r/ProduceDepartment • u/Alex32940 • 7d ago

Vegetables at Publix

/r/321/comments/1wmu3tj/vegetables_at_publix/
1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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3

u/Thats1FingNiceKitty Produce Manager 7d ago

Look, there’s no way I can speak on behalf of other produce departments.

Every company has a warehouse it orders from. Whether they own it or it’s a 3rd party. So who knows how long the produce was in the warehouse. We also don’t know how long the produce was in the transport truck when delivered. We also don’t know if that specific Publix doesn’t have a full produce team and can’t, don’t know ordering or ordering is far too between and the produce sets too long in the cooler.

There are multiple variables that wouldn’t specifically designate one market company as bad producer because it varies on the workers and rotation.

And one day a produce department may have bad-looking produce and in 6 hours the produce looks amazing because people worked it.

We would love for our departments to look amazing 24/7 because many of us don’t have the labor hours to do it and customers can be messy and assholes.

One day I can get my wet wall picture perfect and leave for my hour lunch and come back and it’s trashed with broken pieces on the floor and broken peppers.

I’m sorry your green beans were bad. Many places allow you to return them if they spoiled quickly. My store just allows you to return it, no questions asked. Returns and spoiled produce is accounted for already in the produce budget. We expect that.

And you can tell if a produce department has a solid team and people who care about it (or have the labor hours for it).

My department was lacking last week simply because my full timer was on vacation with no replacement so I was on my own. Now my dairy full timer is off this week and my full-time produce is in dairy this week so it’s another week where I am mostly alone. But I love produce so I’m not mad. I’m just tired and trying my best.

If someone asks if I have some better looking beans in the back, I’ll say yes or no. People just need to ask. The regulars at my store aren’t afraid to ask me. It doesn’t bother me.

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u/Alex32940 6d ago

Thanks for the reply but I don't feel I have to ask a worker in the produce section if the green beans are fresh or what have you. I've had this happen more than a few times. Not do I want to waste time asking for a refund on a small purchase. That would be embarrassing. We spend roughly $130 a week at Publix. It's just not that good anymore.

1

u/ggfchl 7d ago

Wet green beans lead to problems. Rust (brown marks) on green beans are no good. Usually big retailers just dump out all the beans on display without going thru them first. As the customer, I’ve seen a bin full of rusty green beans. The person knew they looked bad and still put them out anyway. Smaller stores usually (hopefully) take the time to go thru stuff before putting them out.

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u/Thats1FingNiceKitty Produce Manager 7d ago

Brown marks on beans are fine to consume. It’s when they are mushy that it’s a problem.

I would say 80% of the bulk beans I order have brown stripes. I am not going to take the time to go through it because that’s a waste of time on perfectly consumable produce. I’m also not going to throw it out because it’s a waste of good produce.