I don't work in the bakery, but this is something that strikes me as both bizarre and stupid.
It used to be that the in-store made (I guess) bread would be put out in either partially sealed or completely sealed bags. Just this week though, the bakery is putting out bread and it's just sitting... out there, on the shelf, not in any bags or wrap whatsoever, with bags underneath the shelves for customers to bag their own. They've got bagels out in the open, too. That's disgusting, plain and simple. Not only can flies or whatever land on the bread and bagels (you know they get in the store from time to time) but who knows how many unsanitary hands from uncertain customers and young kids may come into contact with the bread before someone decides to buy a particular loaf or bagel.
Am I just totally out of touch here? I would never buy specialty bread/artisan bread/french bread/etc... that sits out in the open like that. Never. I don't see why other people would want to either and I don't understand the point, period. Is this supposed to increase sales, somehow? I would think it would have the opposite effect!
It's the European way which "some people" THINK is better. Notice the emphasis on the words some people and think. Another way to get people to buy something is to call it "hand crafted". I hand crafted a peanut butter sandwich when I got off work today.
Nope not out of touch with that at all. I've thought of this but clearly the higher ups have not. Cause we have two lovely sections of these and the bagels too. And it's so much fun having to put out the seasonal breads and there are no bags for them. And people are asking can they use other bags that we have instead to put it in.
And my personal fave is the customer slicer next to the display(which they have named the Open Air display without telling us what it is. Imagine reading a note about that one morning and having no clue what the hell they are talking about), and guess what haven't even labeled it as the customer slicer. Haven't really given demos on how to use it. So people are like what the F am I supposed to do here?
Mind you the thing is pretty simple and easy to use. But again I was like, if you don't show people how to use this damn thing or for that matter most of your associates that haven't been with you umpteen years how to work it properly. You have basically gotten a device hardly nobody knows how to use!
I hear ya on having it behind a glass case like the doughnuts. However at the same time, even though I don't like having the bread just hanging out in the open. I'm even MORE glad that it's not like the doughnut case.
I swear, our freaking store manager was nearly driving me to drink during last year's holidays(think a little bit before Thanksgiving and Christmas), as she was going around asking the back up managers to have someone refresh the doughnuts, clean the mini handles on the case cause they were sticky and gross like every few mins.
Could barely get through what you needed to behind the counter before it was time to condition the doughnuts and clean the handles. And I get that the bread isn't sticky like the doughnuts are. But at the same time, I can picture having to clean out 2 glass cases that are filled with crumbs and finger prints all over the glass.
That alone would be a bit of nightmare for me, as we barely have enough people that actually WANT to work on the closing shift. So, I say two thumbs up to their open display. I just won't be buying any of the bread myself. :D
This is common for years. I honestly will not purchase bread like this for sanitation reasons. I work retail and "see all". Do you really think these shelves are sanitary?
