Not Quite Sixteen Ounces

I’ve noticed a trend in liquid products lately. I use the word “trend” because it’s happened to me four different times in the last three weeks. The cynic in me believes I’m getting ripped off. The optimist in me hopes it’s just a coincidence. Honestly, I’m feeling more cynical than optimistic. I’ve taken the lids off of newly purchased items such as hair spray and shampoo to find noticeably less product than I would expect in a full bottle. I realize they never fill those things to the top. However, this was much less than it has been in the past. These bottles were all dark colored, and I wouldn’t have noticed except I was draining the dregs of the old bottles into the news ones because I am my daddy’s girl; tight as the bark on a tree. The first time it happened, I said, “Hm”. The second time, I said, “Hmmmmmm.” The third time, I thought, “This is getting ridiculous”, and the last time I became really suspicious because the item was a tea purchased at a highly automated fast food restaurant that has it’s dispensers programmed to dispense a specific amount according to the button the server pushes. I had opened the lid to add sweetener to the tea. By the way, I had to practically promise my first born to the server just to get the sweetener. I KNOW some people waste condiments. I am not one of them, so please do not shame me and ask me for a resume before determining whether or not I am Splenda worthy. It’s reasonable to ask me how many packets I need, just don’t grill me like a prisoner of war. In order to get some ketchup I almost feel compelled to confess about that Milky Way I stole from the IGA when I was five. I digress.

In the past some companies have made their packaging smaller to avoid raising prices. Are they now keeping the products the same size and putting less in them to keep profit levels the same? I would rather they just be honest with me instead of shorting me a couple of squirts of hair spray. This sneakiness has me ripping off the lids of everything I buy and shouting “Aha!, Gotcha”, instead of considering that maybe Inspector Number 7 was having a sleepy day on the assembly line.