Friday, October 8, 2010

Taking Back Groceries

Does anyone else do this? Like, if you buy bread and it gets moldy before the use by date I'll take it back to the grocery store and have them replace it. Or is meat seems iffy, produce is moldy or limp, fruit... dairy... anything that I buy and isn't edible by the time I'm ready to eat it (within the use by date).

Jerad HATES this. He thinks its uber cheap. And embarrassing.

I buy almost everything organic. It's expensive. If I have to be tossing stuff out all the time, its REAL expensive.

Trader Joes is a breeze. You don't have to bring in the item with you, or a receipt. You just tell them and they let you get another one. If its meat they'll even let you replace it with a slightly bigger cut. Maybe they figure if you are desperate enough to lie to get a few free peaches, you must really need them.

Two days ago Jerad went to the store to pick up something for dessert. He likes going to Scolaries since its closer to us, even though they are the most expensive market in town. He bought 2 baskets of strawberries and some whipping cream. We ate one that night, and were going to eat the other one tonight. When I went to cut them up, they were covered in mold. Not like a spot here and there, it looked like a science experiment. Way beyond salvaging.

We needed some tomato sauce anyways so I told Jerad he could just exchange the berries when he went to the store. Man. You'd have thought I asked him to go get a voluntary colonoscopy. He whined and moaned and begged. Then he made me *call ahead* to check that he could take them back. Seriously (you can, they want a receipt if you have it and you have to bring the moldy melting things in..... ewe).

I'm betting he just throws them away and buys a new basket and passes it off as the replacement.

Anyways, I was just curious if I'm the only one that does this and it really is as cheap/embarrassing/unacceptable as my hubby thinks?

Comments please:)

5 comments:

Paige said...

I totally do it, especially at trader joe's I really need to get better at checking dates, though, when I shop, because 9 out of 10 times I take something back, it was already expired when I bought it.

Most of the time, even if it wasn't expired- just bad, the item sits at my house/in my fridge until WAY after the use by date by the time I get around to taking it back. It is hard enough for me to get motivated to go to the grocery store when I really need to, and most of the time exchanging strawberries wouldn't make the cut.

liz oelker said...

never even thought about doing it. Embarrassing yes, but a great idea! It's probably partially their fault too cause if it's already going bad, it was probably already getting old. I like it!

Jules said...

I do too. I'll also take back something if I just don't like it. I worked at a grocery store one summer, a lot of people bring things back its really not a big deal.

Hammie Fam said...

I am a total grocery taker backer!!!

Anonymous said...

I return pricier things, like meat and dairy always.