I have come to avoid shopping at Tesco and other chain supermarkets, because every time I do, it’s guaranteed to ruin my day. Worst of all is the Tesco on Národní třída, where hordes of frustrated and stressed shoppers combine with an equally life-hating sales staff in what is my personal imagination of hell. Fluorescent lights, people bumping into you with shopping carts, the cashier yelling at you for refusing to buy a bag of frozen peas that has burst open when she was scanning it. I wish I were making this up. Also, a little bird once told me how much a typical Tesco cashier makes (trust me, you’d be shocked). So on top of it being a miserable experience, shopping there also supports exploitation of low-wage laborers and a whole slew of other nasty capitalist practices. I doubt the other chain stores are much better, so this is not an attack on just one company, but rather on a very common way to do business.
However, shopping at my favorite greengrocer’s in all of Prague is the exact opposite of this. Yes, I think you could call it heavenly. My friends and I even have a special nickname for this little haven of fresh fruit and vegetables: Šup šup.
Let me explain why we call it that. The owners of the shop I am talking about are an adorably rotund husband and wife. The husband works mostly behind the scenes. He organizes the merchandise and carries stock in every morning. The wife is the real superstar. When you have made your selection and walk up to the counter, she handles your oranges and cucumbers like they are little human beings. Often, she will usher them into the bag with the words: „Šup, šup, kluci.“ Which translates to something like: „Come on, boys.“ If an apple rolls over the counter, she reprimands it to stay where it is: „Zůstaň tady!“ There are many more fantastic lines in her repertoire. Basically, it sounds like she is talking to children, not fruit.
One time I walked into the store and she was holding two bananas as if they were guns, making shooting noises. It’s hard to fully describe how special she is. Even on the most miserable Monday, I leave her shop with a smile on my face. When five people are crowded into the tiny space, she still finds the time for a friendly chat. Her husband always tells me about his efforts to lose weight with a touching openness. Often, they ask what I am cooking with the produce I buy from them. And to top it all off, their goods are always of superior quality. No disappointingly stringy and dry oranges here. No pale strawberries for 150 kč in winter – if something isn’t in season, they don’t have it, or only offer it if the quality and price are acceptable.
My love for the Šup šup store got me to think how much one-stop shopping at big chain stores robs us of. There is hardly any dignified human interaction in these mega-supermarkets. Even if you shop at the same location regularly, the cashier is unlikely to remember you. And you can’t even blame them. They are asked to function like machines. With small businesses, you know that your money is helping an actual human being’s livelihood and not a faceless multinational company. You come to trust them and their selections. In a small but important way, these businesses become a part of your daily life. And, unlike many multinational supermarkets in Prague, they cannot afford to sell low-quality goods at inflated prices. They’d go out of businesses.
Of course, shopping this way is time-consuming and often complicated. I am the first to admit that while I try to buy everything from privately run businesses, I still often find myself navigating the crowded aisles at Tesco or Billa or Albert, cursing myself. But in my experience, the effort is often rewarded. Especially if your greengrocer talks to their produce.
How about you? Where do you do your daily shopping? Are you a regular customer at any particular store? Do you know any eccentric business owners that always make you smile?