Had a customer send back a steak 3 times last Friday. I still don't know what they wanted.

First time they said it was too rare. Second time they said medium rare but it came back looking almost well done. Third plate I pulled at 135 and they said it was too dry. I ended up just comping the thing and moving on. Anybody ever run into a customer where you just can't figure out what they actually want?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylanh971mo ago

Wait, 135 is too dry for a steak that was already sent back twice? That doesn't add up. Medium rare is usually around 130-135, so if they said they wanted medium rare the second time, 135 should've been spot on. My guess is the customer didn't actually know what medium rare looks like or feels like. Some people just say words they've heard but have no real clue what the doneness actually is. The fact they said it was too dry at 135 tells me they probably wanted something closer to rare but were too scared to say it, or maybe they just wanted a well done hockey puck but didn't want to admit it. Either way, you did the right thing comping it. Some battles just aren't worth fighting, especially when the customer can't even explain what they actually want.

robert_hayes1mo ago

Nah, had a guy send back coffee three times because it was "too hot" then "too cold.