The customers helped with the carvery prep!

[Sandra Piddock]

It was Saturday evening on bank holiday weekend, and we had 200 reservations for Sunday carvery lunch in the pub/ restaurant where I helped out the chef at busy times. As we were in a very pretty part of Cornwall and the weather was good, we were expecting to feed around 300 people over the 4 hour service period, so we decided to get the potatoes peeled ahead of time to give us a head start next day.

At that precise moment, the commercial potato peeler decided to malfunction, and we couldn't get anyone out until Sunday afternoon. Apparently, half of the catering machines in our area had decided they wanted a weekend off duty at the same time.

We were wondering how we could ever get enough potatoes peeled for 300 hungry diners, when four people who had come in to book their table for Sunday and have a quiet drink offered to go home and get their potato peelers. We finished up with eight willing volunteers, who were all rewarded with a free carvery for their efforts. It was lucky they were so public spirited, as the kitchen staff were threatening to walk out when they saw the mountain of spuds that needed bashing!

Have your customers ever come to the rescue in your restaurant? Have you ever offered to help out rather than miss out on your meal?

 

[Pat "5mph"]

No: I have worked in restaurants for a good part of 20 years before working in contract catering, and I can say that no customer ever tried to help
I have helped friends short of staff many times!

 

[Berties]

the only help we were offered at the restaurant was from the family of a lactose intolerant child who's brothers christening we were catering for ,they offered advice more than ant thing in the end,lactose products tend to be more expensive,but we learnt a lot about the ill ness and dealing with it