After cherry picking at my local market, I had some questions for Jealous Fruits about the Canadian cherries I picked…

Dear Cherry Fruit Folks:

It’s been about 6 weeks and you still haven’t answered my email. I’m not sure when the height of cherry season is, but if it’s not right now, I can’t see why you wouldn’t have time to answer my questions. So here’s my inquiry again…

Congratulations on being the largest cherry producer in Canada and sharing your cherries with the United States. I recently purchased your Canada No. 1 Cherries. I didn’t know cherries came in No.s until I read the bag. What makes a cherry a No. 1 versus a No. 2 or No. 3? It’s confusing enough that they do this number thing with pencils because you always see No. 2s, but where are the No. 1s? How high do the cherry No.s go? Is there a Chinese-like cherry menu from which you can order a No. 69 or a No. 142?

In the bag I purchased, there was 1 No. 1 that had some white fuzzy stuff on it. I’m guessing it was mold, but I don’t have a lab on the premises and can’t be sure. Even if I did have a lab I still wouldn’t be able to tell because I mostly got C’s in Science. So hypothetically, if it were mold, would the other cherries without white fuzzy stuff on them be safe to eat? I hope so since I did. Is cherry mold anything like cockroaches where when you see 1, you know there are many more about ready to appear out of nowhere like the next wave of a plague?

I noticed that on the Varieties of Cherries section of your website you list: Satin, Sylvia, Lapins, Sweetheart, Staccato, Sovereign and Sentennial. The photos you show of them all look the same to me, so I’m glad you can tell the difference between them. I’m a little concerned though about the Lapins. How come that’s the only variety of cherry that doesn’t begin with an “S”? For that matter, why do all the others start with an “S”? Who’s in charge of naming cherries and is their name something like Sam or Sophia?

Cherryo!

The General Sales Manager responded with:

Good Morning

We did not receive an earlier email from you — we always reply very quickly to emails from all customers when we are not in cherry season. Our season runs from the middle of July to early September.

Cherries are graded into three categories: No 1 which is the highest grade, No 2 which is rejected from the number 1 grade due to minor defects such as wind rubs, missing stems etc, and culls which are deemed not suitable for consumption due to major defects.

It is concerning that the bag you purchased had mold on the fruit. If the cherries are stored at all once they are shipped mold can develop on the fruit. Similar to how mold will develop on bread, cheese, strawberries etc. if not consumed/sold at the appropriate time. Can you please advise where you purchased your cherries and approximately the date?

Dr. Lapin was a pioneer in the development of the BC cherry program which is why the Lapin variety is named after him. The Summerland Breeding Program in Canada controls the naming process for all new varieties. All new varieties begin as a numbered variety and when sufficient testing is done to determine suitability the variety is then named by a panel. For example, the two newest cherries, released in 2006 and called Sovereign in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s 80th birthday. Not all varieties begin with “S”. For example there are Van, Crystallina, Regina, Lambert etc.

Thank you for your interest in our premium cherries.

Final Thoughts: This service experience almost went nowhere. All because of an email that went astray. Or as they say in Canada, “The email went astray, eh?” However, every issue involving cherries has to stem from somewhere. One time, the stem could be traced to a woman’s mouth where it was being tied into a knot with her tongue. But that’s a whole other story which best remains private. This time, it stemmed from Jealous Fruits, so there was nothing to lose by giving them the benefit of the doubt and sending a second email.

So like cherries on a slot machine, persistence pays off. Otherwise, I would have missed out on an outstanding, informative response that also showed sincere concern about a product being sold with a little mold. I wrote the GM back to thank her for all the interesting info and provided details regarding where and when the cherries were purchased. She replied back and asked if I’d like to be put on their email list to be kept up to date on Jealous Fruits cherries throughout the year. The GM also added, “—when we ship the next year I will let you know and will include a complimentary sample box for you.” Finally, she invited me to contact her in early August so she could let me know when the market I shop at will be buying. In cherry lingo, this proactive approach to pleasing customers is known as Bing! Bing! Bing!

Here’s where you can learn more about Jealous Fruits. Finally, remember that customer service departments are a lot like cherries. Sometimes they make you feel like the pits. Sometimes they overlook or don’t receive an inquiry, which ends up collecting mold somewhere. And sometimes they make you feel like life really is a bowl of cherries. You just never know unless you Write The Company.

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