Plans gone awry

[catspjamas]

I'm so frustrated!! Because of my "eating your own chickens" thread, I decided to start buying my meat from a local meat market near where I live. When I called them, their hours are M-F 11am - 6pm, not open on Saturday. I have to work 1pm - 9:30pm, and the only way I could make it work was to place an order and be there at 11am pick it up, run it home, and turn around and go to work. So Wed., I called, spoke to a woman and placed an order for 20 lbs of meat, to be picked up today (Fri) at 11am. She said ok, they'd have it ready and if there was a problem they'd call me. I get a call from work and my manager tells me that someone named Teresa had called about a meat order and it not being ready, so she didn't want me driving down. I just got off the phone with the owner/butcher. From the way he spoke, he knew I had placed an order but had no idea what I had ordered. He didn't know I was supposed to have been there at 11am today to pick it up. The only thing he didn't have for my order was the pork chops. He keeps telling me he didn't have chicken, and I repeatedly tell him, I didn't order chicken. So why couldn't they have called yesterday to tell me they didn't have pork chops? He tells me they mainly do bbq and in deer season, process deer meat. Sounds like whoever took my order, didn't make sure that the person putting the order together knew about it. Maybe I should have just cancelled my order and looked for another butcher. But, he's willing to meet me tomorrow, to allow me to pick the order up. I just don't know about this.

[simi-steading]

I don't know what the deal is any more, but it seem like more and more places can't get things right, and the people who work there could care less... My wife and I are constantly finding our orders messed up, or prescriptions only half filled, or no one ever calls back to follow up, or you have to get up to go find a waiter... and the list goes on..

It's a shame a small butcher isn't going the extra step to keep the customer happy... I bet they don't get too many orders for 20lbs of meat... Granted, they may do a lot of processing for hunters or farmers, but still, 20lbs of meat isn't a bad customer.. Keep a smaller customer happy, and they could turn a lot of new customers on to you... Word of mouth says a lot...

[Helena]

so..you will be getting your order tomorrow..That's good right?? I know it is disappointing when things go wrong especially when you are on a time limit for work..been there too. but..in the long run..I bet the mnd teeat will be good and tasty. Life is short..enjoy your dinner..I try and tell myself that we never know what others are dealing with in their lives today. Give them another order and see what happens..then decide if you will stay with them...

[chewie]

wise words from helena.

[dkhern]

used to be in fast food when we screwed up customers would ask where do you find your help. id smile and tell them they are the sons and daughters of my customers

[catspjamas]

I cancelled the order. The whole ordeal left me with doubts and not a good feeling. He acted like filling my order was doing me a favor because it wasn't his main business.

[rambler]

Some meat markets are kind of a hobby deal, they have their set of customers, do the amount of business they can handle comfortably, and don't really want to pick up new business, just keep up with what they have.

Others are more into retail and always looking to please new customers.

Deer season around here is always terribly stressful for any meat place, they all end up turning away business, and then get regular beef and pork folk they have to turn away too yet.... Tho deer season is not until October/November here anyhow.

Paul

[Maura]

I think you'd be better served by finding a small farmer who grows a few pigs each year and treats them well. Get a whole pig or half pig for your freezer. It will be cut up how you want and you can pick it up all packaged and frozen anytime during their regular hours. Ditto for beef.

[goatlady]

Sounds to me like you assumed a "local meat market" would be like a store meat market, but when a "market" does game processing they are forbidden by law to process domestic meats on the same days. SInce deer is seasonal, the market/processor focuses on the deer and does not process any other meats most usually. Sounds as if that business is a custom processor, not necessarily a meat market. Since you are new to this, best do a bit more research and understand the vocabulary and terms used in this type of business. Saves disappointments all around.

[Vosey]

See if there are any meat CSA's in your area. There are some pork and lamb ones here, but they are on the other side of the county or I'd join in a minute.

[catspjamas]

Originally Posted by goatlady

Sounds to me like you assumed a "local meat market" would be like a store meat market, but when a "market" does game processing they are forbidden by law to process domestic meats on the same days. SInce deer is seasonal, the market/processor focuses on the deer and does not process any other meats most usually. Sounds as if that business is a custom processor, not necessarily a meat market. Since you are new to this, best do a bit more research and understand the vocabulary and terms used in this type of business. Saves disappointments all around.

No, I did not assume they would be like a store meat market. The place is called Jim's Meat Market and Produce. Wouldn't you expect meat and produce? I called on Monday, and learned their hours, and what they carried. Nothing was said at that time about only doing bbq and processing deer, I was told they didn't carry chicken or bacon. I called back on Wed., got prices, and said I would get my order together and call them back. Again, nothing about bbq or deer. When I called back on Wed., and placed my order, I was only told that if there was a problem they'd call me and let me know. Still nothing about bbq and deer. They had Wed. & Thurs. to get the order ready. It wasn't until I actually spoke with the guy that runs the place that I was told he mainly did bbq and deer, and he did say he shut down when he was processing deer. That wasn't the problem or the issue. The problem was waiting until the day I'm to pick the order up to tell me it isn't ready! They could have called yesterday and said they were out of pork chops and I'd have said ok, just forget the pork chops. Like I said, the guy in charge of getting the order together didn't even know what I had ordered on Wed. That was a big concern. Had I thought they were like a regular meat store, I'd would have expected everything the day I called or would have just gone and expected to pick it out and take it home. I called 2 days in advance because I figured he might have to do some butchering or something to get it ready.

