Has Beef With Your Broil
(I’m at the deli counter of the supermarket. Before I walk up, the area around the counter is completely deserted, save for the lone employee behind the counter who I don’t recognize and conclude is new. On my approach, I notice the display’s London broil is almost completely gone.)
New Employee: “What can I get you?”
Me: “Do you have any more London broil?”
New Employee: “Any what?”
Me: *pointing to the display* “London broil.”
New Employee: “What’s London broil?”
Me: “It’s a beef with–“
New Employee: “Oh, yeah, we’ve got roast beef.” *walks towards the roast beef*
Me: “No. Not roast beef.” *pointing to the display on each word* “London. Broil. Over here.”
New Employee: “Roast beef?”
(Thankfully, before that gets ugly, one of the experienced deli workers who overheard the whole thing comes out from the back.)
Experienced Employee: “Howdy, [My Name].” *to the new employee* “He wants this stuff.” *points to the London broil* “This is London broil. And this small amount isn’t tender, so get him a fresh one from the back.” *hands him the wrapper* “The wrapper will look just like this one.”
(The new guy disappears in the back while the experienced one slices and packages some Swiss cheese. When the new guy comes back, it starts right back up.)
Experienced Employee: “That’s roast beef. I told you to get London broil and to match the wrapper.”
New Employee: “He asked for roast beef.”
Experienced Employee: “No. He asked… Forget it. I’ll get it and then we’ll go over it. Get him anything else he wants.”
(She disappears into the back and leaves me alone with the new guy. Thankfully, the last item is right in front of him.)
New Guy: “Anything else?”
Me: “Half a pound of the [Brand] Ham.”
(He grabs the correct ham and loads it into the slicer the experienced employee didn’t touch. Then, he immediately begins slicing. On his first cut, the ham comes out about as thick as a steak. Then, he goes to start slice two.)
Me: “Hold it. Hold it.”
New Employee: “Yeah?”
Me: “Could you cut it thinner than that, please?”
New Employee: “Thinner?”
Me: “Thinner.”
(He stares at the slicer for a moment, and then goes to cut it again.)
Me: “No!”
(He stops and looks at me.)
Me: “You need to turn the dial on the side to make thinner cuts.”
New Employee: “Thinner?”
(Mercifully, the experienced employee comes back out at this point.)
Experienced Employee: “That is way too thick. He likes it razor thin. You need to adjust the slicer.”
New Employee: “Thin?”
Experienced Employee: “Move. Go in the back and sweep.”
(She finished my orders, and I left her a big tip in the jar. Part of me wants to blame the manager for not training him. But another part of me remembers I never said “roast beef” and that he knew meats and cheeses go in different slicers when there’s no rush.)
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
