Rusty Blade in overtime mode
I was catching up on e-mails when Russ T. Blade dragged himself onto my desk, apron soiled and droopy-eyed. “Rusty” is the miniature imaginary produce manager who appears occasionally to talk shop.
Me: Geez, what happened to you? Like my dad used to say, you look like you’ve been rode hard and put away wet!
Rusty: Have you been on a desert island? There’s a pandemic going on, you know. Retailers everywhere are scrambling to regain some semblance of order.
Me: I’ve seen the panic buying. Decimated shelves, especially in paper goods, canned goods, frozen foods.
Rusty: I have to admit, produce is the best-stocked department in the store.
Me: Agreed. I’ve stopped at enough stores and read posts from friends who report similar conditions nationwide. Fresh produce buckled early on, as did other perishable departments, but unlike those constantly depleted center-store aisles, produce departments bounced back.
Rusty: It hasn’t been easy. My crew has worked double shifts, and as soon as we get one area of the department under control, other areas get wiped out.
Me: I feel for you all — nothing can compare to what’s going on now. Even new store or remodel grand openings, even labor strikes. Everyone is calling this unprecedented.
Rusty: Unprecedented is an understatement. The overtime puts extra cash in our pockets, but I can hardly wait to return to safe and normal.
Me: It’s also a testament to our industry. Fresh produce growers/shippers and logistics have collaborated under difficult situations to get product where it needs to be on a timely basis.
Rusty: We call that “management by chaos.” In our business, we’re kinda used to it.
Me: When smaller panic-buying instances occurred (spurred by impending storms or other unanticipated business) we definitely went into a triage type of produce merchandising.
Rusty: We still set our time and list priorities: The BLT items get stocked first (bananas, lettuce and tomatoes) followed by ad items, then “power” items on the must-have lists: apples, oranges, potatoes, onions, grapes, berries, and on down the line. We don’t rest until we get a handle.
I’m praying the virus curve slopes down and fades quickly. I also push for some levity.
Did you hear the one about the customer who asked a produce clerk to cut a cabbage in half? The clerk grabbed a head, stormed into the back room, announcing to his coworkers, “Some jerk out there wants a half-head of cabbage!” Noticing the customer had followed closely behind him, he quickly added, “And this nice gentleman would like the other half.”
Me: (Groaning) Hang in there, Rusty.
Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His 40 years’ experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions. E-mail him at lobatoarmand@gmail.com.
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