Why I continue to hate the Farmer's Market
I have that feeling where you are so overheated and you can't cool down, you know what I mean?
And it is all because of the incompetence of Stan Glaser and his moronic farmer's market -- the place for total disregard for customer service.
I left my car next door to be washed and I walked over to the Shaq 24 Hour Fitness Gym (is it going to keep the name now that Shaq is gone?). Anyway, I worked out and then had lunch at Qdoba. After that I popped into Starbucks, where I ran into local author Philip Dickenson Peters, we chatted for a bit, and mind you, after the gym work out, I was not exhausted or overheated at all.
From there I headed back to my car and decided to pop into Stan's farmer's market since the paper just did a story on them this week, and I like the coconut water, so I decided to give them another try, even with their pathetically overpriced items.
But therein lies the rub. After filling a basket up with all sorts of goodies, I proceeded to wait in line. And I waited, and waited under the hot, airless tent. And Stan stood there with his arms folded and just watched as the line grew longer and longer and we waited and we waited in the sweltering heat and humidity on this uncomfortable winter's day.
And a man behind me said, "Stan, why don't you do something?" And Stan said, "There are seven cashiers, what else do you want me to do?" And a lady said, "Add a few more!" And another man said, "Hire a few that aren't stoned on weed all the time and who don't move at a snail's pace."
Keep in mind that about four of the cashiers actually serve ice cream and pie and don't really charge you for the veggies and other items unless you insist. So there are three cashiers.
And with all that being said, Stan ignored it all and sauntered away in the opposite direction to kibitz with someone else, rather than fix the problem by perhaps bagging the items himself to get people checked out fast or ringing up cash only sales or something like that. And three of us, me and two people behind me, dropped our full baskets of food and left. Stan's apathy is sickening.
I ended up at Gardner's Market where I got everything I needed except the coconut water and I can live without that. And I can live without Stan's hopeless attitude.
And it is all because of the incompetence of Stan Glaser and his moronic farmer's market -- the place for total disregard for customer service.
I left my car next door to be washed and I walked over to the Shaq 24 Hour Fitness Gym (is it going to keep the name now that Shaq is gone?). Anyway, I worked out and then had lunch at Qdoba. After that I popped into Starbucks, where I ran into local author Philip Dickenson Peters, we chatted for a bit, and mind you, after the gym work out, I was not exhausted or overheated at all.
From there I headed back to my car and decided to pop into Stan's farmer's market since the paper just did a story on them this week, and I like the coconut water, so I decided to give them another try, even with their pathetically overpriced items.
But therein lies the rub. After filling a basket up with all sorts of goodies, I proceeded to wait in line. And I waited, and waited under the hot, airless tent. And Stan stood there with his arms folded and just watched as the line grew longer and longer and we waited and we waited in the sweltering heat and humidity on this uncomfortable winter's day.
And a man behind me said, "Stan, why don't you do something?" And Stan said, "There are seven cashiers, what else do you want me to do?" And a lady said, "Add a few more!" And another man said, "Hire a few that aren't stoned on weed all the time and who don't move at a snail's pace."
Keep in mind that about four of the cashiers actually serve ice cream and pie and don't really charge you for the veggies and other items unless you insist. So there are three cashiers.
And with all that being said, Stan ignored it all and sauntered away in the opposite direction to kibitz with someone else, rather than fix the problem by perhaps bagging the items himself to get people checked out fast or ringing up cash only sales or something like that. And three of us, me and two people behind me, dropped our full baskets of food and left. Stan's apathy is sickening.
I ended up at Gardner's Market where I got everything I needed except the coconut water and I can live without that. And I can live without Stan's hopeless attitude.
posted by Tom Falco at 12:39 PM
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23 Comments:
If you want coconut water, climb a tree (or use a ladder), get a coconut opener from a kitchen store in Little Havana, open, put in a straw, and your in business. My husband does this all the time. Its great when we're out riding bikes or running. You get to know the good ones after a while. And, best of all, its free! Just check the tree for antibiotic injections. They're at the base, with a dark streak running out of the hole. (Crandon Park).
