Potes chorizo that millennial shop assistants don't know

Why don't the staff at the gourmet shop know Potes chorizo?

A customer in Suances (Cantabria) got an unpleasant surprise when he walked into a local delicatessen: the two young employees working that Sunday had no idea what Potes was, let alone the famous chorizo from that region. The incident, which the customer recounted with evident anger, has exposed a recurring problem in the hospitality and tourist retail sector: the lack of training given to temporary workers on the products they sell.

According to his account, the shop assistants – described as millennials at their first job – were unable to advise him on cheeses from Asturias and Cantabria. Things got worse when, upon returning to the shop, one of them quietly remarked that the customer had changed his T-shirt, revealing a lack of professionalism that many summer visitors have experienced.

One of the participants most familiar with the area pointed out that the shop in question, Aramburu, usually employs qualified staff, but on any given Sunday in July you may end up with inexperienced employees. He also revealed an interesting fact: the torta del Cuera, the cheese the customer ended up buying, is made in Germany and aged in Asturias. A detail that, far from diminishing the product's value, shows how globalised the food market has become.

Among the recommendations that came up in the conversation, the Quintana butcher's shop in Cabezón de la Sal stood out – famous for its tudanca beef steaks at prices that surprise Madrid visitors – along with the advice to get away from Santander to find a more authentic rural experience, such as the ría de Ajo or Galizano.

In the end, the customer was comforted by a deer cheese and the promise of visiting a better-stocked shop. But the sarracena is clear: in tourist paradises, local knowledge is not always in the hands of those doing the selling. Such are the ironies of a sector that prioritises immediacy over culture.