Not Too Chicken To Charge For The Chicken

(I work in a grill and pub on campus. Along with our bar, we sell things like burgers and occasionally have pizza parties. We have a new computerized menu board that doesn’t show everything in the items, but we have a large menu by the door that does. If a customer gets confused I walk with them and show them this menu and answer questions there. A group comes in for their pizza party but two members quickly come up to the counter, where I’m teaching two new cashiers the ropes.)

Me: “Is there something wrong with your order?”

Customer #1: “No, no. We just want to add some chicken sandwiches to our order.”

Me: “Oh, of course.”

(I write on their order form the added chicken sandwiches which will be rung up later. Our chicken sandwich has chicken, onion aioli, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce.)

Me: “Is it all right if everything goes on the sandwiches?”

(The customers nod and their order is sent to the kitchen. When the two sandwiches are ready, I walk them to the party and hand them to the customers. I go back to the front and help with customers, when a woman walks up with her sandwich. However, she stands to a side and doesn’t do anything.)

Me: “Ma’am, is there something wrong with your sandwich?”

Customer #2: “Oh, um… I don’t think this is my sandwich. I wanted a chicken sandwich.”

Me: *looking at the sandwich* “This is our chicken sandwich ma’am. It has onion aioli, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce.”

(The customer still looks confused so I walk her to the menu and show her the sandwich on the menu.)

Me: “What did you want on the sandwich?”

Customer #2: “Well I don’t want this aioli. I wanted barbecue sauce.”

(I nod and send the sandwich back. When the new sandwich comes, I take the sandwich to her. Minutes later she returns again.)

Me: “Ma’am, is everything okay?”

Customer #2: “This isn’t what I ordered.”

Me: *taking the sandwich* “Oh, I apologize. What’s the matter with this sandwich?”

Customer #2: “It has tomatoes. I don’t like tomatoes.”

Me: “Ma’am; this sandwich has cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce. I told you this when you requested the barbecue sauce on the sandwich.”

Customer #2: “Well, I don’t want it.”

(At this point, my manager has come to my side and is helping me with the customer.)

Manager: “Okay, ma’am, so this sandwich will have chicken, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and barbecue sauce. Is this what you wanted.”

Customer #2: “Yes.”

(We put the order in again and walk it out to her. The manager and I breathe a sigh of relief when the woman comes back again.)

Manager: “Ma’am, is there something wrong?”

Customer #2: “This isn’t what I ordered. I thought you people would get it by now!!”

Manager: “Ma’am; we walked through your order with you. You confirmed the order before it started cooking. What is wrong with this sandwich?”

Customer #2: “It has cheese. I’m allergic to cheese.”

(The manager and I stare with disbelief at this woman.)

Manager: “We informed you many times that this sandwich has cheese on this. Do you remember that at all?”

Customer #2: “No, you never told me it had cheese. You’re trying to kill me!”

(My manager has no choice but to make the sandwich again, which annoys the kitchen staff. If an order is sent back, it has to go straight into the trash because the customer touched it. Later, the first customer returns to thank us for the wonderful party and to discuss the bill.)

Manager: “Okay, so we have [name] pizzas, three pitchers of soda, and five chicken sandwiches. That’ll be [total].”

Customer #1: “Five chicken sandwiches? What are you talking about? We only ordered two chicken sandwiches. Why are you trying to over-charge me?”

Manager: “Well, sir, you did order two. However, one sandwich had to be remade many times. This is quite a waste of food, therefore we need to charge you for all the sandwiches.”

(The man grumbled and walked off, scolding the women for making him pay more money. Meanwhile, my manager is now using this story about how to deal with picky customers.)