Now, for the best Coconut Milk, go to Athens Juice Bar on Miami Beach.
Yeh, Stan can be an ass. So can the bitch with the raw food. I've boycotted that place many times over their brand of customer service. Also, my husband got food poisoning there, and there were documented cases of e-coli in the juices several years ago. Hopefully they took care of that situation.
i stopped going as well. I am all for supporting small farmers, but i draw the line at complete assholes.
Also that older shorthaird blond women who has taken "bitch" to a whole new level. She was chewing out this guy about eating cooked foods,and i just wanted to reach over and slap some sense into her. Raw food diets are not heathier and in fact can be unhealthy. Why? because as our ancestors learned several million years ago, when we dont cook certain types of food WE GET SICK. You also cannot absorb a large percentage of nutrients from certain foods like tomatoes and carrots unless they are cooked. I try not to be a truely vengful person but i hope that chic gets a nice bought of dysentary or better yet, one of the many drug resistant forms of ghiardia lying in wait in nature. Three weeks of cramps, the runs, and some funky sulpher farts and she will be dusting off the oven.
Only time i stop by there is to chat with the guy from Gambia and get some bisup and shea butter soap. He is pretty much the complete opposite of stan: happy kind and grateful just for life.
I'm a vegetarian. We have raised our kids as vegetarians. That's fine. It doesn't mean that we're better than anyone around us. We all are what we are. The thing at that farmer's market, though, is that there's a whole group of people that use vegetarianism somewhat like the weekend harley riders. They dress the same, they walk the same, they eat the same, they wear their hair the same. They are just so "above" it all, so much better than you. And the queen of that group is the woman in charge of the raw foods.
One day we got there early. I put in my order for 2 nori rolls. Then I shopped, paid, and about 20 minutes later, returned for my nori rolls. This woman was talking with a friend. When I dared to glance in her direction, she spoke loudly to her friend, "Oh don't worry, she can just wait." If only I was as enlightened as she, maybe I wouldn't be so pissed off 2 years later.
To Grapevine, why don't you send your favorite lady at the deli at Fresh Market over there to get Stan in line.
If you want a fast way to pay for your merchandise, you should try this place in the Grove. It is called The Home Depot. They have a cashier-less check out. You scan your own merchandise & pay for it yourself and there is usually no wait. As opposed to the Stan's Farmer Market.
Those clear fir 2x4's at Home Depot are great for peanut butter sandwiches. Just slice off a chunk and slather it on, no breaking up like that wimpy whole grain bread. The pressure-treated stuff has a zesty arsenic zing, but probably wouldn't fly with the raw food vegan lady.
Sounds like you are better off not coming to Stan's Market.
I am so sorry you had a bad experience of waiting your turn in line. It's just the nature of an outdoor market. A degree of chaos exists just by the very nature of it. This is not Qdoba's nor is it a Starbucks. It may not be the best layout are far as space and flow, but considering the logistics of the operation it does seem to function - albeit sometimes better than other times. Stan has to keep an eye on everything, and he is constantly restocking items and keeping the coolers stocked. Stan's expertise is not cutting edge customer service. but let me assure you, if you ask him anything about any of the foods he sells, you will see where his skill set lays. He is a very nice person. He is running a business where the profit margins are not huge.
The prices reflect what the supply and demand are for organic produce. (Remember - he can't grow or buy the volume Fresh market or Whole Foods can.)
Stan has also been a raw foodist exclusively for over thirty years. He is living and sharing his belief that fresh produce should be available to all - long before Organic became a household (and elitist) term.
To the uneducated comment about getting sick and the unhealthiness of the raw diet – it may be best to learn a little something about this way of eating before blindly bashing it, and on top of it all wishing someone ill!
I practice this diet. It's not for everyone. It is most certainly NOT for the masses. But let me assure you there is great merit to eating raw vegan foods. It feeds your body in the most natural way earthly possible. Plus the energy, healthy weight, incredible immune system, lightness of being are pretty cool too. I could go on, but I feel the nay sayers getting impatient and overheated.
You would feel better about this all if you hadn't just popped in and out of so many cookie cutter establishments. An exercise in patience is the lesson, so is tolerance.
p.s.
