Cheesewench rant

Guess what time it is? It's time to get on my soapbox. Where I work we have a saying "We build up, we don't tear down." I'm going to try to adhere to that. I am only human, so I might fail. A few weeks ago a customer came in and wanted to know why we charge more for Mt. Tam than Whole Foods. We charge the same price as Cowgirl Creamery. As you know, Whole Foods is a ginormous grocery store. In my opinion they're on the same level as Target or Borders. These stores are able to sell products at a lower price for a few reasons.

Quantity. Whole Foods, Costco and other large supermarkets have deeper pockets than the independently owned shop I work for. If you buy more product you usually get a better deal, even in the cheese world. Big stores also have loss leaders. They can afford to take a loss on one specific product because they have so many other products to make that loss up on. It's why you'll see such price variation. The Whole Foods near me has thousands upon thousands of products. Organic avocados from Mexico, a sushi bar, a gelato stand, diapers, household cleaners, frozen foods, a prepared foods bar, and yes a cheese stand.

A loss leader works because the woman who came in essentially accusing us of price gouging grrrr is going to shop at Whole Foods. She'll go in to get her cheese, and while she's there she'll hit the meat counter, the produce area, maybe the bulk grains. Bottom line, she'll buy more than just one cheese, but the low price on the cheese is what gets her, and other customers into the store.

A shop like that one I work for can't afford to do that. We have several hundred products. If we take a loss on a product, we can't readily make that money up in another sector. I appreciate what big box stores do. I do shop at Whole Foods for certain items, and I go to Border's and Target periodically as well. I try to do more shopping at independent stores it can be difficult, but it's worth the price.

Warning! Here comes the snarky part.

A few months ago I was looking for Bonne Bouche from VT Butter & Cheese Company. This is one of my all time favorite cheeses, and I can't get it out here. I went to one of the larger stores specifically looking for it. What follows is my rendition of the conversation with the woman working the cheese counter.

Counter Person: "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Me: "I'm looking for cheese from VT Butter & Cheese Company"
C.P.: "What are you looking for?"
Me: "It's a cheese called Bonne Bouche."
C.P.: "All the cheeses they make are in the dairy section. They make Mascarpone, Creme Fraiche and Fromage Blanc."
Me: "Yeah, I saw those. I'm looking for Bonne Bouche. It's about this big, round, covered in ash."
C.P.: "I've never heard of it, the only things they make are the things in the dairy case, and butter."
Me: "Um...I've had the Bonne Bouche before. I've put it in my mouth. It exists."
C.P.: "You must be thinking of some other company."
Me: "No I'm not. I've had the cheese. I know who makes it. They make several different cheeses in addition to the butter, Mascarpone, Creme Fraiche, Quark and Fromage Blanc. Why are you being an argumentative stupid head?"
C.P.: "I don't know what cheese you're talking about so instead of admitting it I'm going to adamantly insist that it doesn't exist and try to make you feel stupid. I have no idea that you really do know what you're talking about and that this encounter is going to stay with you for months, eventually inspiring a blog post. I also have no joy in my heart."

I'm paraphrasing a bit, and in that last exchange, some of that was my interpretation, but I was really upset by this. We have people come into the shop and ask about specific cheese all the time. I don't know all of the cheeses in the world. What we do at work is we ask someone else, pick up one of the books we have in the store, or google it. If I know we don't carry it, I'll make a suggestion for something similar. We sometimes even special order cheeses for customers. I have never told anyone that a cheese doesn't exist, only that I don't know it but will try to look it up. I wish I had been treated better at this store, but really I wish the clerk had more knowledge, and passion for her job. Usually a smaller independent shop has that knowledge, that passion.

You all know that I hate to end on a negative, so instead I'll come up with something fun. The other day a girlfriend and I were trying to think of funny images. The one we stuck with was Dachshund puppies participating in an Olympic sport. Specifically the luge. Is there anything cuter than silly looking long weenie puppies doing the luge? I think not.