Today, as I was walking from the Oregon Historical Society to the Multnomah Public Library, as part of the Portland Archives Crawl, I stopped in a store which advertised bulk vinegars and olive oil, Benessere Oils and Vinegars.
The place looked nice, filled with row upon row of urns filled with myriad flavours of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The employees seemed friendly. I was greeted immediately upon my entrance by a smiling woman who invited me to sample as many of their wares as I desired. The prices seemed outrageous - most being $10 for 6.76 fluid ounces. But I like to support bulk vendors, so I asked the smiling woman how they felt about people bringing in their personal bottles to fill up... and got a stuttering non-answer about the health department and how I'd have to buy a bottle from them.
Now, I can understand if it's their policy not to allow personal bottles. Some places want to force you to give them extra money. It sucks, but if that's how they want to play, you can't argue. You just don't shop there. But to pretend it's health code? That's insulting and manipulative. I have entered many a fine purveyor of coffee and used my own mug. I have entered many a grocery retailer and filled my own containers with bulk goods. If that's a violation of health code, then a lot of establishments are in great danger of getting shut down.
I simply smiled sadly and said, "that's unfortunate" and walked out. At least I got to sample a couple of vinegars.
Oh, and the Archive Crawl was fab. I didn't win the raffle, but I got a free Buffy comic book! And knowledge. Lots of knowledge.
The place looked nice, filled with row upon row of urns filled with myriad flavours of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The employees seemed friendly. I was greeted immediately upon my entrance by a smiling woman who invited me to sample as many of their wares as I desired. The prices seemed outrageous - most being $10 for 6.76 fluid ounces. But I like to support bulk vendors, so I asked the smiling woman how they felt about people bringing in their personal bottles to fill up... and got a stuttering non-answer about the health department and how I'd have to buy a bottle from them.
Now, I can understand if it's their policy not to allow personal bottles. Some places want to force you to give them extra money. It sucks, but if that's how they want to play, you can't argue. You just don't shop there. But to pretend it's health code? That's insulting and manipulative. I have entered many a fine purveyor of coffee and used my own mug. I have entered many a grocery retailer and filled my own containers with bulk goods. If that's a violation of health code, then a lot of establishments are in great danger of getting shut down.
I simply smiled sadly and said, "that's unfortunate" and walked out. At least I got to sample a couple of vinegars.
Oh, and the Archive Crawl was fab. I didn't win the raffle, but I got a free Buffy comic book! And knowledge. Lots of knowledge.
Are they gonna make that Archives Crawl a regular event? I really wanted to go, but was at a conference in Seattle..
ReplyDeleteI think they will. The Archives Crawl was successful beyond their wildest dreams, even without adequate signage to help people find the event (I'm looking at you, Multnomah Public Library...)
ReplyDelete