MackerelCat wrote: ↑Tue Jun 28, 2022 10:09 am
There's a really good article in The Guardian about "skimpflation," which is the lessening of quality in goods and services that I think we're all experiencing right now:
They're sure right about 'on hold for customer service" - I do a lot of logistics 'stuff' and yesterday had to get some delivery information for customer-brokered freight (the customer just filed bankruptcy, they're not in the mood to help us prove they owe $). One of the carrier's websites had NOTHING in the way of a 'contact customer service' phone # - only a fill in the blanks thing to contact them online. Eventually I went around the website and found a #, the guy who answered said they're so short-staffed mgmnt was trying to get the customers to 'self serve.' Which would have been fine, had I been their customer (instead of someone their customer owes ). Overall he was a nice guy and got the docs we needed in under 10 minutes, so at least some folks are still trying.
Sub-par meals out have been a thing for a while. It's like all the chefs and line cooks lost their sense of smell and taste during the pandemic. Or maybe we did - but that can't be it, home cooking still tastes fine. Hmm.
Fortunately we have really good restaurants here and I have been enjoying them. but we don't do chains except for red lobster occasionally when I need my I wish I was in Connecticut eating seafood fix.
I don't know Mackie, I have never been near a butcher shop just based on the "ick" factor - and I stay as far away from the meat and seafood sections of the grocery store as I can.
I have had a hard time finding high quality produce sometimes since inflation reared his (yep, it's a "he") ugly head. I finally found great avocados at Walmart.
"All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. After all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog."
MackerelCat wrote: ↑Tue Jun 28, 2022 10:43 am
And an article that originally appeared in the New York Times about how people are altering their behavior in response to inflation:
(I have to admit that the woman who mentioned being in her local butcher shop made me do a double take. There are still butcher shops? And who can afford to shop there?)
We have a butcher shop in the next town, and the big grocery store chain HEB will do custom cuts.
HappyDaze wrote: ↑Tue Jun 28, 2022 9:46 pm
I don't know Mackie, I have never been near a butcher shop just based on the "ick" factor - and I stay as far away from the meat and seafood sections of the grocery store as I can.
I have had a hard time finding high quality produce sometimes since inflation reared his (yep, it's a "he") ugly head. I finally found great avocados at Walmart.
Have you always been vegetarian? The end of this year will mark 30 years for me, so more years veg than not.
And with that, some friends who are omnivores sometimes visit and need to hit a 'specialty' meat shop whenever they're here - they live in tiny town north and east in another state but are native Texans from the extreme southeastern part of the state, they grew up with Cajun food, so they load up on andouille and boudin to restock their freezer. It's also a butcher shop. Wild mix of plain old US angus and some exotic stuff (not much Asian, there are a LOT of Asian markets in the area that specialize for a variety of people groups, down in this area we have quite a few immigrants who are Burmese and Hmong).
I don't go to the meat sections of regular stores. I bet the $s are crazy, particularly since the cost of fuel has gone up.