# Dierberg's, Schnuck's, fire the guy with the ball-peen hammer **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 11, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453 "2011-05-11T00:23:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/1 "2011-05-11T00:23:52Z")
I understand that somebody has to put bruises and cuts on the fresh fruits and vegetables. That even though the economy is bad, the position of the guy sitting on the end of the truck giving a whack with a ball-peen hammer to each fruit or vegetable as it passes by is critical. Somebody has to do it. But still, my grocery costs could be dramatically lowered by the elimination of that skilled position and the transfer of their role to the lower-paid baggers. The baggers already have a natural talent for diligently placing my carefully picked out pears and green peppers gently in the bottom of the bag, and then dropping a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes right on the top. I humbly suggest that your bottom line would be vastly improved by consolidating the role of produce damager into one person, and, even better, a person who can damage produce so that I don’t spot it until you’ve already got my money and I’ve taken it home. My bottom line is improved in that I no longer have to support the purchase of replacement ball-peen hammers as they wear out. It’s a win-win situation, I think. You save payroll; I can be certain that when I walk out of your store, my purchases will be damaged. Who can ask for more? ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/2 "2011-05-11T13:41:55Z")
I love it.🆒 I thought I was the only one who considered the fruits and veggies at St. Louis supermarkets extremely sub-par. Even the little independent market in my town sucks in the produce dept. The only good stuff is at Straub’s but you have to get a payday loan on your car to buy it.:mad: ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/3 "2011-05-11T13:48:40Z")
Why are you trying to sabotage the Obama Administration’s efforts to bring down the unemployment rate? And those considerations aside, while that might work in a right-to-work state like Missouri, SOME places have unions in their supermarkets. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/4 "2011-05-11T14:07:23Z")
There’s a “Super Target” that opened near me a couple years back, and I swear they must have hired that same dude to go down the isles and dent every goddamn can in the store. I guess he moved, the last couple times I was there I didn’t notice any dented cans. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/5 "2011-05-11T14:16:23Z")
I was just wondering if there was a method of getting produce that didn’t look like shit two days later. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/6 "2011-05-11T14:34:34Z")
I ordered online a dozen cans of marrowfat peas- I enjoyed them overseas. When they arrived every can was dented. Now, I doubt it was possible for even Australia Post to do this so they came from the seller in that condition. I couldn’t send them back as it was far too expensive. But why unload them on a customer and ensure you will never get repeat business? ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/7 "2011-05-11T15:03:30Z")
I would recommend that they simply repurpose the ball-peen hammer guy, and instead have him smash up their Point-Of-Sale system. Since they never use it anyway. _Both_ of their stores are _always_ sold out of popular items, or items they’ve put on sale. And complaints to the management elicit the response that, “Oh, guess we couldn’t predict what the demand would be.” Which tells me they’re not using their POS system, _since that’s what it’s for_. And I always go through self-checkout with produce. Or with bread. Anything squishable, really. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lady)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/8 "2011-05-11T15:23:25Z")
" Even the little independent market in my town sucks in the produce dept." Mental visual of a little grocer clandestinely sucking the life out of fruits and veggies. Bunnicula? ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/9 "2011-05-11T16:34:14Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Why are you trying to sabotage the Obama Administration’s efforts to bring down the unemployment rate? > > And those considerations aside, while that might work in a right-to-work state like Missouri, SOME places have unions in their supermarkets. Grocery workers at Schnuck’s and Dierberg’s are unionized. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/10 "2011-05-11T16:43:14Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Grocery workers at Schnuck’s and Dierberg’s are unionized. Well, the OP’s got a problem then, because demarcation issues mean that only certain people are allowed to use the ball-peen hammer. You can’t just fire the ball-peen hammer guy and give his job to the baggers, because those baggers might not have received the appropriate training on the use of the ball-peen hammer. Baggers are only allowed to destroy fruit and vegetables using 26-oz cans, because that’s what they’ve been trained for. And if you try to push things, the staff might go on strike, or begin a work-to-rule demonstration, where the ball-peen hammer guy refuses to bash more than three pieces of fruit every five minutes and the baggers insist on placing only one item in each bag, and then double-bagging it. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/11 "2011-05-11T16:48:59Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Well, the OP’s got a problem then, because demarcation issues mean that only certain people are allowed to use the ball-peen hammer. You can’t just fire the ball-peen hammer guy and give his job to the baggers, because those baggers might not have received the appropriate training on the use of the ball-peen hammer. Baggers are only allowed to destroy fruit and vegetables using 26-oz cans, because that’s what they’ve been trained for. > > And if you try to push things, the staff might go on strike, or begin a work-to-rule demonstration, where the ball-peen hammer guy refuses to bash more than three pieces of fruit every five minutes and the baggers insist on placing only one item in each bag, and then double-bagging it. Can you imagine the chaos if they tried to hire a claw hammer guy? ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/12 "2011-05-11T16:57:04Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Why are you trying to sabotage the Obama Administration’s efforts to bring down the unemployment rate? > > And those considerations aside, while that might work in a right-to-work state like Missouri, SOME places have unions in their supermarkets. Also, I should point out that currently Missouri is not a right-to-work state. ---
**Author:** ![AlienVessels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@AlienVessels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlienVessels)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/13 "2011-05-11T18:04:14Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > I was just wondering if there was a method of getting produce that didn’t look like shit two days later. ☹ I’ve had great experiences with Costco produce. You just have to be able to go through 10 pounds of pears before they get too ripe. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/14 "2011-05-11T20:03:53Z")
He put a 28 oz can of tomatoes on your produce?! What an idiot! EVERYBODY knows that canned goods go on top of the eggs! ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/15 "2011-05-11T20:16:59Z")
This is what the Administration calls " a ballpeen-ready job ". Such things are precious, and to be encouraged. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/16 "2011-05-11T20:18:54Z")
Obviously your only recourse is to shop and Shop 'N Save. Although they can’t deputize to the baggers, since they don’t have any. I bet they’re experts at bruising the produce, though. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/17 "2011-05-11T22:48:30Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Also, I should point out that currently Missouri is not a right-to-work state. Thank you for curing my ignorance on both subjects. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/18 "2011-05-11T22:56:02Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Thank you for curing my ignorance on both subjects. Your welcome. It was a critical piece of data, especially in a serious and important thread like this. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/19 "2011-05-11T23:34:15Z")
😃 ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453/20 "2011-05-11T23:41:01Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Your welcome. It was a critical piece of data, especially in a serious and important thread like this. Er, um, “you’re welcome”. (It was the cat’s fault.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dierbergs-schnucks-fire-the-guy-with-the-ball-peen-hammer/581453.md?page=2)