Katie Hennessey
We Work on the Front Lines Providing Your Food: Here’s What You Need to Know BY KATIE HENNESSEY
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n my 15 years in the food industry, I have served customers by waiting tables, making coffee, decorating deserts, serving counters, delivering sandwiches and stocking shelves. Whether in a warehouse, kitchen or racing through downtown delivering sandwiches on my bicycle, one universal objective summed up all of my food service jobs: the customers’ needs come first. The grocery store chains, restaurants and delivery services that value customer retention over the bottom line go out of their way to adhere to this golden rule. They eat the cost when service is unsatisfactory, they work overtime during holidays to give consumers stress-free gatherings, they stop what they’re doing to hunt down products on packed storage shelves. They put themselves last, so customers’ needs can come first. But even the best of those businesses can’t keep up with coronavirus consumerism. Panic-buying has created product shortages, stay-at-home orders have put pressure on delivery services and demand for curbside
orders have caused unusual waiting periods for food providers otherwise known for their timeliness. On Easter Sunday, a line stretched from Smoke BBQ Restaurant’s East Commerce St. location all the way to the Alamo as customers waited for curbside takeout. Many turned to social media to vent about their wait. “Poor planning Smoke BBQ,” one wrote. “This line is outrageous,” said another. “Even if we wanted to cancel, there is not even a way out of this line,” yet another complained. What the customers didn’t know was that 61 of the restaurant’s almost 400 Easter orders were dated for the following Sunday — mistakes made by customers when ordering online, its owner said. “We tried to service these people, but we were ultimately giving food to people who didn’t have an order for Easter,” Smoke owner Adrian Martinez told the Current. “Things kept going from there. It fell apart.” Even so, Martinez did what any good food service provider would do, he busted his ass to make things right.
“We started calling everybody to tell them to come an hour later,” he said. “I got on Facebook Live to explain what was going on.” The restaurant owner even gave out his personal number so those in line could call or text for an honest explanation. Meanwhile, runners rushed ice-cold drinks to those waiting in their cars. A reprieve came the following day, when loyal customers came to Martinez’s side, thanking him for cooking for everybody during the crush, even though he didn’t have to. “Less than 20% of the big-name restaurants are still operating,” Martinez said, “We had a chance to say, ‘We’re going to close the doors, put everybody on unemployment and call it a day.’” Instead, the restaurant opened a pop-up grocery market, altered its menu to meet consumer needs and hosted a free 400-meal giveaway for the community.
Panic Buying H-E-B employee Jacob Alexander Henson has also wrestled with the tension of customer demands and product shortages. Once a bakery worker, Henson temporarily shifted to curbside grocery service when less-essential departments paused operation. “H-E-B is definitely here for the customers first and foremost, but because of the pandemic and items that are limited and shorted, it has put employees behind regular production schedule,” Henson told
