marubozo
is one Smokin' Farker
1) I think many of us are too critical of our cooking, in a sense, that is a lot of why we are here and all get along. We love to cook and eat, and we take pride in that. So, it is possible that you are being a tad over the top.
2) That being said, unless you are doing it all day long, in which case, that is a problem, the reality is you have to be proud of what you are serving. The problem with a lot of places is that the owner loses that sense of pride. The customer is not 'always right'. If you taste something and really know it is not what you can stand to serve, don't serve it. I would tell the customer that you tasted it, and that it is just not to the standard that you can sell it, and that while you would love to sample your brisket to him, that you simply do not want him to taste something less than your best. It is likely that he heard about your brisket, and in that moment, wanted it more than is reasonable. Later, he might decide it is, meh, maybe a little dry...
3) Bottom line it, are you tossing more than you are selling? Are you making enough that the one brisket or one chicken is not a loss proposition? If you can, hold the line on quality. If this is happening more than once every few days, then examine your processes, as that is too much.
Good stuff. It isn't happening often. Like today, that one brisket, a half rack of ribs, and probably half of a pork butt was all that didn't get served. Brisket got saved and we'll use that for burnt ends this weekend and the rest in chili. Ribs were a loss, but one of the employees wanted to take it home. And the pork, well, it was just jerky, and got tossed.
So at the end of the day, not a lot of waste really, and that is typical. I can live with that. It's just one of those things where if the customer likes it and is willing to pay $15/lb for something and I tell him no, if he likes it, is it worth it? or like you said, was he just anticipating it and saying that and could end up realizing it's just average?
I'm sure I'll figure out the bottom line as time goes on.