I usually don't say anything to the deli people, first because they're a captive audience and second because it would be just my luck that a huge line would form after me. At our grocery store, the scales display tenths of a pound rather than ounces, so I ask for .55, 1.1 or 2.2 pounds. (I assume the button trick wouldn't work either, since the word "POUNDS" is physically printed on the display.)
My thinking is that if anyone ever asks me why I want such a specific "irregular quantity," I can then use that as a "teaching moment." There was one time I got very stubborn about metric with a salesman. It was at an outdoor supply store, when I wanted exactly 5 m of paracord and they would only cut it and sell it by the whole foot. Even if I'd brought my own measuring tape, the register wouldn't have allowed a pro rata quantity. I was not at all impressed -- their main competition, REI, only sells paracord in pre-wrapped bundles that don't list an exact length. I bought my cord and never went back...especially when I discovered that REI actually does a great job carrying a lot of other metric products, labelled in metric first. On 17 March 2014 19:45, Pierre Abbat <[email protected]> wrote: > Yesterday I went to Earth Fare and asked for 500 grams of chicken liver. > (Usually if I ask for something, it's wings, which I ask for by number.) > The guy answered "Got it" and went back to find the right sized > container. Then he asked me and another guy how much that is. I > explained that 480 g is the right size for the container I freeze them > in, and I rounded up, and couldn't he push a button on the scale to set > it to grams? He couldn't figure out how to use the button. The two of > them came up with 1 pound 2 ounces, but the scale doesn't display > ounces. Finally he weighed out some amount. It turned out to be 560 g > when I got home. > > Pierre > >
