Looking For A New Butcher

[Skruffy n Flea]

so yesterday, i'm at my local butcher getting my supply of rmb ... the wife serves me usually as she did yesterday, smiles, chats yada yada...

this butchery is not dog friendly; last week i asked about roo tail and turkey necks ... the reply: it'd cost ya packet f'rus to get ya roo tail n turkey necks, sure we can get 'em for ya but... woteva *eyeroll*

anyhoo, i'd had a bad batch of chicken necks from another place and so i'm ecstatic with the quality of theirs so i'm gushing and very happy with what they can provide so i ask if they can do a monthly order for me, saves me taking the trip every week, fortnight, etc, and package up a bag of small dog bones and 4 kilo of chicken necks [given that turkey necks are so damned hard to come by and apparantly too expensive] to which she says something like, we dun it befor and people they don't come in and yeh, we don't got much freezer space n yeah so nah, sorry *sadface*

i'm okay about it, she gives me good attention, we've established a rapport etc etc etc and then she reaches for the bucket of dog bones and starts to fish out beef/lamb bones, holding them up to me, me nodding to the ones that are a good size, shaking my head to those that are too big ... allz well!

then i get the hairy eye from her husband as he passes by, as he walks towards the back of the shop, and he makes this unfriendly remark about dogs, and says they've got bags of bones and i shouldn't be keeping his wife from making more money than what it would cost me for a bag of bones already bagged up [containing bones the size of my two dogs' head]! i realised he wasn't joking and remarked, staring him straight in the face, 'looks like i gotta find me another butcher', to which he says, 'yeah'!!!

this was the first time i'd asked for a bag of small bones, she offered and i accepted the favour!!!

she apologised profusely for his behaviour, said he was just in a bad mood, said he gets ticked when ppl don't buy their human food, i said but we do, i just do the dog stuff, gary does the human, she said 'yeah, i think i know him', kept apologising, making excuses, when i left i said nothing ... they just won't see us again...

i wished i'd just left the $8 worth of necks and bones on the counter and walked out, but she did me some favours ... he was a royal prick, never once saw him smile...

that kind of personality and he knows how to use a knife ... not gunna toss a brick thru his window!

*rant done but i still need a butcher*

[Wazzat Xolo]

so yesterday, i'm at my local butcher getting my supply of rmb ... the wife serves me usually as she did yesterday, smiles, chats yada yada...

this butchery is not dog friendly; last week i asked about roo tail and turkey necks ... the reply: it'd cost ya packet f'rus to get ya roo tail n turkey necks, sure we can get 'em for ya but... woteva *eyeroll*

anyhoo, i'd had a bad batch of chicken necks from another place and so i'm ecstatic with the quality of theirs so i'm gushing and very happy with what they can provide so i ask if they can do a monthly order for me, saves me taking the trip every week, fortnight, etc, and package up a bag of small dog bones and 4 kilo of chicken necks [given that turkey necks are so damned hard to come by and apparantly too expensive] to which she says something like, we dun it befor and people they don't come in and yeh, we don't got much freezer space n yeah so nah, sorry *sadface*

i'm okay about it, she gives me good attention, we've established a rapport etc etc etc and then she reaches for the bucket of dog bones and starts to fish out beef/lamb bones, holding them up to me, me nodding to the ones that are a good size, shaking my head to those that are too big ... allz well!

then i get the hairy eye from her husband as he passes by, as he walks towards the back of the shop, and he makes this unfriendly remark about dogs, and says they've got bags of bones and i shouldn't be keeping his wife from making more money than what it would cost me for a bag of bones already bagged up [containing bones the size of my two dogs' head]! i realised he wasn't joking and remarked, staring him straight in the face, 'looks like i gotta find me another butcher', to which he says, 'yeah'!!!

this was the first time i'd asked for a bag of small bones, she offered and i accepted the favour!!!

she apologised profusely for his behaviour, said he was just in a bad mood, said he gets ticked when ppl don't buy their human food, i said but we do, i just do the dog stuff, gary does the human, she said 'yeah, i think i know him', kept apologising, making excuses, when i left i said nothing ... they just won't see us again...

i wished i'd just left the $8 worth of necks and bones on the counter and walked out, but she did me some favours ... he was a royal prick, never once saw him smile...

that kind of personality and he knows how to use a knife ... not gunna toss a brick thru his window!

