/2021 00:33

Ahh it’s nice to hear this was an actual thing (sorry Greyhound, you’re outnumbered!) and others remember too!
They put tasters of bread and cheese out sometimes don’t they, I guess it’s the same idea. I would feel very wrong eating grapes now though!

OP posts:
Original poster
Ivycrescent · 28/04/2021 00:34

@AdaColeman

I was shocked to see in M&S some time ago, a lady scrabbling through the bags of grapes eating a few from each bag! I've never bought M&S grapes since! She and her kind must have eaten plenty, as that store is closed down now as unprofitable! Grin Grin
Shock Grin
OP posts:
VaggieMight · 28/04/2021 00:35

I remember my mum doing this with grapes in the 80s. She wouldn't do it now though.

GreyhoundG1rl · 28/04/2021 00:36

They put tasters of bread and cheese out sometimes don’t they, I guess it’s the same idea
How is remotely the same idea?! Being invited to taste something and scrabbling through bags to help yourself is not the same thing!

melj1213 · 28/04/2021 00:36

I never eat half a bar of chocolate before I get to the checkout either

Theres a difference between a single grape and opening bars of chocolate. Chocolate bars come with an expected standard of quality and shelf life. If a bar of chocolate is on the shelf, sealed and in date then there is an assumption that it is good and rarely will you open a bar of chocolate to find it is mouldy and bad inside.

With fresh produce you can't always tell just by looking at it if it is good. Some stuff you just have to take your chances with as there is no way to check the quality before buying but when there is a way to check quality by trying a single grape from a whole punnet for example, i don't see the harm

joystir59 · 28/04/2021 00:38

I also taste the cashews in Lidl and often decide, eventually, they aren't good enough to buy. Grin

IHaveBrilloHair · 28/04/2021 00:39

Not grapes but I used to get Dd a snack from the shelf and pay at the end when she was little.
I still shop in the same place 18 years later.

5zeds · 28/04/2021 00:41

It’s stealing, doesn’t matter what your job is or what year you did it.

Wingedharpy · 28/04/2021 00:48

DH still does this with fresh garden peas.
I just pretend I don't know him.

melj1213 · 28/04/2021 01:29

It’s stealing, doesn’t matter what your job is or what year you did it.

I work in a supermarket and I would not consider eating a single grape as stealing ... if you ate half the punnet before you get to the checkout then that would be stealing (especially if the grapes are paid for by weight) but a single grape is negligible.

DontBeRidiculous · 28/04/2021 03:13

I don't like buying grapes because you can never tell if they're going to be sweet enough or just watery and blah, but I would be far too embarrassed to sample one. Not to mention that I'm too squeamish to eat fruit without washing it first.

BuyYourOwnBBQGlenda · 28/04/2021 04:38

My dad always did this. I assumed it was because he was North African (that's what I've always blamed the incessant haggling for so I suppose I just imagined it makes you an embarrassing shopper Grin )

Good to know it wasn't just him. Sorry, dad.

Downunderduchess · 28/04/2021 04:45

It’s not a thing. It’s stealing. You’re going to a shop taking something that is for sale without paying for it, that’s stealing.

nancywhitehead · 28/04/2021 04:53

@Ivycrescent

Ahh it’s nice to hear this was an actual thing (sorry Greyhound, you’re outnumbered!) and others remember too! They put tasters of bread and cheese out sometimes don’t they, I guess it’s the same idea. I would feel very wrong eating grapes now though!
I mean... sure... people can say it was a "thing" but it's still stealing.
nancywhitehead · 28/04/2021 04:56

@melj1213

It’s stealing, doesn’t matter what your job is or what year you did it.

I work in a supermarket and I would not consider eating a single grape as stealing ... if you ate half the punnet before you get to the checkout then that would be stealing (especially if the grapes are paid for by weight) but a single grape is negligible.

But if everyone who buys grapes does this....?

If you sell 100 punnets of grapes and every person tries on (or a few) you lose 100 grapes.... that's more than a punnet's worth.... so you're losing money. It is stealing even though it's negligible.

MargaretThursday · 28/04/2021 04:56

Only when you were buying from the fruit stall and they invited you to.

nancywhitehead · 28/04/2021 04:56

*on = one