Did you catch that episode of Chef's Table where the butcher from Portland was talking about this exact thing? He said the bone's not doing much for flavor once it's cooked, but it does slow down the heat transfer so the meat cooks more evenly, which people misinterpret as "bone flavor". That neighbor of yours might be onto something with the trust angle though, my local market does the same thing with pork chops now, they leave the bone in and charge more for it. It's wild how much presentation plays into what we buy, even when we know better. I've had fantastic boneless lamb legs that were way more tender than any bone-in roast I've dealt with, so I'm with you on the efficiency side. But if the customers are happy and sales are up, maybe Jim just found the secret to moving product in Clovis.

Man the whole grocery store is built to hide that math from us. They put the price per ounce in tiny print on the bottom tag, but the big numbers and the size of the bag are what your brain locks onto. It's the same trick with toilet paper, cereal, and even laundry soap, you just assume bigger package means better value. Once you start checking that little per unit number, it changes everything about how you shop. I swear half the time the store brand or the smaller pack wins, and you feel dumb for years of grabbing the big one. It's like a tiny hidden game they play with your wallet and most people never even know the rules.