My Asian food market visit

While I prefer to stick to more positive thoughts on my blog, I am somewhat miffed after my visit to the New Asia Oriental Market here in Gainesville. It is located on NW 23rd Avenue just a block east of the intersection of NW 13th Street and NW 23rd Avenue. While I would like to say that they have a pretty good selection for an Asian marketplace, I was charged more than the sticker price on one of the items I purchased. It was only 80 cents more, which won't break me, but I am still somewhat displeased about that in particular.

I like to be treated fairly with respect and try to do the same to others. That's why when I get too much change back from a cashier, I make sure to return the excess to them and tell them. Usually that results in a bug-eyed look that seems to say, "Are you CRAZY?" I might be crazy, but if you get shorted, wouldn't you expect the cashier to make that right? So it is only right to do the same when the error is in the other direction. I am not a saint, but I do try and treat other people the way I would like to be treated.

Anyhow, here is a scan of my receipt:

The items on the receipt in order are:

1. $2.49 charge for Wei-chuan Pickled Cucumbers 16oz, $2.49 sticker price
2. $3.29 charge for Kimlan Chili Radish 14oz, $2.49 sticker price
3. $1.49 charge for Asian Taste Roasted Eel 3.5oz, $1.49 sticker price
4. $1.58 ($0.79 x2) charge for Taisun Lotus Mixed Congee 370g, $0.79 sticker price each
5. $0.99 charge for Golden King Pearl Milk Tea 11oz, no sticker price
6. $2.00 charge for 6 I-Mei Red Bean Jellys 40g each, 3 for $1.00 price listed at store
7. $2.49 charge for Chimei Taro Buns 13.75oz, $2.49 sticker price

Here are close up photos of the price stickers on the items (click to zoom in):

As you can see, I already busted out the roasted eel... I was hungry! But anyhow, now that I got that out, I'm not as teed off as I was previously. I'm not happy about it, mind you, but at least I know to check my total charge more carefully in the future. Ironically, when I shop at a supermarket like Publix or Albertsons, I always add up the bill in my head as I shop so I know how much the bill will be in the end, but this time I was lax about it because I was more interested in exploring the variety of items offered for sale at New Asia Oriental Market. To be perfectly honest, maybe the price sticker on the bottle was an old price, but they should at least tell you that when they ring you up, that way you can decide whether or not you still want the item. But if that was not the case, then I have to say that I feel a bit ripped off.

Normally I wouldn't be driving out of my way to go shop at an Asian market, even though I love some of the food that you can only find at an Asian market (like chinese sausages!!!). But I happened to be out at the storage unit of the Florida Track Club where there were club members getting ready for setting up tomorrow's race, the Newnan's Lake 15k road race. No running today as I am somewhat tuckered out from the last 3 weeks worth of running, probably more from just the mileage -- my running log shows 172.5 miles in the 17 days of 2008 so far -- than anything else. I am a little wishy-washy about the race as I am not sure whether to jog it for fun or try to run it hard to get a good time. I usually say I'll do the former, but half a mile to a mile into a race, I end up switching to the latter. The weather should be great for racing with a temperature around 50 to 55 degrees F and a slight chance of rain (depending on which weather forecast you believe). Other than the rain, it would be ideal running weather, and I've really enjoyed the cooler running weather recently which has been a very refreshing change from the usual heat and humidity of Florida. Weather is funny in Florida because in the middle of winter the temperature could shoot up to the 80's with high humidity or it could be below freezing, all within the same week!

That's all for now. I'm outta here to get some food into my belly!