My name is Jason Borden, and this is my first post on TDF. I am an employee at Crocodile Ed's.
I just moved to this area from Birmingham about two and a half months ago. I have been in the restaurant business for about five years, and I have never seen such an uproar of people sounding off about one establishment.
I am not here to bash those individuals, and this is certainly not going to put any more money in my pocket. I am simply going to give you some facts of the restaurant, and revive the information that you all have known in the past about new restaurants in a small town.
Did you know that Crocodile Ed's is not a chain restaurant, and this is the first of it's brand? What if Florence opened up it's first freestanding Starbucks right beside the mall? The citizens would go bananas, right? Even if you despised coffee, you would probably still show up to see if they were giving out free samples, and to lend yourself the opportunity to be Florence's biggest food and beverage critic. Again, I am not directing this at you individually, I am speaking in terms of people who live in a town that doesn't have hundreds of restaurants within a few miles to choose from.
Now, chances are, the new Starbucks would probably have a few hectic days for the first week, a few drinks sent back, remade, etc.. But overall, everyone would go home happy. I'll tell you their secret:
Starbucks is a multi-million dollar franchise that has thousands of employees who come in from other Starbucks close by to assist, and help train the new employees correctly.
Guess who else follows this pattern? Olive Garden, Chili's, Red Lobster, etc... All the restaurants that you guys claim have a better product, and better service.
So, here we are. We are a group of employees who have all worked at the same restaurants that you people love, and have come together for one goal of working at a new, successful restaurant. No other Crocodile Ed's employees, who have cooked the same dishes over and over for five years, or who have used the same computer system to ring in food for the last five years, came to train us. We are fresh, from the ground up. We have an excellent Management staff, who is here to answer your questions and make things right for you. Everything is ever changing. We are not a franchise, and have the availability to adjust anything on our menu, without having to get some board's approval in New York.
As far as food quality goes, I'm not here to bash anyone else, all I can do is give you the facts:
I have unloaded the truck that brings our seafood, and I can confirm that it is from the same company that delivers seafood at the other casual upscale restaurants I have worked at in Birmingham, including: J. Alexanders, Village Tavern, The Club, and Fleming's Steakhouse .
I see the truck every day, and I know that they deliver a great product.
All I am asking is that you guys just work with it. How many of you cook on a regular basis? I do. How many times have you read a recipe that sounded great, but you made it and you thought "Meh.. It could have been better, I'll try it like this next time." That applies to all things in life, and thankfully, as I stated before, we have the ability to change it up!
Those comment cards aren't on the table just to get thrown away. If you think the sauce is too thick, or too spicy, or the blackened catfish needs more seasoning, make it a point to speak to a manager. I promise, these are great guys who are willing to make you people happy.
I know the cook times have been lengthy, but that goes in to everything said before. Just give it a little time. Every week that goes by, everything will become more accustomed to every employee, and your experience will grow more to everyone's liking.
Thank you all,
Jason
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