I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

It would not be Monday night if I didn’t have an unpleasant encounter with a guest. at 8:30 of course. One of the last tables.

It would not be Monday night if I didn’t have a guest tell their server I was rude…and tonight, not a people person.

I asked their server to share with me what they said. He was vague. I think he thought it would hurt my feelings. I find it comical now. The only thing he shared was that they said I was rude and not a people person.

Tonight’s story.

Seems the guy at seat 4 at table L3 ordered his steak medium rare, and charred on the outside.

The server explained that this is essentially Pittsburgh Style and asked if that’s what they wanted. They said no. They wanted it charred on the outside, and rare plus on the inside.

He tried to explain to them what they were asking for and they were having none of it.

He ordered the steak as he should have and waited.

The steak comes out, Pittsburgh style and the guest is angry that it is charred on the outside. He sends it back.

Chef takes on look at it, says it’s cooked perfectly and won’t cook another one.

He stands his ground when it’s not his fault. Sometimes to a fault. If he fucks up he’ll cook them 10 steaks. When the guest fucks up he’s having none of it.

This is where I come in. I’m the one who gets to go to the table and deliver this news. Well most of the time. Tonight, I was on the door, and couldn’t leave, so the server goes off to deliver the news.

He reappears about 90 seconds later to say they want to speak with me.

I approach the table and things fall apart quickly.

I say hello, I understand that you had a situation with the filet that you ordered.

The man explains that he ordered his steak charred on the outside and rare plus on the inside.

I say yes, Pittsburgh Style, which is what your server ordered for you.

He replies, I don’t want it Pittsburgh style, I want it charred on the outside and rare plus on the inside. This was charred too much.

I say that it’s impossible to get medium rare on a Pittsburgh style steak without the outside being charred.

He insists that he didn’t want the steak Pittsburgh style, but instead wanted it charred rare plus. Pittsburgh style is only rare.

This is not true but I don’t argue.

He repeats himself that he wants a steak cooked rare-plus charred on the outside.

I then explain that there is no such thing as rare plus.

And all in unison say, oh yes there is…135. 135. 135. 135. 135.

Their response lets me know they’ve had this conversation before.

The man continues, you can order rare plus at any decent steakhouse, just not here.

I think to myself that I’d like the definition of decent. I also think, that no decent chef pulls out a meat thermometer to cook a steak.

The man continues that he grills meat all the time and he knows for a fact that he can cook to rare plus.

I think to myself that I doubt very seriously he is cooking his steak on a wood fired grill. I also think that he probably has his thermometer stuck in the steak.

He tries to continue to argue with me, but I stop him and say, here’s the deal. Chef will cook you another steak. But it’s at your own risk. I you don’t like it you are paying for it.

He stares at me.

I stare at him.

I ask him, do you want another steak.

He agrees.

I leave, and chef sends out a perfectly cooked normal rare filet. And the man loves it. And if he didn’t feel the need to be special he’d have had a perfectly cooked rare filet in the first place.

Chef has cooked over 3,500 steaks this month alone. Almost 1,000 of them were filets. He probably had less than 50 sent back. That’s a .014 return rate.

Trust the grill master. He is a genius at cooking meat. Fun fact, he’s never, ever, ever sent out an over or undercooked steak and not known it was going to come back. He will often ask me to check on a specific table when they’ve gotten their food, to make sure they are pleased. When a steak comes back, he generally knows why.

So trust the chef.

Or open your own restaurant.

Meanwhile, the people person is going to be at the door, making people happy.

PS. The server tonight said, he understood why I pushed back because the guy was being so aggressive.

135.

135.

135.