Meat Store Methods and Beef Stick Schemes

I went to the meat store tonight. There is a new meat store in my town. I went to the grocery store to get some chicken breasts quick, then realized I should go support the local butcher. I made a quick run through the store and got slices of cheese, bananas, sandwich pickles and chocolate milk – all quick things on an end aisle.

As I was at the meat store getting chicken, a guy got 3 pounds of ground beef. As the butcher took a big heaping pile of beef (a great sight indeed) and put it on the scale, he came to 3.4 pounds. He politely asked the customer if that was okay, and he said yes.

It got me thinking, you know, I am sure people in deli’s and at meat stores do that on purpose. If you think about it, they grab a pound of deli slices here, a few pounds of beef there – all day long every day. You know they can get a pretty good idea of how much they are scooping up after doing it everyday, and I can guarantee most experienced butchers or deli workers have an idea of how much they are scooping up. It might be tougher with say, turkey vs. salami, because they are not as proportionate, turkey is more thick, while salami is lighter and fluffier and round. But I am always amazed at the deli worker – usually a middle-aged woman – who can pick up a pound of roast beef, and get it right on the money – one pound exactly. What a great skill – and efficient too, because then she can get back to making potato salad.

But really, adding excess in a secretive way is a good tactic, because if you do go over, people are still going to buy the meat. Why not get a little extra while you are at it? Butchers and deli workers are all about the profits as well.

I pulled a quick on the butcher though – and I had the last laugh today. I got some chicken breasts and some marrow bones for the dog. I was eyeing up some beef sticks on the top shelf – after I paid. I asked how much they were and started going through my wallet – even though I knew I had no cash on me. I said “sorry, I guess I’ll have to try them next time.”

Since I was a paying customer, the butcher wanted to promote the product to me, so he reached in and gave me a beef stick for free. It was quite tasty.

So, while butcher and deli workers might try and pull fast ones when weighing meat, I pulled a fast one with the old “I don’t have any cash on me,” trick…although it was true, I didn’t.

Samples are great, and any butcher worth his weight in meat will gladly give a free sample. For that, I will definitely be going back – even if they do pull meat schemes of their own.