Daves Fresh Pasta

[tvarness.livejournal.com]

I love the joint, but a while ago I noticed they no longer weighed their ravioli when I ordered some.  Curious I went home and weighed by 3 pounds and found I had 2lb 10oz - which came out to about 6 ravioli short of 3 lbs.

This isn't the biggest deal in the world but I was a little annoyed.  Today I stopped by and put in an order, as the woman behind the counter went straight from the fridge to the box I asked her if she would weigh it first.  She balked saying they know how many ravioli are in a typical order.  I explained they were wrong on my last visit, and I'd like it if she would weigh the order (since they sell by pound not by number).

So she weighed the order and surprise - she was short.  She didn't seem surprised, I was expecting something like "Huh, look at that the assumption I've been using for days / weeks / months has been wrong.  Wow thanks for pointing that out to me - boy I feel bad I've been overcharging everyone who comes in here."  Well OK obviously I'm exaggerating, but I was expecting some kind of reaction and apology.

Anyway just a tip for others who buy larger orders from Daves to have them actually weigh it.

Comments

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I always figure that for ravioli they're really charging me by the piece and the weight is just an approximation.

(For flat noodles they do weigh.)

[tvarness.livejournal.com]

Yeah I started to wonder as well if they just sold it by the # of ravioli, but they list the prices by the pound and I give them an order for xxx pounds.

Again for smaller orders it won't really matter (you'll be shorted only a few). It makes more of a difference with larger orders. For example order 4 pounds and you'll get 3.5 pounds, but be charged for 4.

All in all it won't keep me from going back, I'll just know to have them weigh it.

[siderea]

That's not a small thing. That's egregiously illegal. That's selling false weight, which is a big deal in the eyes of the law. Heck, I'd be surprized if here in MA it weren't criminal, not merely tortious.

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

Agreed! It may not seem like a big deal that you were shorted by an ounce or 2, but multiply that by every customer who orders by the pound. And the fact that the employee didn't seem surprised makes me think that it might be intentional. Why would you sell it by the pound and not weigh it? Did you ever order a pound of roast beef at the deli and watch them wrap up a bunch of slices and hand it to you? No, it's sold by the pound and must be weighed. I agree that it's probably illegal, and should be reported.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm always surprised when people don't appreciate constructive criticism and pointing out where they might be missing something important. But it seems pretty common. I supposed because most people don't really have a vested interest in doing really great work, they're just there because they don't feel like they have a choice, and want to earn money to survive.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

i'd mention in to the owner/Dave if you get a chance. Granted, he may in fact already know, but if not, he would probably appreciate the feedback.

[jenskot.livejournal.com]

Did she give you the extra ravioli to make up for it?

When I was a bartender in the UK, we had to measure every dram lest Weights & Measures somehow came after us... I'm surprised to hear there are similar laws protecting ravioli here! :)

Ravioli protection is serious business!

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

:)

[pushupstairs.livejournal.com]

+1, use of word "dram"

[tvarness.livejournal.com]

She didn't give me extra for the amount I was shorted the last time - I didn't press it and she didn't offer.

I mostly just wanted to make sure it didn't happen to me more in the future.

It did occur to me that Dave doesn't know and some of the employees don't appreciate that you're really supposed to weigh it - they might think it's just an extra step they don't need to do since they *think* they know how much it should weigh.

Bad business practice.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

I understand they are trying to save money... But, at least when they are caught, they should pretend to be surprised, apologize, and give you some credit. These are the kinds of situations that make me NOT go back to a business. You lose trust.

Re: Bad business practice.

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

I don't think the assumption that they're trying to save money or otherwise cheat people necessarily follows. I expect that they're trying to save time and effort. That doesn't make it okay, but the assumption of maliciousness seems unwarranted.

Re: Bad business practice.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Let's not be naive here. The assumption of maliciousness is not unwarranted, it's plausible, probabilistically. Let's say there is a 50% probability that the actual weight is <= than the advertised weight, and a 50% probability that it is > than the advertised weight. It is possible that it JUST happened that by chance they hit the 50% under weight probability scenario. Unlike the over weight scenario, however, the 50% underweight scenario is also compatible with bad intent.
To be fair, I wonder if the OP would have told them he was getting 6 MORE ravioli, had that been the case :)

Re: Bad business practice.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

You have no idea if it was on purpose or not. You are trying to quantify the odds, yet you are just making up the percentages. The cashier eyeballed/counted the ravioli it instead of weighing them. That is the only fact we have. Accusing people with no facts is simple douchebaggery.

Re: Bad business practice.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Obviously, I have no proof beyond reasonable doubt. For that, sales from multiple visits from multiple customers would have to be assessed. If they are ALL under weight by 10-15%, then the probability of it being a random and honest mistake become vanishingly small. I could accept if they were wrong by +/- 1 ravioli, that could be random error. Obviously, if it was over weight it would have to be an honest mistake. But systematically under weight is hard to explain without invoking intent.

Re: Bad business practice.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

You have no idea. That is 100%.

case closed.

Re: Bad business practice.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Wrong. Case will be close after they correct the problem. Because now I'll be actually buying a few ravioli from them, just for the heck of it.