*rant done but i still need a butcher*

While I see your point and yes he was a rude so and so, if the quality is there and you get on with the wife, why change? I love people like old cranky pants as its a game to get them to smile and underneath all that gruffness he is probably an old softee just like the rest of business people struggling at the economic times. Not saying its right but just saying, maybe if the meats good and all maybe just tuff it out ?

Do whats best for you and the dogs.

[Skruffy n Flea]

thanks, i appreciate your comment

but nah, he's never once smiled that i've seen, surly sob and to be quite honest, i was only in it for the chicken necks and most butchers have that down pat...

this just gave me a shove in the right direction ... i deal with a lot of idiots a lot of the time and frankly, i need to extricate myself from that kind of environment; that or i risk some serious jail time...

besides, if times were that tuff, he'd be running rings around himself to keep his customers ... we weren't the biggest spenders at this butcher, but we rarely had an all up cost of less than $30 per week.

some peeps deserve it, some don't - just sayin'

[Verdant Amphibian]

I know where I live lots of the butchers have a huge problem with people buying their meat at safeway then coming to the butchers to buy bones for their dogs. They hate it, they make practically no money out of the dog products it's a draw for their regulars - a few even have signs now asking you not to buy bones there if you buy your meat at safeway. You might find if you brought your human meat at the same time as you buy your bones you wont have a problem - I know you said your OH buys your meat from there but perhaps the butcher doesn't connect it or it still grates because he has too many people that just buy bones? I only bring it up because if you change butchers your new butcher might be just as rude, or just grumble behind your back, if they don't make the connection between your OH buying meat and you buying bones.

[Tilly]

The butcher I used to get my dog stuff from (he retired and sold the business ) used to make up anything I wanted. I often used to get a mince mix made of so many kgs of chicken mince (minced frames), roo meat, beef etc. In winter I would get extra fat added in the way of the chicken skin. He would bundle up my chicken necks in what ever size bundles I would ask for.

Mind you I was getting something like 30 or 40kg of chicken necks, about 20kg of chicken frames, 30kg of mince, another 30kg of bones etc at a time. Most was under $1 a kg ... exept the mince but he would do a deal on that as well.

Once you find a good butcher it makes life so much easier ... I am still looking for my next one.

[Dogawne]

A little bit of courteousy go's a long way. If you don't feel happy walking into a shop, if you cannoy be greeted with a smile, then you are going to be less inclined to go there, and you'll end up finding somewhere else, even if it's further, usually even if it costs a little more, because no one wants to walk into unhappiness.

You are most likely not the first customer he has lost over time, but you have to feel for the wife I guess, shes the one stuck with him

[sas]

This guy can get you turkey necks even though they're not on the website, he gets them for another DOL member: http://www.justfood4dogs.com.au/

[Wazzat Xolo]

I know where I live lots of the butchers have a huge problem with people buying their meat at safeway then coming to the butchers to buy bones for their dogs. They hate it, they make practically no money out of the dog products it's a draw for their regulars - a few even have signs now asking you not to buy bones there if you buy your meat at safeway. You might find if you brought your human meat at the same time as you buy your bones you wont have a problem - I know you said your OH buys your meat from there but perhaps the butcher doesn't connect it or it still grates because he has too many people that just buy bones? I only bring it up because if you change butchers your new butcher might be just as rude, or just grumble behind your back, if they don't make the connection between your OH buying meat and you buying bones.

My butcher must hate me then as I am a vegetarian,thank goodness the dogs have a lot of dog bones!! lol

[Clyde]

This guy can get you turkey necks even though they're not on the website, he gets them for another DOL member: http://www.justfood4dogs.com.au/

Oh, I'd forgotten about him and have been paying twice that amount. Cheers!

[iltby]

We were essentially stopped to asking using a butcher for the same reason. The guy was lovely - a father and his three sons I think. We'd buy ten kilo boxes of chicken drumsticks and necks, and often ask for any trimmings or scraps they had for the dogs, as well some big thigh or calf bones, which had never been a problem. Then one day one of them simply told us they wouldn't sell us food if it was going to be given to dogs. If we had said it was for humans there wouldn't have been an issue so I have no idea what the problem was. They lost a regular customer anyway.

