I thought someone had to do it...

My personal (recent) experience, from yesterday's shopping expedition.

Aldi and Woolworths almost devoid of red meat, chicken, frozen goods and toilet paper. Some other not so important items missing from shelves or in short supply. All in all though, no danger of starving to death. I suspect if we had gone to Coles the story would have been similar.

As you exit Woolworths after checking out, you encounter a butchery. The normal quantities of every cut and variety of meat were on display. In our local independently owned Fruit and Vegetable shop that also sells milk, dairy and deli products, meat and many grocery lines, newspapers, magazines, flowers, and much more there was no evidence that anything was in short supply. In fact they have a sign outside: "Fresh deliveries daily, no need to panic buy". I suspect if we had ventured into our local independently owned Foodworks store the story would have been similar.

In pondering the alleged "Supply Chain Issues" it seems clear to me that there is no problem with supply, but it lies with the chain. If stores are willing to source produce from any available source, there is no problem, but when they have a rigid policy for sourcing produce through a strict supply chain, it can easily be disrupted.

I recall one day well before the COVID-19 pandemic when we were away from home one day we went to a fish and chip shop to get some fish and chips for lunch. The lovely young lady behind the counter apologised for them having run out of chips. I responded: "There is a supermarket next door, go buy a packet of frozen chips and cook them then." The response was: "Oh, no I'm not allowed to do that!" So we ate fish and potato scallops. At the end of the day, they are there to supply customers with fish and chips (as well as other items). It shouldn't matter to them how they achieve that end (as long as it is legal and not life threatening).

Another example from well before the COVID-19 pandemic: On my way home one day I thought to myself: "I could go a burger for lunch today." Thus, I called in to Hungry Jacks (the burgers are better there, apparently). I noted an unusually long queue that didn't seem to be moving, except as people gave up and walked out. After a while, without saying a word to the customers, a young female staff member walked to the counter and affixed an A4 sheet of paper to the counter that read: "Sorry, we can't make any burgers, we have run out of buns." Again, making and selling burgers is a major part of their business. They should have ensured that they had plenty of buns. About a block away is one of their major competitors (McSomething). I personally know one of the managers there, and I know that they regularly throw out cartons of buns that have not been used by their use by date. I guess you can't cooperate with your competitors to ensure continuity of business...

"They" have it all wrong...

Oh nice, a edgy boomer smeg post.

Pity that large swaths of the warehousing and trucking, and even some rail jobs are struggling to find staff not isolating but thats all.

It's not as if I keep hearing on reddit how all of a sudden people are having issues with couriers due to lack of drivers to sort and move stuff, after about 6 months of bitching people bitching about Australia Post was struggling with covid going through half the sorting centers  having exactly the same thing happen.

At the end of the day, they are there to supply customers with fish and chips (as well as other items). It shouldn't matter to them how they achieve that end (as long as it is legal and not life threatening).

You smeg that capitalism should be able to provide goods and services unhindered to any quality control or any random variation, meanwhile a good buisness places pride themselves on the standard that they produce. This is not your god damn kitchen.

Again, making and selling burgers is a major part of their business. They should have ensured that they had plenty of buns.

You just encountered a breakdown in the supply chain. They can ask for as many buns as they want but they have to be made a specific way, and if the supply chain cant get the buns to them due to lack of drivers or under supply due to an unforeseen surge in sales, so be it for capitalism.

About a block away is one of their major competitors (McSomething). I personally know one of the managers there, and I know that they regularly throw out cartons of buns that have not been used by their use by date. I guess you can't cooperate with your competitors to ensure continuity of business...

So smeg what? No one is beholden to give anyone or sell anyone anything under captialism. The recepies and quality control for the bun will be very different, or at the very least the product could be stale and not meeting the minimum standards for sale.

"They" have it all wrong...

I don't think it is they who have it wrong. We are in the middle of a once in 100 year pandemic and there some minor supply issues...

