As promised I did stop again today at lunchtime. Sat at the bar which was quiet although the dining room was busy enough.



Was warmly greeted and seated right away. A menu presented and I checked to see if there was a soup that appealed to me to chase away the chill of the day but ended up ordering just a burger and a Coke.

The bartender set my place and decanted my can of Coke into a carafe and asked if I wished some bread and butter. "Sure".

Checked my watch just out of curiosity and my food was delivered in 10 minutes.



Nice! Catsup and yellow mustard on the side. Good portion of skin on fries.



When I checked the menu I didn't see mention of house-cured bacon and when I checked the burger I didn't see the caramelized onions but they might of been hidden under the patty. The house-made steak sauce was a nice touch and in the right amount as to just complement the burger.

I had ordered the burger medium rare but it seemed to be more towards to the rare side. Not an issue for me as I enjoy both and usually go towards medium for a little more firmness.



Nicely seasoned (a dash of fresh ground pepper decorated the plate) and about what I expected from a restaurant of this caliber. As good as any steakhouse burger. Asking a few questions I was told the burger is comprised of trimmings from all of their meats and usually would cost about $9 to $10.

All in all a great experience! Good food and service. What more could you ask?

Talking to the manager, Amanda, after giving her one on the LTH cards I got at the Christmas party she had mentioned she was aware of our forum and had seen my post about my friend being unwilling to return and she had a desire for him to give it a second chance.

I invited her to stop by and join our love of food.

I'm assuming, since no one who emailed Shawn McClain has reported receiving any reply from him about the problem, that he hasn't replied.

riddlemay wrote:I'm assuming, since no one who emailed Shawn McClain has reported receiving any reply from him about the problem, that he hasn't replied.

If the manager Amanda knows then I am assuming he knows.

Panther in the Den wrote:

riddlemay wrote:I'm assuming, since no one who emailed Shawn McClain has reported receiving any reply from him about the problem, that he hasn't replied.

If the manager Amanda knows then I am assuming he knows.

I'm sure that's so, Panther, but it was last Saturday that David reported emailing him, and Monday that REB reported having done the same. One would think the courtesy of a reply was in order, along with an explanation, an apology, and a pledge to correct the situation. One assumes that reply never happened, since neither David nor REB has reported hearing from him. Even if the situation was "quietly" corrected, I'd still be interested to know whether McClain ever responded to the emails, and if so, what the gist of his reply was. And if he never responded, I'd like to know that.

riddlemay wrote: And if he never responded, I'd like to know that.

Nope. We've not (yet) received a reply.

That said, boy do your pictures look good. It wouldn't take anything more than a simple, "Really sorry that happened. Please give us another chance. Let us know that you're coming, and we'll make sure to have burgers for you" to get us back in the door to try a couple of burgers for ourselves.

RAB wrote:

riddlemay wrote: And if he never responded, I'd like to know that.

Nope. We've not (yet) received a reply.

That said, boy do your pictures look good. It wouldn't take anything more than a simple, "Really sorry that happened. Please give us another chance. Let us know that you're coming, and we'll make sure to have burgers for you" to get us back in the door to try a couple of burgers for ourselves.

I didn't receive a response, but I'm not terribly surprised by that. Sometimes, when restaurants screw up, the strategy seems to be to just stonewall it and hope the discussion goes away. Sometimes, it does.

RAB wrote:Nope. We've not (yet) received a reply...It wouldn't take anything more than a simple, "Really sorry that happened. Please give us another chance. Let us know that you're coming, and we'll make sure to have burgers for you" to get us back in the door to try a couple of burgers for ourselves.

I agree. The good will a reply like that would create makes it all the more surprising (and disappointing) that it hasn't happened.

David Hammond wrote:I didn't receive a response, but I'm not terribly surprised by that. Sometimes, when restaurants screw up, the strategy seems to be to just stonewall it and hope the discussion goes away. Sometimes, it does.

I suppose he could be thinking, "Hmm, if I put an apology in writing, then I'm putting evidence into the record that something bad happened, and by doing that I lay the groundwork for someone coming after me for reparations." Or he could be thinking that he opens the door for the Trib to write about the screwup. Or (I don't want to think this, but it's possible), he could be thinking, in the words of another locally famous chef, I don't get it. They come in and order three courses, and it's a 10,000-word essay that includes stuff about the placement of their silverware. Or, it could be none of those things. But a reply would be nice.

