How much should you be willing to change a food item?

When someone comes and asks for a gyros minus the lettuce, onions, tomatoes and tzatziki sauce, but to add provolone or god forbid american cheese have I the right to be upset? In other words; Is the customer always right? Also, if I do it have I the right to charge full price for it?

I don't mind making a philly minus the bell peppers for instance, or a Greek Salad with no olives or onions. However, when you want your gyros without the basis of what makes it a gyros you are messing with my baby!

What are peoples thoughts on this?

Will it doesn't even sound like it is a Gyro anymore but.... I guess taking things out is one thing but adding is something completely different. You should definitely charge for price for it (or maybe extra) no matter what!

My wife & I were discussing this a few months ago. We were mostly focusing on how different cultures deal w/ this. Here, you can practically do this at just about any restaurant, from McDonalds to Le Relais. In France, my wife worked at several restaurants (brasseries, bistros, etc.) where they'd literally run you out of the place if you asked for a burger (they'd literally yell at you until you left). I think that the answer is probably somewhere in-between. Not because the chef likes having her/his recipes mangled by some idiot but because one doesn't want whispers of horrible customer service spreading through the city like wildfire. You can always take the chance of not altering anything & there are a ton of places that charge full price when something is altered (e.g: sandwiches w/o bread) but it all depends on who your customers are.

I think you should charge full price.

I think the customer should be able to order the item as desired.

If the customer complains about paying full price, I would just say, "That's how the system is programmed." The "blame the technology" defense is lame but tends to be accepted without complaint.

When someone comes and asks for a gyros minus the lettuce, onions, tomatoes and tzatziki sauce, but to add provolone or god forbid american cheese have I the right to be upset? In other words; Is the customer always right? Also, if I do it have I the right to charge full price for it?

I don't mind making a philly minus the bell peppers for instance, or a Greek Salad with no olives or onions. However, when you want your gyros without the basis of what makes it a gyros you are messing with my baby!

What are peoples thoughts on this?

why wouldnt you charge the full price? As the customer i understand changing some things, but not completely. Personally, i prefer a type of cheese over another, or grilled onions over raw, but not a complete overhaul on something.

I can only comment from a homecook's point of view...... and i know that i do NOT allow my children AND husband to omit parts of their meals. If i painstakingly made a beautiful gravy, then to say "ummm, i dont want gravy." they are nuts. Or if i sliced and caramelized onions then to say they dont want them...........crazy.

Its my kitchen, i cook it, they eat it............... period. But then again, they are not paying customers....and most importantly....... i am the mother......

I agree it is no longer a gyro, but there may be other issues like allergies, digestive problems (I cannot eat raw peppers) or extreme dislike of a certain taste. Our son will not eat raw tomatoes on ANYTHING but loves tomato sauces, any cooked tomato - go figure. You should be able to charge full price because they are substituting. I guess this is the cost of good cutomer service. I LOVE your gyros, son still asks for no tomatoes.

I agree with Suzi in that food allergies must be taken into consideration. Many times I've opted not to order a specific dish I would have loved to try but it was served with cashews or mango salsa, either of which would put my health in a serious tale spin. Sometimes I ask, "Can I order it without...." but if the server balks at all I usually find something else to try. Sometimes the server will encourage me to "just try it this way, it's really delicious!" and I have to explain that I while I would love to, I cannot.

I agree that food allergies must be taken into consideration. That is why I don't bat an eyelid when someone orders it without tomatoes for instance eg Suzie's son. Or without onions, maybe they have a business meeting. However, the person who orders just the meat and the bread and then expects me to destroy it by adding american cheese - surely an oxymoron as I am sure there is no milk anywhere near it - in my opinion has no business ordering a gyros. They obviously don't like vegetables which in itself is suspect!! I am going to get it from all the carnivores with that statement.

A kid walked up last week and said he wanted a gyros with nothing but the meat (what no Tzatziki sauce!!!!) and provolone. I said, "You know, I really hate doing that because there is really no point in ordering a gyros if you are not going to have everything on it that makes it taste the way it does. I didn't say I wouldn't do it. However, he said OK and walked off. Now, did I feel bad that I just lost a sale. I should have, but I didn't..

Our son will not eat raw tomatoes on ANYTHING but loves tomato sauces, any cooked tomato - go figure.

That's not so unusual! There are a lot of us out there like this. My wife and I are both the same way and thought it was unusual but we keep finding more and more people with the same opinion. Not sure if it's the texture or the seeds or what. We even like pico and salsa just not raw tomatoes.

Our son will not eat raw tomatoes on ANYTHING but loves tomato sauces, any cooked tomato - go figure.

That's not so unusual! There are a lot of us out there like this. My wife and I are both the same way and thought it was unusual but we keep finding more and more people with the same opinion. Not sure if it's the texture or the seeds or what. We even like pico and salsa just not raw tomatoes.

my youngest daughter is the same way. She is 12 now and eats just about everything else, so she doesnt HAVE to eat her raw tomatoes, but she still asks for the three she was always required to eat before. She also loves tomato based sauces and pico de gallo, etc.

A kid walked up last week and said he wanted a gyros with nothing but the meat (what no Tzatziki sauce!!!!) and provolone. I said, "You know, I really hate doing that because there is really no point in ordering a gyros if you are not going to have everything on it that makes it taste the way it does. I didn't say I wouldn't do it. However, he said OK and walked off. Now, did I feel bad that I just lost a sale. I should have, but I didn't..

Sounds like people want pseudo-Philly Cheese Sandwiches.

I must go on record and say I've never had Tzatziki Sauce. I'm a "visual" eater and refuse to eat anything that is white and creamy. No alfredo, no sour cream, no tzatziki, no salad dressings that are not oil based, no cottage cheese, no creamy, white cheeses. Don't know why, but I've just never been able to eat white food. Doubt that's going to change now.

The minute you allow the customer to choose what goes into their meal, you take a big chunk of quality control out of your hands and into theirs.

As you have said, Alison, you know that what you served is not a gyro, and if that is the case, it defeats the purpose of the customer coming into a place that sells gyros. I don't really understand why that customer chooses to visit your restaurant over a place that sells something more along the lines of what he is looking for. If I want a cheeseburger, I go to Bunz, I don't go to Lonnie's and ask if they can remove the hot dog, add ground beef and cheese and serve it on a toasted roll.

This is the sort of thing that makes me bonkers as a chef. If I worked this hard to create a blend of flavors for you that I think, and hope you will as well, is spectacular, why can you not trust me that it is just fine the way I serve it. I say this with the obvious caveat that dietary concerns take priority and such substitutions are totally understandable and fine. I can also see the removal of a single item that is undesired (although I personally, will just order something else more often than not), but to take half of the ingredients off and replace them with other ingredients? Madness.

There have to be limits otherwise every restaurant just becomes an a la carte salad bar.

Ronnie, I could kiss you!! You know exactly what I am talking about. Omit one or two at the most, yes, but don't add stuff that has no business being in there. Thankfully, no-one has ever asked me to put mayo in a gyros!

Matthew, maybe you could eat one with your eyes closed so you don't see that the tzatziki is white. Do you think there is a medical name for your problem? What about vanilla ice cream, butter, whipped cream? I find this fascinating. Does anyone else have an aversion to a particular coloured food? Health wise white is probably a very good colour to avoid

Duh, sorry I meant Matthew.

[Robin Garr]

Duh, sorry I meant Matthew.

Fixed!

Alison, you can use the "edit" button on your post to go back into it and change it. I'm not positive if you lose this capability after someone has responded, but as long as no one has responded, I'm sure you can.