13 products supermarket employees have no idea what you mean by, #2
Of course, they can’t know everything, those lovely supermarket employees. Sometimes the search for your groceries unintentionally takes a bizarre turn. When you’re sent to the cat food and dog kibble for porcini mushrooms, for example. And when you’re handed a roll of rope after asking for ‘everything binder’.
The article 11 products supermarket employees have no idea what you mean by received hundreds of responses on Facebook, especially from employees who were completely in the dark when looking for panko, grey peas or juniper berries. Or, as Madelon says: ‘Whatever I ask for, they always stare at the same shelf for fifteen minutes—the one I’ve just come from.’
A little old-fashioned
Sometimes supermarket employees’ question marks are a symptom of the generation gap. For example, when you’re looking for grey peas, Doortje knows: ‘As a teenager, I was given a list by my grandmother, and “grey peas” was on it. I searched the vegetable-jar aisle twice, but there were no grey peas. If only she’d said capucijners…’ Laura recognises the misery: ‘What about water gruel?’ And Ronald loves ‘krentjebrei’, but where would you have to find that in the supermarket?
Quick, I’m looking for pearl barley!
Annette couldn’t find the ingredients for her favourite dessert. ‘I asked for quick-cooking pearl barley. I was immediately told: it must be with the pearl-barley porridge. No, it isn’t there. It’s made by Lassie and is normally with the rice. Well, I think I saw the entire shop and spoke to every employee, and they all looked at me as if to say: what are you talking about?’ But Facebook helps: it’s probably with the baking products.
Rotterdam?
When you’ve just moved out on your own, everything is an adventure of discovery. Especially if you’re from Rotterdam, right? Elise: ‘I went to the shop for kroten. Of course they didn’t have them! The shop assistant laughed when I spoke to her. She said: you mean beetroot, come with me.’
Explosive
Wendy: ‘I was looking for capers, and the boy in the supermarket said: “We don’t sell children’s fireworks.”’
Fascinating
Veniqu had written ‘everything binder’ on the shopping list, but that didn’t go well. ‘My husband had no idea where it was, so he asked a supermarket employee. The employee was kind enough to get it for my husband, and came back with a roll of rope.’
Kind to animals
Christa was looking for porcini mushrooms and asked a supermarket employee about them. ‘She said I’d be better off trying the pet shop.’
Wonder dog
Shelf-stacker Ron had a colleague with some creative ideas. ‘He put the Lassie boxes with the dog food.’
Er, what kind of paper?
Some people are too refined to buy toilet paper , Emilie noticed. ‘An older lady asked me whether we still had closet paper. So I said to her: I’ll ask a colleague. I had no idea what that was! My colleague said: that’s the polite word for toilet paper.’
By the Indonesian layer cake
Yvonne: ‘I once asked an employee whether they had any “bokkenpootjes” in the back. (The shelf was empty.) They came back from the stockroom and said: “Madam, the fresh meat still has to be delivered today.”’
Not a drop
Chantal sent her 12-year-old daughter to the supermarket. On the list: juniper berries. ‘They wouldn’t let her take them because she isn’t 18 yet.’
Mysterious apples
At Björn’s supermarket, golden renets are a mystery to the cashiers. ‘Generally, they’ve never heard of them. The last time, they rang them up as mangoes.’
A case of Tabasco
Jolanda heard a customer ask where the Tabasco was. ‘She was referred to the service desk, where tobacco is sold.’
Crispy
Janke: ‘Panko also turned out to be difficult to find today.’
Read also:
- 8 things customers find super-annoying about supermarket employees
- Supermarket employee tells horror stories about shopping during the holidays
- 5 things supermarket employees really find super-annoying about customers, #3