That burger looks awfully rare given it has pork in it.

nicinchic wrote:That burger looks awfully rare given it has pork in it.

Trichinosis from pork isn't an issue any more. (another link) When we cook pork at home (such as pork chops), we don't cook past medium rare.

And, just to clarify, our email to Shawn McClain was sent last Saturday. I'm still awaiting a response, hopefully positive, so that I can go subject myself to some undercooked ground pork. I find it curious and troubling that the manager knows about our concerns and yet isn't responsive. We're nice folks who just want to try their $5 burgers! Maybe Dave and riddlemay are correct and Custom House is intentionally ignoring us. If so, that's too bad.

Ronna

OK. We should try to keep things positive.

They made a mistake and know about it. I am sure they will make sure it doesn't happen again.

It is a nice gesture to offer this fine burger at such a reasonable price. Lets just go and enjoy!

My visit and burger was really good.

McClain is surely very busy opening his new restaurant in Las Vegas. I suspect that he has very little to do with the day to day operations at Custom House. For those who have emailed him directly, I wonder (A) why him directly rather than the general email address for Custom House or the general manager's email, or the chef de cuisine's email? and (B)when you say you emailed "Shawn McClain" do you just mean you selected the Shawn McClain option from the dropdown menu on the Contact Us page of the Custom House website, or do you actually have his email address?

I'm not saying that McClain should ignore anyone's email, but surely he has a ton going on and a complaint coming through the website about a $5 burger isn't going to draw his attention right away. It seems to me that emailing someone with direct responsibility for running the restaurant might produce more fruitful results.

Ronna- I've heard that before, but that's a little too raw for me. Not to mention ecoli.

Kennyz wrote:McClain is surely very busy opening his new restaurant in Las Vegas. I suspect that he has very little to do with the day to day operations at Custom House. For those who have emailed him directly, I wonder (A) why him directly rather than the general email address for Custom House or the general manager's email, or the chef de cuisine's email? and (B)when you say you emailed "Shawn McClain" do you just mean you selected the Shawn McClain option from the dropdown menu on the Contact Us page of the Custom House website, or do you actually have his email address?

I'm not saying that McClain should ignore anyone's email, but surely he has a ton going on and a complaint coming through the website about a $5 burger isn't going to draw his attention right away. It seems to me that emailing someone with direct responsibility for running the restaurant might produce more fruitful results.

Totally agree with this. There are plenty of good reasons why no one has received a reply (yet).

I don't mean to pile on . . . but am I reading this thread correctly when I conclude that the only issues with the non-availability of this burger was on one day? It seems like any restaurant can have one bad day underestimating demand (assuming that's what happened). If this is not a repeat issue, and so far it doesn't seem to be, I would think that Custom House gets the benefit of the doubt here. How is this different from going to a restaurant which is out of a certain entree for that night? I realize that this is a special to get people in the door, but running into trouble on one day early on in the run I would expect would get that restaurant a pass (although I acknowledge that I'd be peeved too if I schlepped down there only for them to be out of burgers. . . but c'est la vie).

Kennyz wrote:McClain is surely very busy opening his new restaurant in Las Vegas. I suspect that he has very little to do with the day to day operations at Custom House. For those who have emailed him directly, I wonder (A) why him directly rather than the general email address for Custom House or the general manager's email, or the chef de cuisine's email? and (B)when you say you emailed "Shawn McClain" do you just mean you selected the Shawn McClain option from the dropdown menu on the Contact Us page of the Custom House website, or do you actually have his email address?

I'm not saying that McClain should ignore anyone's email, but surely he has a ton going on and a complaint coming tehough the website about a $5 burger isn't going to draw his attention right away. It seems to me that emailing someone with direct responsibility for running the restaurant might produce more fruitful results.

I sent our email to the general information email address (info@customhouse.cc), but addressed the letter to Mr. McClain, as the chef/owner. I thought that this was likely to be the most-read email address. If anyone recommends a different address, please let me know.

I do not expect (or need) a response directly from Mr. McClain, and understand that he is busy - - a response from a manager would be quite welcome. I work very close to Custom House and would like to return. And, as I've said before, and RAB echoed, it will take very little for them to entice us back. But, given the cold shoulder we received last Friday, and now the cold shoulder we're receiving with regard to our letter, I'd say the ball is in their court.

I know of at least one instance where a friend had a problem during an early visit to Custom House. The management graciously and appropriately responded to the problem, leaving my friend with a positive feeling about the restaurant. When I wrote our letter, I had every reason to be hopeful that I would receive a response.