[ron_newman]

This is quite illegal, and you need to tell the owner about it.

[puckbear.livejournal.com]

Their menu says:
*all of our ravioli are all priced by the pound
*cheese ravioli are 13 pieces to a pound, spinach & porcini ravioli are 30 pieces to a pound & all other ravioli are 24 pieces to a pound

Since they probably have a standard measuring spoon they use to fill the ravioli, they've probably averaged the weight for each of their products. Whether this is a problem for Mass. Division of Standards (http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=ocaagencylanding&L=4&L0=Home&L1=Government&L2=Our+Agencies+and+Divisions&L3=Division+of+Standards&sid=Eoca) would be a question for the State.

I have not shopped there but I'm curious.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Are the cheese ravioli 2.5 times heavier or are they bigger than the spinach & porcini ones?

Re: I have not shopped there but I'm curious.

[puckbear.livejournal.com]

Yes, there are differnt sizes depending on the fillings.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

Seeing that info on a menu I'd think it was there not to indicate that they wouldn't actually weigh my purchase, but to give me a rough idea of how much I'd get if I went in and ordered a 1/2 pound, or a pound, or 2 pounds of the product.

For example, if I order potato salad at the supermarket deli counter, and I'm not in the habit of ordering potato salad I'm more likely to ask them to fill up a particular container size--they are still going to weigh it and put an exact price on it for the actual weight, even if they know that that size container holds about a half-pound or whatever.

We need weight variability measures on the ravioli.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

How variable is their weight?

[voodoocheese.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I'm not surprised. As much as I love Dave's, I expect awful service whenever I shop there; I always get the feeling that no one who works there really cares at all.

Why do you think that is the case?

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Low pay?

Re: Why do you think that is the case?

[voodoocheese.livejournal.com]

I'm sure it is, but that doesn't make it ok. There are lots of people looking for jobs right now, and if you can't even pretend to be nice, you shouldn't be in customer service. Being pleasant should be in their job description, and perhaps the management should remind the staff of that.

....I'm in cafe management, I have no tolerance for this sort of thing. Maybe I'm biased?

[elements.livejournal.com]

I live around the corner from Dave's and have been shopping there a lot since I moved (woe to my wallet), and have always had super pleasant service, no matter what time of day I've gone. I've gotten some fun & witty (but not snarky) banter with the cashiers, too. Not disputing your experience, just offering mine.

I'm curious about the wildly different impressions

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Could it be that you guys go there at different times and see different people? Could it be that the way you approach THEM is different?...

[dfan.livejournal.com]

My experience is similar to yours.

[voodoocheese.livejournal.com]

I'm very glad other people have different experiences than me. I love Dave's, I just wish it was a little friendlier; then again, I may have unfairly high standards for customer service. Regardless, I'll still visit unless someone is outright rude to me.
Next time I get ravioli I will make sure to count them though!

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

The bottom line is, if an item is sold by the pound, then IT MUST BE WEIGHED. Guesswork, or approximation, is simply not an option. This is a legal issue, and should be reported to the appropriate city/state agencies. If you were buying a gallon of gas for your car, would you be ok if they turned off the meter and guessed? We buy gasoline, heating oil, meat, cheese, milk and many other items by weight and there are strict standards. Guesswork is simply not OK. And if the manager/owner is unaware that the employees are not weighing the product, then they are being negligent in their supervision. I would wonder in what other areas they are negligent/unaware: cleanliness, paying taxes, etc.

agreed!

[r-dorissa.livejournal.com]

I like your this response.

Either price it by the package or sell it by the actual weight! Being shorted 6oz on a 3lb order is a 12.5% difference, and that's a significant difference. Dave's is priced according to quality, but you can't call their prices "cheap".

There's no need to defend or explain their actions. It happened to tvarness twice, so it's safe to say: Don't trust the package weight at Dave's, and act as you see fit when buying their delicious ravioli.

(Thanks for the coupon link, daviscubed!)

~r

They COULD sell by # of ravioli...

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

And list the APPROXIMATE wight. At least people know what they are buying. I mean, it seems that they have to count them anyway, since they are not actually weighing them! Am I missing something here?

Re: They COULD sell by # of ravioli...

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

that's what i was thinking. especially since also, when you eat ravioli (not at home, where i just throw in however much of the bag like a pig, but say, in a restaurant) you'll get like, 6-10 pieces so, these kind of mistakes may leave someone a plate short at a dinner party. and i'd be pissed.

[daviscubed.livejournal.com]

Dave's is possibly my favorite thing about Davis Square, so I'm saddened to hear this.

I will say I have no problem with the service in general. The sandwich guys are constantly moving and work at a quick pace. I think there is some lean manufacturing (or, if you prefer, feng shui) needed after the recent expansion to get the lines moving in an orderly manner, but whatever.

As for the issue at hand, I would bring it up to Dave, or send an e-mail to them (info@davesfreshpasta.com). Also, since you were buying 3 pounds of ravioli, I hope you used the $2 off coupon you can get any time from their site (I use the buy 1 pint of sauce and get a pound of fresh cut pasta coupon constantly) here: http://www.davesfreshpasta.com/coupons.html

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

glad i came back to this post, that's a pretty good break!