Now that the hugely popular Portland Mercury Burger Week has come to a close, let us take a moment to remember the largely unsung fallen heroes of this well-attended event: THE BURGER WEEK CHEFS. These brave champions faced hordes of hungry Portland burger lovers with nary a complaint… okay, maybe a few complaints… but they were well earned! Because anyone who can make that many delicious burgers for that many people should be given our highest accolades. And so…
THANK YOU BURGER WEEK CHEFS (and waitstaff, too!) FOR YOUR MERITORIOUS SERVICE TO OUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEMS. YOU ARE THE BEST.
And if you are one of those courageous few, here’s a non-Mercury product you may be interested in: The Burger Week Survivor T-shirt, designed by Law Johnson and produced by Teespring.
You can reserve one now for only $15.99 and they also come in blue and red. (Because… Superman!) Again, the Mercury isn’t getting a cut of these sales, we just think it’s a great way to pay tribute to the veterans (those living and perished) of Burger Week.
Our hearts and sympathy also go out to those who managed to devour all 32 Burger Week burgers. May your gastrointestinal systems rest in peace.
So…. shirt is only available in blue or red, but is shown in black. Good job guys.
Brush up on your reading comprehension, bruh.
You can get it in black….
Mercury reader David Froh had it absolutely right when he posted his opinion online saying “Who put The Mercury in charge of Burgers? Every week is Burger Week. All these people waiting in ridiculous lines, being told what they’ll have on their burgers and what you won’t, being treated like garbage by over-worked staff and lectured by The Mercury on how to behave, think and tip… just to save $4-5?! Dumb.”
Bravo, sir.
I hate to break it to you, Mercury and all those who signed up to work in food service, but guess what? Being a civil human being with some semblance of manners and consideration for others is status quo for those of us who are not of Neanderthal lineage (no offense!). Thank you for pointing out that there are dickish customers right up front and practically accusing us all of being that way, in advance. Some customers are indeed dickish. Working with the public sucks. That’s been made clear and made even clearer by websites like “Customers Suck” and other fun examples like recordings of 911 calls. But guess what? You decided customer service, food service specifically, was what you wanted to do for a living. That’s on you.
Nobody should have to read nor adhere to your “rules” when it comes to being a restaurant patron or whilst attending one of your poorly executed fests, tastes or other foodie-boozy-beer and bacony-related events. PDX Burger Week should not and would not require any of your so-called commandments if business owners actually prepared in advance for these events. Is that not their job? Or are you actually expecting the customer to just deal with it when show up expecting to pay for a service and oh, I dunno, an acknowledgement that we actually exist? How about treating us like human beings?
Here are some real commandments for those restaurant owners who thought food service would be a good idea:
How about hiring extra staff for the week of chaos so that tables get cleaned and trash gets emptied?
How about not stressing your existing staff with what they inevitably dread every year by overworking them?
How about posting accurate and up to date signage throughout your establishments and on your websites?
How about making the effort to actually have enough product based on your stats from the previous year and then some?
How about creating burgers that look like the food porn photos submitted to the Merc for the promo?
Want us to tip and order something other than just a burger? Then how about making sure your customers are actually acknowledged by someone when they walk in and not blatantly ignored and left to their own devices to “just figure it out” or, here’s a good one… “make the best of it!”
I could use up more space to provide a nice list of examples of how things went horribly wrong this year and at other Merc-sponsored events, but do I need the backlash? No, I don’t. As an event coordinator with over 20 years of experience, I can confidently say that the people who have shared not-so-great reviews or legitimate complaints should be taken seriously. If I see one more spineless reply to a so-called “hater” with “How about having some compassion?” or “Did you at least find comradery with others while you waited in line despite the adverse conditions?” I am going to throw up.
If you own a restaurant or an event space, there is no excuse for poor event planning. EVER. Get it together and stop blaming your paying customers for your shortcomings. We don’t need your stinking rules and commandments. We need you to do your jobs. And no, that is not too much to ask.
I couldn’t agree more. Everything about Burgerweek was a disappointment for me. The burgers were lame (I had 3 diff ones, ALL overcooked like fastfood.) and the service was atrocious. I’d pay more just to have a decent experience & not be treated like a needy asshole (which I’m not.) I bent over backwards at these places, dealt with shitty, absent service amid trashed restaurants…if I was served at all. Did I tip? Yes, but WAY below my normal threshold of 20%+…why? Because service SUCKED. The experience SUCKED. I’ll never go back to Burnside Brewing, they can choke on it. Double Barrel had the best service, but the burger wasn’t worth eating. Widmer had the best burger of the 3, but not worth wanting again (still overcooked.) The experience was complete shit, however. We stood around being ignored by the staff and “bartender” for 20 minutes until a long glare-down finally got her attention when she was helping someone right next to us.
Definitely my last Burgerweek. I’ll take a good burger and great service any day over being treated like a dick and having a crap burger thrown at me.
I had sworn off Mercury events because of the lack of ANY decent/professional planning, but thought I could slide by since they weren’t involved. Shame on me. Never again, Mercury. At least not until you hire a fucking event coordinator and do it right a few times.
And for you shit’s with something to say: I am a paying customer and appreciate being treated like one (decently.) If someone is a dick, don’t serve them & throw them out. But don’t put that shit on me. I don’t disrespect the staff, I just leave & never come back.