Well, the guy that wrote this used to work at FedEx with me. It is kind of long but I thought it was really funny...here goes....
So I Got Angry At Starkist Tuna The Other Day, And This Was The Result:
Dear Starkist,I wanted to email to alert you that I now intend to never again purchase Starkist tuna, in any shape or form. Please let me explain.I have long incorporated Tuna as a steady part of my diet. I think it tastes great and is a great way to get protein. Way back about 7 years ago, i made no real issue as to what brand of tuna i bought, as all of it was fairly inexpensive. One thing I did notice, though, was that the size of the tuna chunks began to get smaller. In fact, when I saw that Starkist came out with Select, I switched over to Select because I knew I would be getting tuna and not mush. And I did, Select definitely has more meat, and larger chunks. Here's where the problem comes in. The prices kept rising, and I didn't feel like paying as much as I was for Select Tuna, so I went back to regular Tuna. Starkist Chunk Light was much worse than I had remembered it (or had gotten worse). First, it's impossible to even drain a can of your regular tuna. Really... The tuna is so fine, that the water doesn't leave it. It's like a puree. It makes me angry and I don't even want to eat it when I'm done trying to squeeze it out. You must know this happens. How could you not? It doesn't matter how much you shift the lid back and forth, or whether you have a lid holder or a can squeezer, or whether you take a lid off and try to strain the tuna, or whatever, the water does not come out without most of the tuna. So then I have a mess all over myself and my kitchen, and the tuna still isn't drained.Second, When and if i get water away from the tuna, i still have just a slimy paste, and it's not an enjoyable texture or taste. Instead of flakes of tuna, it's more like i'm eating watery pate that tastes like tuna water. So, after too many times of frustration, i decided to start loyally purchasing a different brand, and not starkist. Chicken of the Sea, for example, has a product that is basically like Starkist Select, at the Chunk Light Bottom of the line price. Why would I buy your product? Starkist doesn't taste significantly better, i feel like i get a lot more with Chicken of the Sea, I don't get frustrated with the can because it drains just fine (since they have actual chunks of tuna), and their can is a little bit thicker, so it doesn't get bent when i'm trying to drain it (not that i ever have to push to hard on their can). Keep in mind, I'm concerned about cost, and final product that I eat, not so much about companies unless it concerns the final product i'm paying for and eating. I am pretty happy with Chicken of The Sea though, i will say.What this all meant was that I stopped buying Starkist Tuna, and unless I was given a can, I didn't eat any. Actually, funny story, i was given a can of Starkist, got really angry at the experience, and decided I didn't even want cans given to me for FREE! That was a few years ago, probably about 1.5-2. I was at the store the other day though, and your pouches of tuna were on sale. I hadn't ever planned to buy pouches because, from most consumers' points of view, the pouches had been designed to increase profit for the same product as what used to be in the cans. That explained to me why the basic can went to garbage when you (and other tuna companies) introduced Select cans and Fresh Seal Pouches. Anyway, your pouches were on sale so I said, ok, I'll just by them. They cost about double what a can costs so I figured was going to at least get a pretty good product. And it's not like there was a lot of water in it....Well, I had a pouch today, and while there wasn't any water in it, it was the same amount of Tuna i would have gotten had i been able to press the water out of the can. So now, to me Starkist has degraded to the point that I pay double just to be able to have tuna instead of tuna water paste. I ended up adding a can of chicken of the sea tuna to your pouch in order to get a full meal out of it..... I am very disappointed. But I hope I am more resolute. I intend to never purchase Tuna from Starkist again, if I can somehow manage to do that.
After A Few Days, Del Monte Foods Responded:
Dear Grady,
Thank you for your e-mail about StarKist Tuna. We're glad you took the time to contact us and appreciate the opportunity to respond.It's important to us that every can and pouch of StarKist Tuna meet the high standards consumers expect from our products. Because tuna are highly migratory and swim in oceans around the world, we're unable to eliminate some inherent natural variability that can impact the color or firmness of the tuna. For example, factors such as water temperature and diet, as well as size, age and species (for light meat tuna), all play a role in determining the characteristics of a particular fish. Nevertheless, we make every effort to obtain only the highest quality fish, so we sincerely regret your disappointment.Our chunk style tuna contains tuna that has been chopped into chunk size pieces prior to packing. Because of the natural variation of the fish, occasionally pieces of the tuna will break apart during this process. We certainly agree with you that a large amount of small pieces and flakes is not desirable and we are constantly looking for ways to maintain the ideal chunk size.The information you've provided will be helpful in our efforts to continually improve our products, and we assure you your report will be brought to the attention of our Quality Assurance Management.Thanks again for contacting us. Our reputation is built on quality and consumer satisfaction and we apologize for not living up to these expectations in this instance. In an effort to restore your confidence in our products, we are sending complimenarty coupons to you via postal mail. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Jackie, Del Monte Consumer Affairsconsumeraffairs@delmonte.comDel Monte. Nourishing families. Enriching lives. Every Day.When contacting us, please refer to the following reference number: 004197488A
Having Received This Email, This Is How I Responded:
Hi Jackie,
Thanks for the coupons. I gave them away, since my last email made me think about how i don't even want Starkist Tuna when I get it for free.If it's important to Del Monte to meet the high standards of consumers, then why do you keep making it that way? I mean, you tell me you want to meet them, but then the rest of the email has hypothetical reasons of why you don't make that standard. Plus, the answers you gave were very round about ways of avoiding the discussion. For example, you say that Tuna are highly migratory, which we can agree on. I had the picture book about how a tuna fish sandwich was made as a child. What I might suggest, since you are looking for the highest quality of fish, is that you have your ships follow the ships that supply companies like Chicken of The Sea. Their fish aren't highly susceptible to small flakes and chunks apparently, those being things that are affected by the migration patterns of Tuna. Come on... Are you really trying to tell me that the reason Starkist Chunk Light Tuna looks the way it does is because the type of Tuna that was caught falls apart easily, and mixes into the can water until it is impossible to separate? Speaking of which, in what ways are you looking to maintain the ideal chunk size. And what is the ideal chunk size for Del Monte, because it seems to me that Starkist Chunk Light Tuna consistently has a shredded puree appearance to it. This tells me that if you really are trying to maintain ideal chunk size for your cans of Chunk Light Tuna, then Del Monte's ideal size is a shredded puree. Seriously Jackie, are you really trying to meet the standards of the consumers? It looks like you are trying to dictate what those standards are by repackaging a product to raise the cost, and filling the void with leftover Tuna slush. On top of that, I think that my standards are arguably low, not because I demand an unreasonable price for quality tuna, but because your competitors are achieving high quality, while you are sending me poor explanations as to why this is. If you really wanted to meet the high standards of consumers, stop selling chunk light tuna the way you do now. It's not an accident, and it's not based on a poor spawning season. I didn't even begin to address the can issue again, but I'll throw that in too. You must know how frustrating it is to eat a can of chunk light tuna. If there was any reason, why wouldn't that be enough to convince you to change your product? It's a joke to send me coupons and an email when i can see it won't change anything in your chunk light tuna. In conclusion, here's to not purchasing Starkist Tuna again.
Sincerely (not going to buy Starkist),Grady Behrens
If your still down here with me,Hey! I've got a fun idea: send an email to consumeraffairs@delmonte.com. It can be about anything, it doesn't have to be about Tuna. But, when you do, just make sure to use this reference number: 004197488A
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