Bad produce

[2lilsweetfoxes]

I bought a melon yesterday for $4. Not a lot of money, but every little bit counts. I cut it and there was all this mold or something inside. Would you return it to the store for a refund or just toss it and eat the loss? I consider this a bit different from something that sat in my fridge for two to three weeks.

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by 2lilsweetfoxes

I bought a melon yesterday for $4. Not a lot of money, but every little bit counts. I cut it and there was all this mold or something inside. Would you return it to the store for a refund or just toss it and eat the loss? I consider this a bit different from something that sat in my fridge for two to three weeks.

I would call the store first and tell the manager the situation. If this happend to me, getting the kids back in the car and going again would take a lot of effort for $4. Thus the reason I call. Everytime this has happened, I was told come back in next time and get a credit for the bad produce. I also frequent the same store so the staff knows me which helps.

[Fuamami]

Depends on the store, but I agree that you should call and let them know. They probably will tell you not to bother bringing in the bad melon, but give you credit.

[Theia]

I'd totally return it. If you don't know the store policy on spoilt produce, I'd call to find out. Otherwise, next time you go, I'd let them know, at least have the receipt and get your refund, credit or replacement.

I bought 4 oranges yesterday, not a huge expense, but already, one of them was dried up quite a bit when I peeled it open. So I'll just tell them next time I go to this store and they'll let me get a replacement. You shouldn't have to make a special trip for it though.

[beebalmmama]

I would just take it in the next time you go. We've done this a few times at different stores and have never had a problem with getting a new xyz.

[cristeen]

It totally depends on where you bought it. I would call right away and let them know. Most places won't want to see it, but some places won't refund without seeing it (in which case you need to take it in now instead of next week).

I've had to take sweet potatoes in a week after buying them because they turned soft and moldy, but for meat they don't want it back in the store... so call and ask.

I wouldn't take the loss though, at all.

[Norasmomma]

Call them-$4 is too much to toss to me. My local store is really great about these things, I've bought things and had them be bad and tell them, they give me credit.

I'm bit obsessive about saving $$ on my groceries-I'll bring in my receipt and show them when I've been rung over by a few cents. My store sometimes just doesn't get things in the computer-so I watch really carefully, but sometimes I miss something and I don't notice until I get home-I highlight it and bring it next time. Like I said-I'm obsessive.

[brennasmom]

I had this happen with a pineapple. I just put it in a ziploc and took it back to the store. The pineapple had been about $5 (I know, I know..) so I just couldn't bear to toss it.

[HipGal]

A long time ago I worked as a cashier at Wild Oats. We did not need to see a rotten thing in order to refund. In fact, we could give up to $50 in gift certificates to make a customer happy if they had a complaint without consulting a manager or anything.

I would take a picture of it, then bring the picture in with the receipt next time I was there.

[enkmom]

I have returned things on three different occasions (spoiled chicken, bad fruit, and moldy tortillas), and each time the store was aghast and couldn't refund me fast enough. You WILL get your money back - no store wants the reputation for selling bad food.

[WeasleyMum]

Take it back. My dad has done this several times over the years-- milk that went bad before the expry date, produce like yours that was spoiled inside, etc.

The best was when my (very elderly, Jewish) grandmother was visiting... we bought a box of Manishevitz chicken/matzo-ball soup mix that is supposed to have two packets inside, one to make the soup and one to make the matzo balls. Our box had two of one packet and none of the other. We were allowed to exchange it for another box, which Grandma insisted on opening with the store manager, to make sure the contents were right. Seriously, what were the odds?

[freespirited]

Oh yes, I would and do return items for $3-4 that were bad. I am very close to my stores so I wait until dh gets home from work and see it as a little "me" time, but I have had to return chicken twice in 2 weeks (had a smell before the expiration date, should have NO smell), red cabbage that was rotten throughout, etc. If it's dry oranges I usually don't bother, but something blatantly inedible, absolutely. Usually they seem a little surprised, like it doesn't happen often which makes me think that a) people don't smell their chicken and only look at the date, and b) people feel embarrassed or can't be bothered to take bad stuff back. For me, I look at everything in terms of, "how long did my husband have to sit at a desk and answer rude calls to earn that" sort of thing. Is something he worked 15 minutes for worth a drive down the street to return? I'm sure if we made more money I might let some stuff go but right now, every penny counts.

[LovingMyBabies]

I'd bring it back for sure. Especially something that cost that much.