UPDATE, August 13, 2008: Ryan Kropp Sentenced to Six Months, Probation
__________________
Ryan Kropp (Photo/WISN)
When Ryan Kropp, cook at the Texas Roadhouse in West Bend, took revenge on a customer, I'm sure he never expected his disgusting act to go national.
It did. I heard the story mentioned by national ABC News Radio.
Ryan Kropp, this is your fifteen minutes.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
When Kevin Hansen visited the local Texas Roadhouse restaurant for dinner with family and friends last Saturday, he was served more than the nationwide chain's promise of "legendary food."
Hansen showed up at the police station Sunday complaining of hair in his steak.
"I started eating it," he said in an interview. "I noticed the hair after three bites."
A West Bend police officer observed "several strands of what appeared to be hair coming out of the middle of the steak," a criminal complaint says.
Ryan Kropp, 24, of West Bend, one of the two cooks responsible for steaks at the restaurant Saturday night, admitted to police that he placed a few of his own facial hairs on the steak, the criminal complaint says.
Kropp said he was angry with the customer for sending a different steak back to the kitchen earlier in the evening after telling a manager it was overcooked.
Kropp was charged Wednesday with placing foreign objects in edibles, a felony. If convicted, Kropp could face a fine of up to $10,000 and up to 3 1/2 years of imprisonment. He was released from jail Wednesday afternoon on a signature bond.
Hansen said that he had asked for a 16-ounce ribeye to be cooked medium rare - with a warm, red center - but it showed up medium, the criminal complaint says.
When restaurant service manager Michael Liberatore stopped by Hansen's table, the customer said the steak was overcooked but declined Liberatore's offer of a new steak.
Liberatore was persistent, the complaint says, and offered to provide Hansen with a new steak he could take home.
The manager then took what was left of the original steak to the kitchen and showed it to Kropp and the other cook "so that they could both learn what a medium rare steak was supposed to look like," the complaint says.
Kropp told police only a small piece of the first steak was returned to him. Since most of it had been eaten, he thought the customer was "just trying to get free stuff," according to the criminal complaint.
A second worker in the kitchen told an officer that Kropp placed the second steak on a plate, cut a slit in the center of the steak and pushed something into the meat.
The worker said Kropp then stated, "These are my pubes," in reference to pubic hair. Kropp next flipped the steak over on the plate so that the cut side was not visible, the criminal complaint says.
What can you say? GROSS! GAG! BLECH! YUCK!
I think Texas Roadhouse may want to take a look at hiring procedures for cooks. Psychological testing may be in order.
Kropp is every restaurant patron's nightmare.
Hansen clearly was not being a problem. He didn't want another steak. The manager insisted.
In any event, no restaurant customer deserves the service or the product that Hansen received.
I wonder if this was the first time Kropp prepared a "loaded" steak.
Texas Roadhouse motto:
Legendary Food, Legendary Service®
It's legendary now. No doubt about that.
Kropp's behavior may have an impact on business at the Texas Roadhouse in West Bend. That would be terribly unfortunate. Obviously the service manager there was very concerned about customer satisfaction.
Since the story has gone national, this incident could impact business across the country. I doubt it would suffer significantly because the problem is the result of a lone employee run amok, an isolated incident.
I've eaten at Texas Roadhouse many times. I will again, but certainly not today or tomorrow. Probably not on Saturday either.
Kropp is every restaurant owner's nightmare.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to get back at a customer by stuffing a steak with hair.
12 comments:
I am a server at a Texas Roadhouse about 45 minutes from West Bend, and let me tell you, that every one of my fellow workers is disgusted and embarrased by this ordeal. We had a slight, but noticeable decrease in business tonight and i'm sure after the local 10 o'clock news tonight, it will only get worse. I sincerely hope people know that this is an isolated incident, and most people/servers dont even THINK of doing this, no matter how much customers annoy us. We simply just go in the back and vent about it. But ive never heard of anyone even THINKING, JOKING about sabotaging someone's food. I do still understand peoples hesitations about eating out after this, and I certainly will as well.
I really feel bad for you and your co-workers. What Kropp did shouldn't be considered a reflection on Texas Roadhouse or its employees.
It was a sick act by a sick person. I think people understand that this was an isolated incident.
Maybe the decrease in business had something to do with the snow.
As I said, I'm not going to stop going to Texas Roadhouse. I'm sure customers who have been happy with Texas Roadhouse won't stay away.
Well, just drive by the one in West Bend tonight..... cricket.. cricket. Well Mr. Hansen (who is an awesome man.. know him and his son personally)would never hurt a fly and insisted on NOT taking another steak because he enjoyed the first one. This idiaot should serve some jail time. OH YEAH, look him up on the Wisconsin Circuit court system; he already has a felony on his record... So why was he hired there in the first place, and how many of our beloved cooks out there are felons. I am guess he isn't the only one.
Hansen is preparing to file suit against Texas Roadhouse.
Hmmm.
