Wade Stout
Google
I brought a cow in for butcher because I was in a pinch and they had availability.
Upon first arrival I was not impressed with the facility. I was chipper and optimistic while talking with the kind young receptionist, and while discussing what I wanted, the owner lady over heard and snapped some rude and snarky comments at me. So I reassured her by directly addressing her concerns with my request and I complied.
I requested specifically that I wanted several parts of the animal reserved and they took physical note.
They then directed me where to drop off the cow. I drove my truck and trailer around back and was mortified by the uncleanliness and lack of organization. There was no signage, no person to help, and the whole area was disgusting.
We unloaded our cow, and it slipped and almost fell due to the amount of liquid feces on the concrete floor.
I then came home and filled out the cutting instructions which are very rudimentary and non specific, with no place to write down any extra notes or concerns you would like to be considered. So I texted my specific requests for the parts of the animal I wanted to be kept in tact and how I wanted it packaged. This was per what the receptionist said to do.
I never received a confirmation about these requests.
Flash forward 2 weeks and I get a call my beef is ready.
I go to pick it up and I walk in and the receptionists greet me warmly. I pay for the bill and they say go out to the semi trailer and get your beef.
A gentleman met me and helped me load it into my truck.
When I got home and inventoried all of what was returned to me, most of my special requested items were not included.
These were the kidneys, and fat, trotter bones, and spleen.
The beef is paper wrapped, which I prefer vacuum, but it is wrapped well.
I got a large variety of cuts and a good amount of ground beef.
I would recommend to Circle V several things to improve their business:
Start vacuum packing your meat, it is much more professional look
Have more thorough cutting instructions, especially with an option for additional notes
Confirm the cutting instruction prior to cutting it(you have 2 weeks from drop off to the time of butcher which is plenty of time to confirm)
Have signage and help for drop off of animals
Clean your drop off area daily(or more), and have clean water accessible to the animals
Speak kindly to your customers when they are asking questions and trying to get information and learn about you
I know I could have been more diligent in following up to receive the specific items I requested, so I am partially at fault for that one. However, to keep customers satisfied and happy, the butcher shop should go above and beyond.
Needless to say it was not the worst experience, but it was not the best.
I will likely not take another animal here unless it is my last option like it was this time.
Thank you Circle V for the experience, I hope you listen to your customers and strive to make improvements based off of the given input.
Update:
I got to the end of my cuts and saved my brisket for last. When I opened the brisket package I was surprised to find that it was only the brisket flat and that they had rolled it and then packaged it. I found that interesting.
However, they had already cut all the fat off. There was no fat cap.
This was understandable slightly.
But what really got me was the brisket was covered in cow hair…
These were inspected cuts. How do you get cow hair all over the brisket? It is just unfathomable to me how this happens and it makes me sick thinking about what the butchering conditions must be like for these to be the case.