County fair sparked a weird cut request trend at my counter

So after the fair last month, I've had a bunch of folks coming in asking for super specific cuts, like pork chops cut extra thick or beef ribs trimmed a certain way. On one hand, it's cool to see people getting into the details and I can charge a bit more for the custom jobs. But on the other hand, it messes with my flow when I'm prepping for the week, and some requests are just plain time consuming. I had one guy want his chicken deboned but with the skin kept perfect, which took forever. I think this is great for the trade, making butchery more personal. But I also worry it's not sustainable during busy seasons. What do you all think? Should we embrace every custom request or set some limits?

3 comments

3 Comments

christopher9435d ago

Totally get the mixed feelings on this lol. That perfect skin chicken request sounds like a real pain, had a lady last week who wanted something similar with duck. Maybe setting a cutoff time for complex orders would help, like only before noon on slow days.

webb.daniel3d ago

Cutoff times are smart, but have you thought about how the kitchen staff feels when these orders come in anyway? Even before noon, a perfect skin request can mess up the whole flow and stress out the crew. @richardthompson 's steak guy story shows how one picky order can ripple through the kitchen, you know? Maybe we should also look at adding a special fee for high maintenance requests, not just a time limit. That could make customers really consider if they need it, saving everyone a headache.

richardthompson4d ago

Remember @christopher943, that duck story makes my one encounter with a picky steak guy look tame.