Edited May 1, 2010 by iltby™

[Staranais]

If he doesn't like people buying dog bones because he doesn't make much money on them, he obviously needs to charge more for them! It's kind of unfair to make his bones cheap, and then whinge when people come to purchase them.

I don't buy meat for myself from the butcher, since I don't eat it, but I will buy scraps & bones for the animals. I'm happy to pay a fair price for them. I wouldn't be happy getting grumpy service though.

[mita]

We'd buy ten kilo boxes of chicken drumsticks and necks, and often ask for any trimmings or scraps they had for the dogs, as well some big thigh or calf bones, which had never been a problem. Then one day one of them simply told us they wouldn't sell us food if it was going to be given to dogs. [if we had said it was for humans there wouldn't have been an issue so I have no idea what the problem was. They lost a regular customer anyway.

That's what I don't understand, either. The butcher has those items & is willing to sell them...but not for dogs to eat. What are you supposed to say...

'It's for my husband who eats like a German Shepherd?'

Years back, my mother had a great local butcher who cashed in on the fact that her persian cat, Colette, would only eat meat, if it came from his shop. Offer Colette some stuff from a supermarket, & she'd turn up her nose. Maybe it was connected with the amount of preservatives that was allowed then.

But that butcher put up a funny sign with Colette's picture & her 'testimonial' that she'd only eat his meat, not stuff from a supermarket.

Edited May 2, 2010 by mita

[iltby]

We'd buy ten kilo boxes of chicken drumsticks and necks, and often ask for any trimmings or scraps they had for the dogs, as well some big thigh or calf bones, which had never been a problem. Then one day one of them simply told us they wouldn't sell us food if it was going to be given to dogs. If we had said it was for humans there wouldn't have been an issue so I have no idea what the problem was. They lost a regular customer anyway.

That's what I don't understand, either. The butcher has those items & is willing to sell them...but not for dogs to eat. What are you supposed to say...

'It's for my husband who eats like a German Shepherd?'

Exactly...business is business, money is money. We feed our dogs human-grade food, I don't see the issue. I think it was just him being very petty.

[GeckoTree]

Sort of the same, one place was overpriced & undercut with a crappy attitude toward life in general yeah its just meat and bones buddy you have 10,000 competitors. If its too hard to be in the biz find another trade boyo lol.

I found a great butchers only 2 ks away that actually has a specialist section just for pets. Pet loafs and mince raw and boiled all the necks and ribs etc. They do a roaring trade along with a great selection of cuts with proper attitude.

[mita]

I found a great butchers only 2 ks away that actually has a specialist section just for pets. Pet loafs and mince raw and boiled all the necks and ribs etc. They do a roaring trade along with a great selection of cuts with proper attitude.

Now that butcher is using his brains, rather than a bad mood, to meet a huge consumer need for quality food products for pets.

[baifra]

It is absolutely none of the butcher's business why or who you buy the meat for!!! What a hide!!

I'd find another butcher who gives his customers the time of day. Whatever happened to service with a smile.

I'm sick to death of being served by smart arse, snide, rude and grumpy people. They give the impression that you are wasting their time.

I'm always polite and friendly and I expect the same in return.

[macka]

We go to one who is lovely, small business just around the corner in a old-fashion small strip of shops. A friend of my brother's works there but all the others are lovely too.

Our other local butcher which is inside a shopping centre just flat out refuses to sell dog bones. Who knows what they do with them.

Their loss as we are vegetarian so I have no other reason to visit a butcher.

[Gayle.]

Our butcher is anothervof the fabulous ones. I buy all our meat from him. And if he sees me there, he'll let me know if he's just made fresh pet mince, or if he's got some offcuts suitable for the dogs. It's good to find a butcher you can build a rapport with and know they can also cater for your pets.

[stormie]

This guy can get you turkey necks even though they're not on the website, he gets them for another DOL member: http://www.justfood4dogs.com.au/

Hope you're not talking about me, sas, cause I don't get my turkey necks from him. I tried but he said he couldn't get them??

[cashew]

I buy a lot of chicken necks from my butcher. He knows that they usually go to my dogs but I have also told him I throw in a good amount of necks into my chicken soups/stock. It's good quality human grade necks with no chemicals. I am sure he makes money out of the sales. I always make sure that I buy some home-smoked ham and chicken meat as well. I mean I trust my butcher a lot but I often get the bulk of my red meats from the farmers' market.