I do know the managers and some of the employees at the Roadhouse in West Bend. They are great people and would never tolerate this type of behavior. Did you know that the Kitchen Manager and the Owner both won Manager's of the Year? The Service Manager even won a Manager of the quarter award. Mr. Hanson is totally in the right for being disgusted, violated, and f'n pissed. Hell I would be. But, blaming the Texas Roadhouse for this incident is assinine. Just so you know "Mr. Anonymous", Ryan Kropp has been convicted of Disorderly Conduct and Possesion of Marijuana. Both Misdemeanors in his case. I know that on a Texas Roadhouse application that the question of "Have you ever been convicted of a felony" is what is stated on the app. So get your facts straight before you slander this corporation. Texas Roadhouse has an impecable record of saftey and sanitation. Why don't you eat at Taco Bell or Applebees if you feel the West Bend Texas Roadhouse is that bad. I do know that Taco Bell for example has countless offenses for food poisoning. Applebees puts lizard heads in their salads! Did you remember that? Just because one very stupid douchebag decides to violate someone, that shouldn't keep anyone from enjoying some hand cut steaks, ice cold beers, and line dancing. I've never been to a restaurant that has an atmosphere like the Texas Roadhouse. The fact of the matter is, the food service industry has many skeletons in it's closet. You take a chance of being in an accident if you drive to work everyday. There are a lot of drunk drivers out there! I wish this world was perfect but it is not. I'm asking everyone that reads this not to punish the hard working servers that work at the Texas Roadhouse in West Bend. They have families to feed. IT IS NOT THE TEXAS ROADHOUSE'S FAULT THAT RYAN KROPP REACTED THE WAY HE DID. He is a douchebag and anyone in their right mind will know where to place the blame.
I believe he spent 180 day in jail for manufacturing. That is a felony.
sorry, it was originally a felony and later dropped to a lesser violation.
I am a friend of Ryan's. I have had to hear and read and see everyone talking all this crap about him and it's pretty sad. I understand what everyone is saying. Yes, it is extremely disgusting. Yes, he shouldn't have done it. No, I highly doubt he will ever do anything like this again. Yes, he has a prior record. None of this makes him a bad person. He lost his cool. We all lose our cool at some point in our lives. I'm sure he regrets what he did. He doesn't deserve being bashed by everyone. And now he's looking at 3 years in prison for putting something on someone's food that the person didn't even eat. As far as his record goes, none of it is even related to this incident. Ryan is a good person. Whether or not Hansen did or didn't want another steak is irrelevant. The manager never told Ryan he didn't. And now Hansen is saying that he can't sleep or eat? What is that? It sounds to me like he's just trying to get some money from the Roadhouse. Ryan isn't the first person to put something in someone's food at that nasty place. Take a good look at your food next time you eat out. You might be surprised what you find.
Kropp is every restaurant owner and every restaurant patron's worst nightmare.
When I worked in food service, I would never have done what Kropp did. I never witnessed anyone do anything remotely like what Kropp did.
It's inexcusable. There's no defending what he did and he deserves to be held accountable.
I find this statement you made quite troubling: Ryan isn't the first person to put something in someone's food at that nasty place.
That's an extremely serious accusation.
Keep in mind that though you post "anonymously" you aren't really anonymous.
None of this makes him a bad person. He lost his cool. We all lose our cool at some point in our lives. I'm sure he regrets what he did. He doesn't deserve being bashed by everyone. And now he's looking at 3 years in prison for putting something on someone's food that the person didn't even eat.
He didn't eat it cause your bf put pubes in it. Kropp is a flukup and so are you.
I have been in the restaurant industry as a server, bartender and cook for many years and I will start off by saying that many of the posters are naive. This sort of incident DOES happen everywhere all the time. Usually the hair thing is unintentional as we shed constantly but the case of Ryan Kropp is a little on the gross side. I've witnessed many cases of food tampering but not indulged in the tampering myself. I do not condone it but it happens.
If any of the people posting have seen the movie Waiting and have worked in restaurants longer than a year they should know that "tampering" happens and the movie is not that farfetched. And for sjp to say "ive never heard of anyone even THINKING, JOKING about sabotaging someone's food" is full of crap. If somebody pisses you off you want to retaliate and what better way to do it than to "sabotage" some poor saps food. And for Mr Hansen to eat most of his steak and then complain is total BS. If he noticed his steak wasn't cooked properly from the get-go he should've asked to have the problem fixed right away. This is a classic case of "more for less". As an owner of a sports bar and grill this is a huge pet peeve of mine. It's all about courtesy on both ends. Trust me, if any of my guys do what Kropp did and I find out about it they better wish they were just in jail.
Then there is the lawsuit...LEAVE THE LAWYERS OUT OF IT!!! There are WAY too many frivolous lawsuits just because somebody got their feelings bumped. Sack up. Be a man. Cook your own GD steak at home or if you are that traumatized, Mr Hansen, become a vegan.
Kevin said: "This sort of incident DOES happen everywhere all the time."
That's nauseating. Statements like that make me want to steer clear of all restaurants.
What Kropp did could have a ripple effect. Texas Roadhouse is being sued, but there could be fallout for all establishments. It's further incentive to save money and eat at home.
When I worked in food service, it did NOT happen. I never saw it happen. I never witnessed a case of anyone tampering with a customer's food.
Absolutely never.
Post a Comment