You seriously expect Hungry Jacks employees to walk over to Maccas and ask for some buns?

"They" have it all wrong...

I don't think it is they who have it wrong. We are in the middle of a once in 100 year pandemic and there some minor supply issues...

I don't agree. The product is there (at least in most cases), the "pipeline" to the stores has failed in some cases, but not others.

You seriously expect Hungry Jacks employees to walk over to Maccas and ask for some buns?

No, I don't. I was simply illustrating though that some cooperation between competitors could prove beneficial to both. You scratch my back...

I thought someone had to do it...
My personal (recent) experience, from yesterday's shopping expedition.
(lots of good stuff snipped for space)
"They" have it all wrong...

Similar here southern Gold Coast; local Independent fruit / vege shop has full shelves of very fresh high quality produce as does the Independent butcher etc but Woolies /Aldi / Coles heavily reduced stock.

Nobody is there to 'supply customers'. They are there to make a living in whatever way they think is best. Rigid rules with 'the chain' may cause minor inconveniences like having to eat potato cakes instead of chips, but there are also significant advantages re quality and sanitation.

You know why Hungry Jacks can claim their burgers are better than everyone else’s? Because they have a point of difference (as perceived by them or some survey) and don’t product share.

If Hungry Jacks and Maccas and everyone else shared product then everyone’s marketing slogan would be ‘the burgers are the same here as everywhere else’.

I have worked in commercial kitchens and switching suppliers, or having a supplier switch source on you is a pain in the butt, big time! For some product it’s like having to learn to cook all over again, I remember switching pastry and everything from the way we handled it raw to how we cooked it needed to be re learned because the four type and fat type meant it would melt quicker and behaved different in the bake cycle.

Your example of chips, is equally as difficult, oil management in a commercial fryer is a big deal, and getting a result that the operator is happy to serve you in comparison to their usual offering is actually not very easy - it’s hugely different to frying up a handful of chips at home 8 times a year and not caring about consistency.

Just tonight I was frying home made product in brand new oil and will discard the oil now that I am done. Give me a commercial fryer, consistent product and a day’s practice and I could cook all week without looking like damaging the oil. Tonight’s oil I got about 2 hours use of.

People can be quite particular about their Colibans, Bintjes and Kennebecs, and a change to satisfy a punctual need could lead to loss of long term, loyal clientele, to give an example.

Nobody is there to 'supply customers'. They are there to make a living in whatever way they think is best. Rigid rules with 'the chain' may cause minor inconveniences like having to eat potato cakes instead of chips, but there are also significant advantages re quality and sanitation.

If they didn't supply customers, they wouldn't make a living...

Nobody is there to 'supply customers'. They are there to make a living in whatever way they think is best. Rigid rules with 'the chain' may cause minor inconveniences like having to eat potato cakes instead of chips, but there are also significant advantages re quality and sanitation.

If they didn't supply customers, they wouldn't make a living...

I tend to agree with you Graham, however the 'system' will not allow for diversification. I cannot imagine a young person, even though the young person may be leading a team of younger persons at HJ, where I think the burgers are definitely better, but I digress having the werewithal to go out and buy hamburger buns at Bakers Delight or some such.

WE did a big shop last week or so due to this then, upcoming breakdown in the supply chain. My suggestion is go for the local stuff as per Petan.
Our local IGA in Ballan was cleaned out of bog paper early this week, not that I was looking for any. I wonder if it's all back now.

Mike.

Our local Maxi IGA (the most expensive supermarket in Christendom but I digress) was out of paper towel 3 times in a row when I tried to get some last week yet Woolies down the highway a bit was fully stocked and even had a heap of it sitting in the middle of one of the aisles promoting a special

So no shortage of the product just problems getting it into store

You seriously expect Hungry Jacks employees to walk over to Maccas and ask for some buns?

To answer this from another angle: No I don't, but if Maccas can have an oversupply of buns HJs can just as easily ensure they don't run out!

