I regularly make them adjust the stack of what they just sliced in order to buy the correct amount (vs the amount they sliced.) I also have to approve the thickness of the first slice, otherwise invariably it’s too thick by several degrees of magnitude .
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They typically hand me the bag closed and with the price sticker already on it, and I don’t want to argue with them. I’d rather just take and pay for the extra than make a scene. But it does annoy me. How hard is it to just get the right amount within a couple hundredths?
And to remember “ham” long enough not to ask me 3 times what I wanted and how much of it.
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I hear you. I’ll just gently say that I don’t “make a scene.” I just ask nicely to be given what I asked for 
I usually I stand there while they weigh and correct the amount if it’s grossly off.
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There are typically others waiting and I feel bad for making them wait extra as the slicers are pretty tortoise-like. But also, and this may be paranoia but I’ve heard these stories, people in those roles might do something passive aggressive to get back at the customers that they feel are annoying or questioning them. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories of people sending something back in a restaurant only to have someone in back of house spit on it or drop it on the floor or something before bringing it back out. I guess I’d just rather not incur the wrath of the incompetent or couldn’t-care-less folks.
Maybe I’m cynical, but I have the gut feeling that deli and meat counter people are trained to over cut. Just a tad. Just enough that it isn’t grossly noticeable or immediately rejected.
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I use the over cutting at the deli counter to get what I want. I like about 1/3 pound in my sandwich, so I ask for 1/4 pound. Almost always I get 0.31-0.35 pound for my 1/4 pound. Just right!
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Im not one of those who needs exact weight. Ill say close is close . Then go do my shopping. Its waiting for me when I circle back .
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A fabulous Italian market in Berlin does the same thing with cheeses and meats. We don’t mind, generally, but it’s a running joke between us. The products are amazing, but still…
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I agree.
This is a fine strategy. I will try it out next time I’m in for sliced meats.
Because there are only two of us, and we don’t eat a lot of lunchmeat, when I buy deli meat or sliced deli cheese I often ask for “x number” of slices instead of specifying weight.
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Normally I wouldn’t care too much. Other than the annoyance of feeling always upsold. But my experience with turkey and chicken slices is that they are good for 3 days only and then they go off. So since we’re not big consumers of those, getting too much often means trashing some.
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I buy a half pound for my lunches that I make for work . Sandwiches Leftovers also go into the mix for the week
This seems like a good idea, 'cause inevitably I’ll ask for a quarter pound and get a third. But who asks for a fifth pound in order to get a quarter?
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I don’t eat meat so my strategy might not work for lunch meat, but I tell the counter person what I want to spend.
If the lunch meat you want costs $10.00 per pound and you want a quarter pound tell them you want $2.50 worth.
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Me neither, my interest is in buying cheese. And I’ve never seen it ordered by the dollar amount. Maybe I’ll give it a shot.
I’ve often told cheesemongers how much I want to spend.
Cheesmongers and slicers at Fred Meyer are quite 2 different beasts. Also, they need to put in the price on the scale to get the total. That’s already an extra step and it seems they haven’t mastered the basics of even cutting to the correct weight, which shows up immediately on the scale…
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Our local Wegmans pre slices a lot of stuff and puts it in a cold case. Two family-owned small grocers also do the same thing - with ham and Turkey. If I want sliced meat from the deli, I go to one of these small, family owned grocers. They always give me pretty much exactly what I ask for. They actually watch the scales. I’m lucky to have the resource.
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My deli pet peeve is when you ask them to slice a certain way and they make the first slice and hold it up to see if it’s right—— from the back of the slicing machine. I always tell them to bring it over so I can actually see it. One of the store I go to closes the whole deli department to clean the slicer. You never know when.
