Fly In The Face Of The Obvious

I work at our family deli and grocery store with my brother-in-law. Most of our customers are regulars and we know them well. This particular customer is a nanny down the street who comes in almost every day. She’s a very pleasant young woman. One day, she buys a bag of shredded cheese and returns with it a couple of hours later.

Customer: “Um, this bag of cheese has dead flies in it.”

Brother-In-Law: “Are you serious? That’s so weird. Let me take a look.”

He takes a look.

Brother-In-Law: “You know this is pepper jack, right? Those aren’t flies; it’s just the pepper in the cheese.”

Customer: “I mean, my boyfriend looked, too, and said they look like flies. It’s weird, because it was sealed and everything. How did they get in there?”

Brother-In-Law: “Probably because they’re not flies. It’s pieces of pepper. But if you want to take another bag, go for it.”

She goes to the fridge and looks at the other bags.

Customer: “They all have dead flies in them! You should send them back to the distributor and get your money back! They must have been contaminated at the factory.”

Brother-In-Law: “I’m quite sure there are no flies. [My Name], come over and take a look. Are these flies or pepper?”

I inspect the cheese carefully.

Me: “That’s definitely pepper. Flies would have wings and legs, right?”

Customer: “I don’t know, they really look like flies to me. Pepper would be black and really small.”

Brother-In-Law: “Well, pepper jack has flakes of pepper. It’s not ground pepper, so the pieces are bigger. It’s black, green, and red peppers. How about a different kind of cheese? Cheddar? Plain Jack? You can choose whichever one you like.”

Customer: “Nah, I really want pepper jack. Are you sure those aren’t flies?”

Brother-In-Law: “Yeah, I’m sure. But let’s empty it on the deli counter and double-check.”

We empty the entire contents of the bag and sift through it. It’s 100% pepper. We invite her to take another look. We’re all picking pieces up and looking carefully. We even eat a handful to make sure it tastes good. She just can’t be convinced.

Brother-In-Law: “I have sliced pepper jack I can give you and you can shred it at home if you’d like?”

Customer: “Can I just have my money back? That’s too much work.”

Brother-In-Law: “Sure, no problem. But I’m telling you, the cheese is fine! You’re missing out on the pepper jack you really want.”

Customer: “I know, I really wanted it, but I just cannot get over it looking like flies. I really think it’s flies. You should get your money back, too.”

She looks so confused and sad as she walks out of the store with her refund. My brother-in-law and I start laughing.

Brother-In-Law: “Dude, those were totally pepper flakes, right?”

Me: “Definitely! But whatever, I don’t think there was any way to convince her. I just feel bad for her because she really wanted that pepper jack.”

He told me she asked about a week later if he had a new batch of shredded pepper jack. He did, and she bought a bag. It was identical to the previous bags. The next time she came in, she said it was great and she was happy she finally got her pepper jack.