Tracy (short blonde hair) is the chef of the prepared raw delicacies. She is very talented at what she does and has sharp business acumen. I will agree that she does not cater to social graces and being non-judgmental - however, on this blog I find the same. Many of the comments here are fast to anger, most often at someone not meeting (I dare say) your inflated expectations of the way things ought to be.
May be a long line is a way to slow the day down, have a conversation with the person near you, or a practice in patience while drinking your coconut water!
When's it's 85 degrees and sweltering under the tent and you feel like fainting. It really is not a matter of patience.
Besides, after standing there for 45 minutes and not saying a word myself, I just felt it was time to go where people appreciate my business.
Maybe Stan and his crew should visit the Gables Farmer's market and other locations to see how customer service should be. Guess when you have a monopoly like Stan does, you can do what you want.
PS, Stan looks like he is 100 years old and most of the workers there look like Kate Moss or worse, so I won't take my advice from anyone there on what or what not to eat and what is and what is not a healthy lifestyle.
I stopped going to the Grove Farmers Market a few years ago. The prices are just too high, way higher than any other farmer's market Ive ever been to. I really enjoyed the juices there, but one time I got "brown rain" from a green tea lemonade and that was the end of that.
I never really had an issue with the employees or Stan when I went there. The employees were ridiculously slow though, to the point where the "stoned" comment probably holds water. Stan was always stocking the coolers every time I was there.
The patrons are a whole other story. Definitely have that "Miami Elitist" vibe to them. You know, the people that eat organic just so they can tell everyone that they eat organic and so they get to say the word "orGAAAAAANic" all the time. Those people are lame and most of them dont even know what the benefits are. It just helps them get a sense of worth because they are happy they can afford to be ripped off.
I definitely recommend the farmers market in the Gables and South Miami (I can never figure out when they do that one but its pretty much the same as the Gables). I got great values on fresh produce and even seafood at both of those. I havent been yet, but Mango&Lime did a post on the Pinecrest Farmers Market and that looked pretty kickass. I just wish these things happened on both Saturday and Sunday because sometimes I dont have time on Saturdays...
It's a shame that the Mayfair Farmer's Market didn't really make it but they are still trying.
There are a few people still left and their prices are incredible. They are worth the trip just a few blocks away. If more people would shop there, perhaps more vendors would sell there.
I totally support vegetarian diets because they are still well balanced and can be very healthy. As for vegans and raw foods diets, if you have ever opened a human physiology or biochemistry book you will learn about why these diets are not in fact healty. Or visit the developing world and try to not cook any food and avoid all animal based foods and see what happens.
To the person that thinks the people complaining have "inflated expectations", does that include getting mad after waiting 30 minutes for a nori roll with no other orders in front of me, and then getting insulted because I looked in the woman's direction? Should I have expected that kind of service and taken it all in stride? Should I maybe smoke mass amounts of weed before I go to the market so I can be as mellow as they are? Will that help to lower my expectations? "Oh please Tracy, make me wait and then insult me."
Maybe they are rude and slow because they are hungry?
The problem I have always had with the farmer's market in the grove is that it's not really a farmer's market. It's more of a farmer market, as there is only one vendor, Glaser Farms.
I constantly find myself imagining what it would be like if it was a true farmer's market with many different farmer's selling their goods. The customer service would be better, the selection would be better, and the prices would most certainly be more reasonable!
I stopped going there years ago when I realized that there are many items they sell which they do not even grow themselves. Instead, they buy them from the very same produce wholesalers that Milams, Publix, and Fresh Market do; except they charge much more.
To the poster who said that their margins were not very good, you have no idea what you are talking about. I used to own an organic business and can say with certainty that their prices are beyond reason.
they are rude and slow because they know they have the following and they know vegetarians will put up with absolutely anything as long as they get wheatgrass juice or organic tomatoes.
Stan is making SO SO SO much money and just because he looks shleppy like most of them working for him means nothing. The guy is loaded. Trust me.
AND LETS BE HONEST HE REALLY DOES NOT NEED TO BE NICE OR PLEASANT TO ANY OF YOU, JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE ADDICTED TO THAT VEGAN STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE THAT COSTS 14 DOLARS FOR THE 1/2 PORTION.
