Anonymous wrote:What’s so great about shaved deli meat? It seems like a big pile of meat crumbles. Blech
Anonymous wrote:Interesting. I grew up in Pittsburgh where "chipped ham" is a thing (I didn't like regular sliced deli ham until I had been in this area for a few years and it grew on me). There, most delis would shave a lot of ham to begin with and have a bowl in the refrigerater cooler of chipped ham. They would take it and weigh it and then keep going.
In Pittsburgh, the slicers have an automated arm, the deli folk would put the ham on the slicer, turn it to the thinnest setting that would work (they all knew the setting) and then turn on the automatic slicer. If the bowl was getting low, they would turn the machine on, then take a couple of orders and just keep watch on the slicer. When the pile was big they would toss into the bowl.
It never occurred to me that delis elsewhere did not have the automatic slicing arm. That would certainly save the poor deli techs arm if they got a request for shaved meats.
Anonymous wrote:I don't get meat shaved so I can't speak to this specifically ...
however, in my experience the folks who work the deli counter give the worst service. The butchers are better, the baggers are happier, the people who work in seafood, produce all are pleasant. The deli people? NEVER!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What is it about shaving that is more difficult than slicing?
The deli worker has to manually run the slicer and it requires a lot more passes to shave it than to make thicker slices.
Anonymous wrote:I like my meat shaved or waxed.
Anonymous wrote:I worked in the deli at Publix. Such a great place to work! But yes, shaving a lot of meat is a pain, especially when the deli is busy. At Publix, we smile, shave a piece, offer you a sample, and happily shave as much delicious Boar's Head deli meat as you would like. No complaining or eye-rolling. We will also smile as we slice 2 pieces of five different cheeses. And happily put paper between anything for you. Just keep in mind that while we are smiling and responding with "my pleasure", the people in line are getting angrier and angrier at us. If you need a large amount of shaved meat, just call ahead. It makes it so much easier on everyone.
Anonymous wrote:Off-topic. Years ago I used to shop at Weis (non-union, less skilled workers). There was a deli worker who clearly had a literacy problem. She would pretty much guess which hunk of meat you asked for. I would deliberately skip the deli counter if she was working.