Potatoes and Chitting

Greengage · Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 8:15 pm Post subject: Potatoes and Chitting

I was in a large garden centre today and the staff were removing the eyes from the potatoes and putting them back on the shelves so they would look nice for the weekend, what are peoples thoughts on this.

tagwex · Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 9:18 pm Post subject:

My Potatoes · Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 10:05 pm Post subject:

Removing the eyes, or removing the sprouts?
I'd regard both as bad practice. The former would render the seed potatoes worthless whereas the latter would be a major setback.

tippben · Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 1:00 am Post subject:

Where was this "garden centre"? Yep that's a stupid thing to do , P45 is right, but if we don't know who dunnit, We don't know who to avoid, or at the very least complain to when we get there. Name names.

tippben · Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 1:11 am Post subject:

My strategy here would've been to ask for the manager. Take him to the problem. Ask the workers "What are you doing? Why? Well who told you to do it? Where are they?" Take it up a level, manager in tow, rinse and repeat until I found the horticulturally illiterate culprit. Low level staff in retail outlets very often get made to do extremely stupid things by even stupider people. Even if they know better, they just have to shrug and do it anyway to keep their job. Only when a customer complains does the point come across. "Nobody who grows spuds is going to buy them if you do that to them because... Your sales figures will drop, you won't get your monthly pat on the back. Oh, you'd like me to leave? Fair enough. Lets see what head office have to say. It's Mr. (it's nearly always a Mr.)?"

Greengage · Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 10:43 am Post subject:

ok now for my two pence since I saw it. they were removing the sprouts, at this stage I don't think it will be a major problem but will be a set back, BUT before they arrived in the store what was done to them was this the second time or third time this was done if so I think the will be exhausted as the tuber is a food store and they cannot keep putting on sprouts indefinitely. I will not name the store but it is a major garden center. there are worse things happening in the world without losing sleep over sprouts on potatoes, "Buyer beware"

tippben · Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 4:34 pm Post subject:

It is still malpractice, and should be complained about. If they have too much stock, and not enough buyers the correct thing to do is to discount them (shrinkage). To seriously harm the viability of a product is very bad business. What they really need is staff who understand, and can explain that eyes sprouting is exactly what you want. If the sprouts get to 6 inches long, well. They need either a different supplier, or to send the delivery back and complain.