A daily oversupply, especially in fresh/perishable food is not something to be proud of! Wastage is one of the biggest costs in commercial cookery, and one that through good management can be somewhat avoided to minimise the cost.

Being sold out would in most kitchens be way preferable to being thrown out.

If you go to a take away or restaurant that is regularly throwing out food, you have to understand two things:

1) Few (or at least insufficient) others are going there, why?
2) You’re paying too much for your meal, in addition to what you buy, you’re also paying for what they’re throwing out - that slippage is built into your meal cost.

Being sold out would in most kitchens be way preferable to being thrown out.

In this case I'd say a small wastage would be preferable to a restaurant full of customers whose orders can't be filled! I don't believe I've been back there since. That isn't just because of a lack of buns, our local HJs must be the worst anywhere.

Sounds like somebody is suffering from the old 'The Customer is King' illusion. To go back to the chip shop story. They managed to offload some unsold potato cakes on you without having to frig around with a trip to the supermarket. If they'd followed your advice they'd have possibly ended up with unsold potato cakes and a broken sack of unsold frozen chips. But you could be right. The Sales Kings of our world rarely aspire to running a chip shop, it's not a profession that attracts those powered by entrepeneurial zeal.

Sounds like somebody is suffering from the old 'The Customer is King' illusion.

All businesses have customers, without them there is no business, simple.

To go back to the chip shop story. They managed to offload some unsold potato cakes on you without having to frig around with a trip to the supermarket. If they'd followed your advice they'd have possibly ended up with unsold potato cakes and a broken sack of unsold frozen chips.

The supermarket was literally next door, hardly an impost. Last I checked you can buy a packet of frozen chips that would be just enough for two people to eat with two fish fillets.

The Sales Kings of our world rarely aspire to running a chip shop, it's not a profession that attracts those powered by entrepeneurial zeal.

Somebody has to do it...

The collapse of capitalism - I can but dream

The supermarket was literally next door, hardly an impost. Last I checked you can buy a packet of frozen chips that would be just enough for two people to eat with two fish fillets.

What was stopping you going and getting them yourself if it was that easy? It's not as if that bloke was your personal chip-wallah.

I recall one day well before the COVID-19 pandemic when we were away from home one day we went to a fish and chip shop to get some fish and chips for lunch. The lovely young lady behind the counter apologised for them having run out of chips. I responded: "There is a supermarket next door, go buy a packet of frozen chips and cook them then." The response was: "Oh, no I'm not allowed to do that!" So we ate fish and potato scallops. At the end of the day, they are there to supply customers with fish and chips (as well as other items). It shouldn't matter to them how they achieve that end (as long as it is legal and not life threatening).  

Question for those who actually have worked in something like a fish and chip shop and I presume chips come in a large bulk sized bag and kept in the freezer.

Can you take out a couple of serves of chips from the bulk freezer bag, then seal and return the bag to the freezer for next time it is needed, and cook the chips you have just extracted from the bag? Result; satisfied customer!!!!

If so, then provided the shop has sufficient bulk chip bags in reserve in the freezer, then the partly used freezer bag should be good to use the next day?

All relies on the shop manager keeping sufficient stock in reserve in the freezer.

I recall one day well before the COVID-19 pandemic when we were away from home one day we went to a fish and chip shop to get some fish and chips for lunch. The lovely young lady behind the counter apologised for them having run out of chips. I responded: "There is a supermarket next door, go buy a packet of frozen chips and cook them then." The response was: "Oh, no I'm not allowed to do that!" So we ate fish and potato scallops. At the end of the day, they are there to supply customers with fish and chips (as well as other items). It shouldn't matter to them how they achieve that end (as long as it is legal and not life threatening).  

Question for those who actually have worked in something like a fish and chip shop and I presume chips come in a large bulk sized bag and kept in the freezer.

Can you take out a couple of serves of chips from the bulk freezer bag, then seal and return the bag to the freezer for next time it is needed, and cook the chips you have just extracted from the bag? Result; satisfied customer!!!!

