Fishy Top Catch?

For years, I've been ordering Norwegian fjord trout (and the occassional Atlantic salmon when it was cheaper), fresh enough to be eaten raw, from Top Catch Fisheries at Taman Megah. I would place the order in advance and they would bill me in the morning of my requested pick-up date.

I would order 300g of the fish but understandably they couldn't cut exactly that much from the bigger slab. Often, I would get slightly above it. If I recall correctly, the most I got was 330g.

Couple of months ago, right after I put in my advance order, I was surprised to be billed right away for 300 gm. I reminded them that it as for pick-up in a few days time and not for the day itself, which they acknowledged. They want to speed-up the process, rather than billing me on that day. If payment wasn't made on that day, they requested that I remind them of my order that day. Incidentally, ever since they had a change of staff in charge of taking care of advance order, half of the time they forgot to bill me.

Things reverted to normal for a while until recently it happened again and this time it was for 310g of fish. After discussing with Ban, I wasked whether it would be fresh and that I have always eaten it raw. "I asked because I'm puzzled as to how you can bill me in advance."

Their response: "For our online orders, we provde the restimated weight in advance (310g per fillet) to confirm the order and secure payment. On Thursday morning (that was my pick-up day), we will cut fresh fish fillet for you, ensuring each fillet is 310g as stated."

I then nearly asked why it was 310g this time but 300g the last time? I should have asked. Ban's brother later pointed out that if they could ensure each fillet is 310g, then why couldn't they instead ensure it was 300g as per my order?

Me: Do you think they lied to me about it being fresh?

Ban: Of course.

At first, I thought I would just put up with this since their salmon was still better than Jaya Grocer's although more expensive but then I continued to feel uneasy. So recently, I went back to Jaya Grocer, which had salmon, instead of fjord trout, and it was no discernible difference to us. Cheaper by 18% too.

Later, reading back the messages between Top Catch and I, I decided to accept their offer of "let us know if you have any other questions" to ask them why they didn't cut 300g previously as per my order instead of 310g. Their response:

" We always do our best to cut as close as possible to the requested weight. However, the size of the salmon varies, and it's quite difficult to get the exact weight due to the natural shape of the fish. Typically, the fillets will be around 300-310g, depending on the fish. We appreciate your understanding, and if you have any specific preferences, feel free to let us know, and we will try our best to accommodate! "

But this contradicts their earlier statment of "ensuring each fillet is 310g as stated".

Fishy.

As much as I like to give them a benefit of a doubt, I think Ban's explanation is the likeliest: when I put in my order in advance, they pick the fillet that's as close as 300g as possible and bill me. After payment, they freeze the fillet and then later thaw it in time for the pickup date. Or maybe they just choose a fillet that's already frozen in the first place.