You have already read of my first two experiences in purchasing mameys. In my initial purchase (e-mail of 25 Aug 2015, see receipt below), I paid $4.99/pound at Whole Foods. In my next purchase (e-mail of 18 Sep 2015), I paid $3.99/pound at Crystal Fruit, which is a fruit stand in Hyde Square in Jamaica Plain (no receipt given). This e-mail chronicles my buying experiences for the rest of the mamey season. This will be an epistolary post; it contains four e-mails that I wrote after each purchase to Pepe, a noted mamey connoisseur.
Since you will demand documentation for the bizarre tale that unfolds, I show the receipts for my purchases. Since these receipts are a research tool (e-mail of 1 May 2015), you will sometimes see notes that I have made on them.
E-mail of 17 Sep 2015
Pepe,
At Whole Foods I found that they had mameys again Better yet, the sign announced that they were $3.49/pound. This compares to the $4.99 I previously paid at Whole Foods and $3.99 that I paid in Jamaica Plain. When I checked out, however, they rang up as $4.99/pound. I got into a hassle with the cashier but eventually only paid $3.49. (You ask where the mameys are. In my Whole Foods, once you get past the mass displays of apples, grapefruit, etc., there is a little table devoted to tropical fruit. Throughout the year you see stuff there like star fruit, coconuts, rambutan, lychee nuts, horned melon, and so forth. This is where they keep the mamey.)
Rick
[Later note: Now that I study the receipt (see below), I see that, while they told me that I would be charged $3.49/pound, what they really did was give me the larger one for free and charge me $4.99/pound for the other. The rationale for this seemingly inexplicable behavior emerges below.]
E-mail of 22 Sep 2015
I just went to Whole Foods, was pleased to see that they had mameys, and was further pleased to see the aforementioned sign that said they were $3.49/pound. I picked out two mameys.
When I got to check-out, they said that the 2.57 pounds of mameys at $4.99/pound cost $12.82. I pointed out that the price should have been $3.49/pound. I had to walk back to the display with the supervisor and show him the sign, which he then ripped down.
We went back to the cash register, and I naturally expected to play $3.49/pound for my 2.57 pounds. Instead he offered me a deal. He said that he would give me the larger one free and charge me $4.99/pound for the smaller one. Even though it was clear that this was a real deal for me, I couldn't help but ask why he didn't just charge $3,49 for both. He told me that the computerized cash register wouldn't allow that.
So here are the various cases (see receipt below).
- $12.82: If I had paid $4.99/pound.
- $8.97: If I had paid $3.49/pound.
- $5.54: What I actually paid.
Isn't capitalism a gas? I should have taken the whole load at $3.49/pound.
Rick
E-mail of 27 Sep 2015
Pepe,
The saga continues. In fact, it keeps getting better.
I just went to Whole Foods. As I approached the exotic fruit table, I was, once again, pleased to see that they still had mameys and doubly pleased to see that the $3.49/pound sign had been reinstated. They had two big mameys and one small one; I decided to get the two big ones. I figure I need to take full advantage of mamey season while it lasts.
When I got to check-out, the cashier rang up 2.29 pounds of mamey at $4.99/pound for a total of $11.43. Again, I told him that the sign clearly said $3.49. He called over a supervisor, and I told the supervisor that this was the third time in ten days that this mistake had been made. He ordered the cashier to give them to me for free. As he left, he said he was going to take down the sign. I called after him that it had already been ripped down once.
I look forward to my next trip.
I have now saved more than fifteen bucks because of this repeated screw-up. Maybe this is worth a Fruit Explorer e-mail on the benefit of carefully monitoring the check-out process.
Rick
[Later note: In the receipt below, you can see that I was originally charged $11.43 for my mameys, but this charge was backed out, so I did get them for free. There is a minus sign after the second $11.43, though it is so faint that it is hard to see.]
E-mail of 24 Oct 2015
Pepe,
I just went to Whole Foods and was gratified to find mameys since it is the very end of the season. I was doubly gratified to see that they were still at the discount price of $3.49/pound. I picked out two likely ones and headed for checkout.
I was stupefied to see that Whole Foods had not corrected its error. The cashier rang up 2.63 pounds of mamey at $4.99/pound for a total of $13.12. I pointed out the discrepancy between the cash register and the sign, and the cashier called over an expert to deal with the situation. The expert said that the rules required him to verify the sign, so I escorted him him to the mamey display. He saw that I was correct and said I would be charged $3.49/pound. He removed the sign. (I have observed that every expert, assumes that the computer is right and the sign wrong, and he rips down the sign; nevertheless, Rasputin-like, the sign keeps re-appearing.) I told him that this was the third time this error had occurred. (Actually, it was the fourth time, but I didn't want to damage my credibility by asserting too large a number.) Apparently saying that a problem has been repeated is the magic word. He told me that he would give me one for free, charge me $3.49 for the other, and take 10 percent off of my entire order to compensate me for the repeated inconvenience.
We went back to the cashier and the expert told her what to do. She didn't know how to do it, so he took the controls and started to show her how to override a price. It turned out that he couldn't figure out how to do it, so he called over an ever higher ranking expert. This poobah told him there was no way to override a price. His response was that he would find some other fruit that cost $3.49/pound and charge me for that to simulate the purchase of a mamey. He flipped around in his looseleaf notebook of fruits for a while, then punched something into the cash register. The screen showing my order, which listed both the original charge and credit for backing it out,as well as other purchases, was such a mess that I couldn't tell what he did, so, reaching my cognitive limit, I gave up on checking his actions, picked up my stuff, and went home.
Once at home, I got out my cash register receipt (see below), analyzed it, and came to the following conclusion.
- The receipt showed the original charge of $13.12, and it also showed that this charge had been backed out.
- The expert didn't charge me anything at all for my two mameys, so I got them for free. I guess he couldn't find a fruit that cost $3.49/pound.
- He subtracted 10 percent from the rest of my order, which saved me $1.70.
- Assuming that $4.99 is the correct price, this maneuver saved me $13.12 + 1.70 = $14.82.
The conclusion is that I am making more money off my mamey purchases that from any other retirement activity. It's too bad the mamey season is coming to an end; I'll have to find a new source of income.
I wonder how many inattentive customers allow themselves to be charged $4.99/pound.
Rick
Conclusion
The cautionary tale is that you should monitor the actions of cashiers to make sure that they don't take advantage of.you. Don't let them dazzle you with technology.
Rick
P.S. Each mamey has one or two large, lustrous seeds, which are typically 2.0 to 2.75 inches long. The mamey purchases described in this e-mail have allowed me to amass a collection of these handsome seeds. Below is the latest Fruit Explorer art work titled, "The Magnitude of my Desire for Mamey." The medium is mamey seeds and kitchen table.
