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I used to work at a grocery store deli. Every week, without fail, we'd sell 75% yellow American cheese and 25% white American cheese (and that's being generous
by c3534l 7y ago
I used to work at a grocery store deli. Every week, without fail, we'd sell 75% yellow American cheese and 25% white American cheese (and that's being generous to the amount of white we sold). I asked my boss why we didn't just buy more yellow than white instead of buying exactly one box of white for every box of yellow and she just got mad and said "what, you think you can do my job better than me?"
I still deeply want to know this mystery. It's obvious to anyone who works at a grocery store that certain items are way more popular than others, but grocery stores buy way more variety than makes sense. Maybe it's for appearance in some cases, but no one can see how much American cheese we have stocked at the deli counter, and it's true for the stuff stored in the back of the warehouse, too.
- lugg 7y agoProbably caused by decouling between buy price and realised sell price. You might also find the white is partly a byproduct that needs to be made no matter what. And this brings me to what also is truly good at, they own the full chain and leverage it. There are certain products I notice that only come in stock some years and it seems like they're made out of excess produce. I.e. a cereal I like is made entirely out of these chunky things that usually go in as additives to other cereals. It looks like they only stock it when they have a cheap wheat price. Another one is the nut bars and what kind of fruits they have mixed in.
- tw04 7y ago>You might also find the white is partly a byproduct that needs to be made no matter what. White is literally the color of the cheese. The "yellow" has food coloring and "flavor" added. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_cheese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_cheese
- Griffinsauce 7y agoThe "cheese" part is also questionable...
- Zarel 7y agoI assume this is a metaphor. But even for products that _are_ byproducts, it seems like the correct solution is to sell the less-popular one at a lower price.
- thaumasiotes 7y agoOr... not buy it, as c3534l suggested. The fact that I produce egg whites and egg yolks together doesn't mean everyone who buys my whites is obligated to also buy a proportional quantity of yolks. That would defeat the whole purpose of separating them in the first place.
- lugg 7y agoIt wouldn't defeat the purpose at all but it is along the lines of the point I was making. The yolks are a by product no matter what. There was an interview on the Daily show or last week tonight where they made fun of a guy eating a plate of fried eggs that looked like 5 yolks and 2 egg whites. My guess, the dinner sells a lot of eggwhite omelettes and makes use of the extra yolks as another option for other people to buy. In the supermarket scenario, the supplier only has one customer and has to somehow make them buy both no matter what.
- iforgotpassword 7y agoMy sister used to work at a super market. One of hey colleagues was tasked with checking the inventory and then restock. My sister saw how her colleague clearly saw that they still had 5 boxes of white chocolate and only 2 of the regular one (I don't remember the actual product but it doesn't matter). Her colleague ordered 3 white and 2 regular. "why the heck are you doing this? Obviously there is more demand for the regular one!" My sister exclaimed. "well I like white chocolate better!" Her colleague explained. So I think it's absolutely possible you could have done your boss' job better. :-)
- jacquesm 7y ago> we'd sell 75% yellow American cheese and 25% white American cheese Both are terrible. If there is one thing I really missed on the other side of the Atlantic it was the European quality and variety of cheese.
- trophycase 7y agoGo to a real grocery store. If you're shopping at any of the "name brand" grocery stores you're not going to get that much of any quality. Local coops and "high end" grocery stores generally have a great selection and often they have someone working there to help you understand and select cheeses.
- barbecue_sauce 7y agoAm I the only person who likes both American cheese and more complex artisanal european cheeses?
- stjohnswarts 7y agoNothing beats a hamburger with fresh chopped onions, american cheese, mustard, and pickles on a brioche bun. I will fight over that.