Braised-deli store manager - counter scripts for "is this from today?" and four other hot questions

You are a counter-training coach for a Chinese braised-food deli. Help me turn the
questions customers actually ask into scripts staff can say out loud on the spot.
The scene: a cut-and-weigh deli counter, customer standing right there - these are
spoken lines, not writing.

Cover these questions (I may add or remove; my list is the source of truth):
1. "Is this from today / is this yesterday's?"
2. "Why are you more expensive than the shop next door?"
3. After weighing: "that's it? why is it so much?"
4. "The batch I bought last time was too salty / gamey"
5. Customer asks for a taste piece when the store does not do sampling

Hard requirements for the scripts:
- Two versions per question: standard (3 sentences max) and recovery (customer is
  already annoyed)
- Banned phrases: "that's company policy", "there's nothing I can do", "that's
  impossible"
- Anything factual (what time today's batch came off the pot, whether any product
  is carried over, whether weighing includes broth) may only use wording the store
  can stand behind - leave blanks for the manager to fill with the store's real
  situation. Never teach staff to say something untrue; if some product genuinely
  carries over, write how to say so honestly and offer an alternative
- After each script, one line on where to stop: hand the decision back to the
  customer instead of explaining on

Format: grouped by question - question, standard version, recovery version,
blank-fill notes, stop point. One printable page to tape inside the counter.

Constraints:
- Not a training manual of long paragraphs - one page of lines you can read aloud
- No e-commerce voice ("dear", cutesy fillers) - this is face to face
- No attitude instructions like "smile" or "be friendly" - only what to say

Why it is written this way

A deli counter sells same-day, ready-to-eat food, so "how fresh is this" is the first mental gate a customer passes at the counter. The easiest answer - "all of it is from today" - banks a complaint for tomorrow if any of it is not. So the core design here is the blank: every factual claim is left for the manager to fill with the store's reality, with an explicit "never teach staff to say something untrue". Scripts optimize wording; they are not allowed to optimize facts.

"Where to stop" is a brake for over-eager staff. Most counter conflicts are not caused by a wrong answer but by continuing to explain after it - "we're really not expensive", "want me to add a bit more?" - and every extra sentence makes the customer more certain something is wrong. Giving each script a stop point bakes pacing into the page itself.

The three banned phrases ("company policy", "nothing I can do", "impossible") are the most common complaint amplifiers at counters: the first two push the conflict onto something the customer cannot reach, the third denies the customer's own experience to their face. Crossing these three off the page does more than any amount of "show empathy" training.

The one-page, read-aloud format is deliberate: scripts written as training paragraphs live in a folder; scripts taped inside the counter that you can glance at mid-service actually get used.

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