Ronna

I guess part of my unstated point here is that this emailing Shawn McClain stuff makes me feel a little icky. My feelings may be completely irrational, and I'm still working through them. It just feels wrong to me to email someone - even the proprietor of a business that's open to the public - and then write about the dialogue on some big internet forum. I'm certainly being naive here, but to me, email exchanges have sort of an implied covenant - a dialog between two people that - unless cc's are added - is just between those two people. McClain isn't naive. If he has read the email (which he may not have) he knows that whatever he puts in his reply is going to be broadcast for thousands of people to read. It's not as simple as responding to someone's complaint and inviting them back to the restaurant for a drink on the house. Whatever he writes will be printed here and then possibly 25 different blogs all over the internet. I think it's natural to be a bit cautious and even hesitant to reply at all in those circumstances.

Again, I'm not sure why this bothers me, but it does. I just don't like people documenting their email exchanges on a public forum.

Kennyz wrote:I guess part of my unstated point here is that this emailing Shawn McClain stuff makes me feel a little icky. My feelings may be completely irrational, and I'm still working through them. It just feels wrong to me to email someone - even the proprietor of a business that's open to the public - and then write about the dialogue on some big internet forum. I'm certainly being naive here, but to me, email exchanges have sort of an implied covenant - a dialog between two people that - unless cc's are added - is just between those two people. McClain isn't naive. If he has read the email (which he may not have) he knows that whatever he puts in his reply is going to be broadcast for thousands of people to read. It's not as simple as responding to someone's complaint and inviting them back to the restaurant for a drink on the house. Whatever he writes will be printed here and then possibly 25 different blogs all over the internet. I think it's natural to be a bit cautious and even hesitant to reply at all in those circumstances.

Again, I'm not sure why this bothers me, but it does. I just don't like people documenting their email exchanges on a public forum.

On the other hand, should he choose to respond with generosity, those same thousands will be suitably impressed with the handling of the matter, which would be good publicity, and free, too.

I understand the reservations, but in this kind of circumstance, I think any restaurant owner would be well aware of the brutal power of word-of-mouth. People always talk about their experiences, and forums like this are a natural extension of that.

I hadn't thought about it in those terms, but I think Kenny's point is excellent.

Kennyz wrote: I'm certainly being naive here, but to me, email exchanges have sort of an implied covenant - a dialog between two people that - unless cc's are added - is just between those two people. McClain isn't naive. If he has read the email (which he may not have) he knows that whatever he puts in his reply is going to be broadcast for thousands of people to read. It's not as simple as responding to someone's complaint and inviting them back to the restaurant for a drink on the house. Whatever he writes will be printed here and then possibly 25 different blogs all over the internet.

Of course that's true. Someone here asked if McClain had been emailed, and I responded that, yes, without announcing it on the board, I had emailed him. In my email, I assured McClain that I would keep the correspondence confidential unless he gave me the okay to post it on the board. Nothing confidential has been revealed, nor will it be...and I certainly don't hold it against him that he hasn't responded (as I mentioned above, I understand why restaurateurs don't want to "get into it" with chat boards).

I am probably in the minority on this one, but I dont think Custom House owes anyone an explanation, or needs to try to entice anyone back. They ran out of a special for one day from what I have read on this thread(if it was a common ocurance, and a "bait and switch" scenario was going on regularly I would feel differently).

Sure in an ideal world an alternative would have been offered at the same price, but that shouldnt be expected. "86-ing" an item was pretty common in places I cooked, especially when the item was a special.

I guess I am also different in the fact that I would never email a restaurant/chef with a complaint. If I was that concerned I may mention something to the Manager on Duty, and leave it at that.

just my humble opinions.

The issue really is corporate culture, not whether Shawn McClain has answered his email. (They may, perhaps, be related).

People who are visiting New York ask me where they should dine. I will say immediate dine at one of Danny Meyer's restaurants (Union Square Group: Union Square Cafe, 11 Madison Park, Grammercy Tavern). Why? Not that they are always the best in the city (although they are very good), but the corporate culture at these restaurants is to do ANYTHING (within reason) to make the customer happy. If things go wrong, make them right. If you lose $20 on a customer, and have people like me (and many others) say that any Danny Meyer restaurant will treat you right, that is the best $20 that a restauranteur has spent.

