Deli slicer jammed mid-rush and I lost a whole order of roast beef

I was working the deli counter at a grocery store in Portland on a Friday at 5:30 PM... line was out the door. The slicer just seized up when I was slicing roast beef for a customer order, blade stuck halfway through a log. I had to stop everything and call the manager over, she was not happy. Took me 20 minutes to clear the jam and then I had to re-slice everything fresh since the first batch was ruined. Have any of you had to handle a machine breaking at the worst possible time? How'd you smooth it over with the customer?

2 comments

2 Comments

gibson.seth4d ago

Heard my buddy had a meat slicer catch fire mid-rush at Albertsons and just handed the customer a free deli platter to shut them up.

fisher.reese4d ago

Lost a whole order of roast beef" man that hurts just reading it. I worked at a butcher shop in Chicago and our grinder clogged right before a big holiday weekend. Its like the universe picks the worst moments to test you. For the customer I just gave them the fresh sliced meat for free and threw in an extra quarter pound on the house. Most people get it when they see youre sweating and covered in meat juice.