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?

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christopher9438mo 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.

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webb.daniel8mo 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.

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richardthompson8mo ago

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

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