Custom House made a mistake by running out of beef by 12:30. OK, it happens. But they made a bigger mistake by not showing their customers respect. Let REB have anything on the menu he wants for $5, and we would be discussion how generous Custom House is, rather than how uncaring.

aschie30 wrote:I don't mean to pile on . . . but am I reading this thread correctly when I conclude that the only issues with the non-availability of this burger was on one day?

jimswside wrote:I am probably in the minority on this one, but I dont think Custom House owes anyone an explanation, or needs to try to entice anyone back. They ran out of a special for one day from what I have read on this thread(if it was a common ocurance, and a "bait and switch" scenario was going on regularly I would feel differently).

Understood. But, if you go back and read the initial post about Custom House not having the advertised burgers, you will see that the problem was definitely not the absence of the burger. I fully understand that restaurants, despite their best efforts, cannot always anticipate customer ordering. They can only do their best. The problem was 100% the way they handled the fact that they were out of burgers.

Ronna

REB wrote:The problem was 100% the way they handled the fact that they were out of burgers.

Granted, I wasn't there to glean the tone and mannerisms of the server, but I just wouldn't think that Custom House would sub in some other sandwich for $5 in this economic climate. I mean, an upscale steakhouse like CH is having a $5 burger special for a reason -- to get lots of people in the door with the hope that they'll order other things and maybe have a couple of drinks while they're there. Because it's a move geared toward upping business, it probably means that they need the additional lunch business pretty badly. In addition, CH would have to offer that $5 substitute to every person walking in the door after you who wanted a burger. So, now, they're losing money on something that was supposed to generate it. Finally -- and this is probably controversial -- but by not providing any substitutes, the reality is that CH is probably willing to risk potentially teeing you off because they know that the customers coming in specifically for the $5 special are probably not going to be long-term, everyday or even repeat customers. So, in this economic climate, it's probably better for them to be more conservative in not comping than doing so with the hope that they'll engender good will. I think you're going to start seeing a lot of that with restaurants.

It's not that I'm not sympathetic -- like I said, I'd be peeved too if I got all the way down there and they were out. (Frankly, I think the one thing CH should have done was to tell people at the door before they sat down).

aschie30 wrote:

REB wrote:The problem was 100% the way they handled the fact that they were out of burgers.

Granted, I wasn't there to glean the tone and mannerisms of the server, but I just wouldn't think that Custom House would sub in some other sandwich for $5 in this economic climate.

Why not? We would've welcomed any gesture, and been happy and appreciative customers. They not only didn't substitute a different meal - - We did not feel that we were welcome. At a minimum, the server and host could have made our experience comfortable, rather than awkward.

aschie30 wrote: I mean, an upscale steakhouse like CH is having a $5 burger special for a reason -- to get lots of people in the door with the hope that they'll order other things and maybe have a couple of drinks while they're there. Because it's a move geared toward upping business, it probably means that they need the additional lunch business pretty badly.

We were planning on ordering other things, and would have done so even if they'd made a substitution. And, yes, I'd agree that they need the lunch business - - even with the burger run, they were more than half empty at 12:30 p.m. on a Friday. By us staying there, they would've had happy customers - - and a nice tip for the server. And, there would have been the potential that we'd return and say great things about the restaurant to our friends. If the purpose of the burger special, as you say, was to get people in the door and have them order other things, then they failed - - they lost our business that day and any future business.

aschie30 wrote:In addition, CH would have to offer that $5 substitute to every person walking in the door after you who wanted a burger. So, now, they're losing money on something that was supposed to generate it.

Do you have any reason to believe that the substitute would have cost a penny more that the burger? They could have offered something that would not have resulted in a net loss. And, even if they did take a bit of a hit, wouldn't the goodwill be well worth it?

aschie30 wrote: Finally -- and this is probably controversial -- but by not providing any substitutes, the reality is that CH is probably willing to risk potentially teeing you off because they know that the customers coming in specifically for the $5 special are probably not going to be long-term, everyday or even repeat customers.

Then they guessed wrong. 2/3 diners at my table had been before. And, the third, RAB, was looking forward to the meal. And, given that you rarely know who you're "teeing off," wouldn't it always be a better policy to try to accommodate your customers?

aschie30 wrote:So, in this economic climate, it's probably better for them to be more conservative in not comping than doing so with the hope that they'll engender good will. I think you're going to start seeing a lot of that with restaurants.