You guys are closest to pathetic if you really look into it, all of you are so sexually and who knows what else deprived that you would be going there and be first in line on Saturday morning, I bet money on it.
Sad very sad......
The posters on this blog can be some of the most rude, aggressive, insecure, hostile and judgmental people I have ever come across en masse.
WHY?
Isn't there a more gentle way to get opinions across than without such venom and insult?
WHERE'S THE TOLERANCE PEOPLE!!!!????
How about this: If you don't like Stan Glaser's Farmer's Market, please please please, do us wealthy, vegan, raw food elitists a favor and simply stay away! It's come to the point that we (rationally) rebuff and reject the narrow-minded, negative rhetoric among us just as much as you abhor shopping there. Why complain when you can just go to Publix already! Yeeeesh.
By the way: I'm sure Hooters has an open door policy for commoners, carnivores and voyeurs alike. Plus, you all can bitch and complain together all you like, as you eat the bucket of fried chicken's wings or whatever other "garbage" you stuff into your overweight bodies and toxic minds.
I do still have hope that one fine day an awakening amongst you angry, negative naysayers will occur... Most of us organic vegan, raw food elitists have kind open hearts and minds, not to mention unfathomable patience! Keep in mind however, that when you continually bash and degrade our Saturday morning reprieve under the giant oaks, expect educated elitist responses. I am coming to realize that perhaps some hierarchies of mind, body, heart and soul cannot so easily be melded into one Understanding. (Heady stuff I know - stay with me here.)
We are all people living together as on one the planet. It's just a farmer's market. There is no need for more derision and divisiveness over something so mundane... please, take a blessed breath and think about it!
I hope you may all consider joining us again under the oaks wearing a smile on your faces, tolerance in your heart, and understanding for all us wacky, rich vegan, raw food elitist folk! :)
No really. I sincerely mean it. Just shop at Publix first.
So can someone explain what a coconut opener looks like?
The only "opener" I have ever seen is a machete...
Before long all of Home Depot will be cashier-less; they have already started to lay off people. They need to move on. They should give their CEO another big bonus for making another stupid move and move on.
A coconut opener is about 8 inches. It's shape is like a small sword. It's has a handle, and the "blade" part is concave with a point. You push the point through where the green top connects to the coconut and turn.
There is an ACE Hardware on Flagler and about 9th Avenue that has them.
Don't put that machete away yet, though. That jelly in the coconut is delicious.
And to the happy hippie chick, that's exactly the people I'm talking about, the one's that use their life style to create an illusion that they are better than you. We are vegetarians. We have raised our children as vegetarians. We don't use our eating style to criticize others. We're just happy that we've made a good choice for us. After going to the market for 30 years, some of us just get tired of Stan's attitude. But if you don't mind paying too much for things while getting crappy service while in a perceived "nice" setting, I'm sure I have something that I can sell you and your friends under the oak trees at my house.
Oh, and when you do get tired of it and stop going to this Saturday hangout, there'll be a whole other group there to replace you, just like the ones that you replaced. Just ask Tomato Richard or Kiki.
I know of a great coconut opener. The wild blue and gold macaw parrots. I love the spring on UM campus when all the hurricane andrew runaway (or is it flyaways) congregate in the coco palm. they pluck coconut after coconut off the tree, use their nifty beak to pop the top and throw the entire thing back with their beak like a man drinking a coors light. What a life!!!
What Stan's needs is Hank Hill from "The King of the Hill." I saw that episode at the CGSG bar one Sunday night a few months ago, and the few of us who were there were dying laughing. Add a common-sense guy to the easily stereotyped organic market milieu, and you have something that pleases a lot more open-minded people.
Did someone who liked to eat at Hooter's do something to you, Rich Hippie Girl? Because that comment was totally off base.
Also, why are so many using the phrase "we" when speaking about themselves?
7/24/09 I bought their produce and raw foods last saturday and came down with food poisening. I was in the hospital all night. I spent over 150.00 in produce there that I have to throw away now.
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