If so, then provided the shop has sufficient bulk chip bags in reserve in the freezer, then the partly used freezer bag should be good to use the next day?

All relies on the shop manager keeping sufficient stock in reserve in the freezer.

Chips are not kept frozen between customers, they’re defrosted en masse, potentially multiple bags at a time depending on expected business.

Why are they defrosted? They cook better, they cook quicker and it’s more efficient in time, energy and oil maintenance.

I doubt they would refreeze some for the next day, once defrosted, refreezing would yield a mass of stuck together chips. They might instead defrost part of a bag or cook from frozen for the last of unexpected demand.

Graham’s problem wasn’t that they didn’t want to deal with frozen product, but that they had no product, so they did what any sane business person would do and sell what product they had on hand.

Graham’s problem wasn’t that they didn’t want to deal with frozen product, but that they had no product, so they did what any sane business person would do and sell what product they had on hand.

And we should have done what any sane customers should do and walked out, never to return, and got what we wanted elsewhere. Obviously we were (temporarily) insane!

The supermarket was literally next door, hardly an impost. Last I checked you can buy a packet of frozen chips that would be just enough for two people to eat with two fish fillets.

What was stopping you going and getting them yourself if it was that easy? It's not as if that bloke was your personal chip-wallah.

If I went to the supermarket next door and purchased frozen chips, who was going to cook them for us? I'm 100% certain "that bloke" (who incidentally was actually a young woman) wasn't going to. As I said above, we should have walked out, never to return and let everyone we know to avoid that shop.

As an aside, back in the early 70s I had purchased a used car from the local Holden dealer. Back in those days there was no such thing as a statutory warranty on used cars. Not long after my purchase the motor blew up. I took the matter up with the dealer, who point blank refused to assist in any way. I was working in a bank in those days and happened to mention the situation to a local businessman who banked with us. His advice was to return to the dealer and demand that they do something, threatening to bad mouth them to everyone I know if they don't. So, that is what I did, with the result that the motor was replaced at no cost to me. Customers have rights and the power to exercise them.

Graham’s problem wasn’t that they didn’t want to deal with frozen product, but that they had no product, so they did what any sane business person would do and sell what product they had on hand.

And we should have done what any sane customers should do and walked out, never to return, and got what we wanted elsewhere. Obviously we were (temporarily) insane!

You really are coming across like a typical "Ken," the male equivalent of a "Karen."

The worst are middle aged men who go to Subway and abuse the staff because they are out of a particular choice of filling, or a staff member has a brain slip and puts in something they were not supposed to. smeg sake, just pick it out.

I have personally told angry customers to get over themselves and joked with the staff about how pathetic some of these people are whilst the customer was in earshot.

You really are coming across like a typical "Ken," the male equivalent of a "Karen."

The worst are middle aged men who go to Subway and abuse the staff because they are out of a particular choice of filling, or a staff member has a brain slip and puts in something they were not supposed to. smeg sake, just pick it out.

I have personally told angry customers to get over themselves and joked with the staff about how pathetic some of these people are whilst the customer was in earshot.

Let me make this very clear:
At no time in my almost 70 years have I ever been an "angry customer" or acted unreasonably.
At no time have I ever abused staff at any establishment.
In the case of the fish and chips, I made a reasonable suggestion which was rejected and I accepted the suggested alternative. At HJs, I simply read the sign and left, disgusted.
Many times I have been a dissatisfied customer, and I believe quite justifiably so. I reserve the right not to patronise businesses who cannot (or will not) satisfy my needs. I believe this to be a very reasonable stance for any customer.

Hot chips and Subway have been mentioned.
Missing twice fried, hand cut hot chips wrapped in butchers paper. First fry done, chips were in a hopper and cooked to order. Ah, nostalgia.
Waited behind a lady @ Subway placing her order. Butter, extra cheese extra etc,,,,,, plus a Diet Coke.
Unfortunately the horse had bolted on the Diet Coke.