I hope that's not true. Because, restaurants, of course, need loyal customers to survive and thrive. And, customer service is a key component to fostering customer loyalty. If you're right, though, then we can expect to see even more restaurants closing.

aschie30 wrote:It's not that I'm not sympathetic -- like I said, I'd be peeved too if I got all the way down there and they were out. (Frankly, I think the one thing CH should have done was to tell people at the door before they sat down).

Yes, on a cold, slushy day, it was disappointing for our small group to make it all the way there only to find out that they were out of burgers. And, I fully agree - - it would have be very nice if the host had told us they were out of burgers before checking our coats and seating us.

Respectfully,
Ronna

it would have be very nice if the host had told us they were out of burgers before checking our coats and seating us.

This is the key right here- All it would of taken is something like this from the host (personally I would of had a manager by the front door for this situation) and the dialogue should of been this and we wouldn't be in this discussion right now-

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I just wanted to mention that we're out of the burger special right now, our (insert reason here, possibly their grinder went down that morning, possibly their delivery was late). If you'd like to make a reservation tomorrow, I'd be happy to help you, otherwise if you'd like to sit we have a very reasonable $16 lunch options."

Honest, upfront, and to the point. Next, when the customer said something like, "We took a cab all the way down from Roosevelt to get here" is when I would go with a comp of some sorts. Many people though just want an explanation and an admit of fault.

Personally we go above and beyond when we make a mistake. It always consists of taking off the problem item plus giving something on top of that (dessert, something for next time, etc.). That's just the way we do things. I learned that from my mentors in the business but also from Danny Meyer. "Setting the Table" probably was the best book I ever read as far as shaping my views on customer service.

HI,

Panther in the Den wrote:The bartender set my place and decanted my can of Coke into a carafe and asked if I wished some bread and butter. "Sure".

I have never had my Coke decanted. I would have loved to have seen a picture of that!

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

Panther in the Den wrote:The bartender set my place and decanted my can of Coke into a carafe and asked if I wished some bread and butter. "Sure".

I have never had my Coke decanted. I would have loved to have seen a picture of that!

Regards,

Coke is not wine. Decanting a Coke means that you will lose nearly half the carbonation. Doesn't seem like a good thing to me.

aschie30 wrote:I don't mean to pile on . . . but am I reading this thread correctly when I conclude that the only issues with the non-availability of this burger was on one day? It seems like any restaurant can have one bad day underestimating demand (assuming that's what happened).

The "one bad day" does seem to be the case, from this thread. I have to admit, the three (I think there were three) different posters who all separately reported burgerlessness created an impression in me that the problem was systemic and ongoing, but a careful reading of the timestamps (and thanks for noticing this, aschie) reveals that the problems all occured on Friday, January 9.

My one experience eating at Custom House (dinner) was a good one, in terms of food. The four of us all found our orders tasty and enjoyed our meals. Josh's comment about the "maddening" FOH resonates, however. The hostess on this evening first tried to fob off an awful table on us, despite that the restaurant at that point was only about half full. When we reacted with a combination of "um, no," and "you're joking, right?," she showed us to a lovely booth. Why create that kind of bad will? This was a couple of years ago, but from the sound of things, a suboptimal FOH experience can still be the order of the day at Custom House. When I think about it, that initial, most-unwelcoming gesture from the hostess is probably the reason I haven't gone back, although I will suggest to my regular Wednesday lunch pals that we hit Custom House before the end of January to take advantage of the burger deal.

stevez wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

Panther in the Den wrote:The bartender set my place and decanted my can of Coke into a carafe and asked if I wished some bread and butter. "Sure".

I have never had my Coke decanted. I would have loved to have seen a picture of that!

Coke is not wine. Decanting a Coke means that you will lose nearly half the carbonation. Doesn't seem like a good thing to me.

Agreed. It sounds pretentious to decant a Coke, though I would love to have seen it happen. All that nasty sentiment will stay in the can, if done decanted properly.

I don't like to drink Coke directly from the can. I like a glass filled with ice that gently dilutes it as well as sets off all those wonderful bubbles. I had a guest who purposefully allowed Coke to go flat because she didn't like the bubbles. I can only drink flat pop if desperate.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I don't like to drink Coke directly from the can. I like a glass filled with ice that gently dilutes it as well as sets off all those wonderful bubbles. I had a guest who purposefully allowed Coke to go flat because she didn't like the bubbles. I can only drink flat pop if desperate.

Me, too. I'd love to have my Coke decanted.