Just because someone's new at something doesn't mean they're stupid, and I do know if you're getting 20 lbs of meat at one time, the butcher generally likes a little advance notice to get it ready.

[||Downhome||]

I'm so trying to avoid posting but uggggggg,

Ordering meat unseen and yes I read you other thread, its not so hard to rasie and butcher and cook your own.

Don't over think it!

meat is meat!

but to order meat unseen from a source you can't place faith in?

Sorry got me shaking my head!

No faith in super market supply chain but my x amount of "lbs" of meat I at least pick not just pick up!

Perhaps this is what caused the Issue?

"I'd like 20 lbs of meat"

??????

I would ? it also!

don't know how else to put it...

[Vosey]

Depending on how the guy sounded on the phone you might want to give him a chance. The issue may be an employee who didn't know what they were doing and either over promised or dropped the ball.

I will say that if you got a bad feeling on attitude from the owner on the phone go elsewhere.

[catspjamas]

Originally Posted by ||Downhome||

I'm so trying to avoid posting but uggggggg,

Ordering meat unseen and yes I read you other thread, its not so hard to rasie and butcher and cook your own.


"I'd like 20 lbs of meat"

??????

I would ? it also!

don't know how else to put it...

I can't raise and butcher my own, especially not beef or pork, because I don't have the land, my lot is only 100x80'. And no, I didn't say I wanted 20 lbs of meat, I told the lady I spoke with what type of cuts I wanted and how many pounds of each. The place has been there for years, I've just never used it. This was my first time dealing with them, and I didn't lose faith until I spoke with the guy that was to be getting the order together. BBQ & deer is his first line of business. Also, because of the time constraint, I couldn't go pick out what I wanted and wait for them to get it all together. I'm 15 minutes from the place. They open at 11am. Even if I was there at exactly 11am, it would have been rushed to get the order together to give me time to drive back to my house to be able to put it in the fridge/freezer, and then get back on the road to work. So, yes, I was taking a chance on placing an order sight unseen, but there wasn't much choice.

There is another market that's 30 minutes away, but if they're not open on Saturdays, or earlier during the week, I won't be able to use them either.

[MNBobcat]

The other day I went through the drive-thru at McDonalds and ordered a crispy chicken sandwich. I got my order and drove off and got on the freeway only to find I had 2 cheese burgers in the bag and I don't like cheese. No fries in the bag either. Now...all this person at McDonalds has to do is put the right order in the bag and they can't get that right. If I worked at McDonalds I'd be the best person they had at bagging orders.

The problem is the work ethic and lack of pride the American people have. It used to be people took pride in their work and tried to do their best. Didn't matter if that was mopping floors or building rockets. Today...they can't get a chicken sandwich in the bag. Pretty pathetic. No surprise they botched your meat order. The only thing I can suggest is vote with your money and take your business elsewhere. Eventually you may find a place with a work ethic and some notion of customer service.

[soulsurvivor]

Here's the butcher shop we use for large orders of meat:

http://www.boonesbutchershop.com/aboutus.html

It's not close by, actually about 30 miles northwest of us, but the quality and service are always exceptional.

I don't have any good advice to offer, but I do try to stay familiar with the locals doing business. DH and I both want to spend our money locally, but certainly wouldn't do that on a business that wasn't standing behind its' products and services.

[John_Canada]

Originally Posted by simi-steading

I don't know what the deal is any more, but it seem like more and more places can't get things right, and the people who work there could care less... My wife and I are constantly finding our orders messed up, or prescriptions only half filled, or no one ever calls back to follow up, or you have to get up to go find a waiter... and the list goes on..

It's a shame a small butcher isn't going the extra step to keep the customer happy... I bet they don't get too many orders for 20lbs of meat... Granted, they may do a lot of processing for hunters or farmers, but still, 20lbs of meat isn't a bad customer.. Keep a smaller customer happy, and they could turn a lot of new customers on to you... Word of mouth says a lot...

Being in several businesses i can tell you EXACTLY what happens. The owner is a butcher for instance, not a business manager and does not charge enough to stay in business, does not know how to market, does not know how to manage customers (fire bad ones, give amazing service to good ones). Probably the butcher thinks they have to compete with walmart on price and let customer service be ----ed (just like walmart) instead of charging a good price for a good service or product in order to be self-sustained and maybe even make a living at it. My wife and I see it to especially in products we buy. We even spend more on a product expecting better service and quality but it does not seem to matter. HOWEVER, there are a few, thank God!

[John_Canada]

Originally Posted by soulsurvivor

Here's the butcher shop we use for large orders of meat:

http://www.boonesbutchershop.com/aboutus.html

It's not close by, actually about 30 miles northwest of us, but the quality and service are always exceptional.

I don't have any good advice to offer, but I do try to stay familiar with the locals doing business. DH and I both want to spend our money locally, but certainly wouldn't do that on a business that wasn't standing behind its' products and services.

Exactly! There is a place down the street from us that sells wood for our workshop but we still travel 20 miles to another place because of the super bad service. Same with the camera shop that is local, they are just REALLY bad at service so we go an hour east to another place and make sure to tell others and rate them on G+Local.

[goatlady]

Never said or even eluded to you being stupid, just not that knowledgeable about custom butcher businesses. It's always best to speak with the owner/butcher for orders and total clarification between customer and provider. Also best to purchase samples before ordering large amounts of meats, saves $$ and disappointments and time. But whatever.

[anniew]

and being human, people just make mistakes sometimes.