So how pissed would you be?
 

So me and a buddy went to grab a bite to eat tonght after I got back from the gym. Fridays was the only thing open on this side of town, so we went. I had that special they are advertising on TV, 3 courses for $12.99. I had the caesars salad, tilapia and the dessert came with. They had 2 selections; Low Fat NY Cheesecake, and a Vanilla Bean cheesecake. I ordered the NY cheesecake. The description on the menu read: "A delicious low-carb version of the smooth and creamy classic with whipped cream and toasted almonds." I have a SEVERE food allergy to any nut products; pecan, almond, peanut, anything. So I told Jennifer, "can I get that without almonds?" She said yes.

So after dinner is over and i finsih the entire dessert I look at the crumbs on the plate and realize those arent graham cracker crumbs, they are almonds. (the crust was almonds and graham crackers). So I call Jennifer over to the table and ask her if she had brought the NY cheesecake over to the table. She said yes and I asked her if she remembered that I had said I didnt want almonds. She said she remembered that. I then informed her that there were almonds in the crust. She said, "yeah." I asked her why she didnt tell me there were almonds in the crust and she said that when I told her to hold the almonds she thought I meant the sprinkeled ones on top. Jennifer then said, "so what, you want us to call an ambulance or what?"

I asked to speak to the manager and told her what happened and her resonse was "Well, the almonds are pretty far down on the ingredient list, so there arent that many in the cheesecake. You should be ok." I told her that allergy to peanuts and peanut products are the number one food allergy in the world and that either the menu should be clearer or the server should have THOUGHT.

When I said I didnt want almonds, I didnt mean just sprinkeled on top, I meant AT ALL anywhere in the damn dessert. So I am waiting for my friend Heather to pick me up and I am going to the ER, cause I am having a reaction and cant breathe. The ER trip is gonna cost me about $500. I got the managers card and will be calling both her and sending the corporate office a letter on Monday.

So the question is this; I am naturally pissed, but would you be pissed? This food allergy isnt new to me. Was born with it and have been reading food labels since I was 5. I didnt goof here.

You shouldn't even have had to emphasize that you had a SEVERE allergy. You asked for no almonds, and when you received your dessert only to find the almonds, she should have taken it back to the kitchen and bring you the correct order. Jennifer's ambulance comment is enough to get any server fired. On the spot.

The manager's response is incredible. There's no way in hell that could fly at any other restaurant. If I were the manager and I found out that my waitress treated a customer like that, I'd be irate, and I'd do anything to rectify the situation. Comped dinner, gift certificate, anything so that my higher ups wouldn't find out.

As someone who also works in the food and hospitality industry, I'd be shitting bricks right now because the events of tonight could easily spell L-A-W-S-U-I-T!

I'm sorry you had to go through this, Andy. I hope you're feeling okay.

Request they pay your ER bill. If they balk at that- ask alums for names of good lawyers and go from there. Sometimes just the threat of a lawyer is enough to get things fixed.

the problem is big as dallas...
i ditto what others have said. fridays owes you for the er trip since you told them what was up and they chose to lie.
sweetie, hopefully you are feeling better.

Friday's can get in A LOT of trouble for that. If you say no almonds because you specifically state a food allergy, the liability is now in their hands. I'm amazed that the manager pretty much brushed you off and said that there weren't too many almonds so you should be ok. It doesn't take a genius to know that if you ingest the smallest bite of food that you're allergic to that you can have a severe reaction.

You might want to put in a phone call to corporate about this. I would think that their corporate offices wouldn't take too kindly to this and the manager and the waitress will most likely be fired. Still, your ER bill needs to be paid and if Friday's refuses, I'd get a lawyer. You have a good case!

That's horrible - as was said, as soon as you mentioned about the almonds, it should have been the end of any discussion. If they were unable/unwilling, they then should have offered you another option.

To blatantly disregard your request and then act the way they did when confronted; absolutely inexcusable.

Hope you feel better and that everything turns out ok.

Bro., saying you were pissed is being nice.

This is exactly why SW Air quit serving peanuts on their flights.

Put their head on a pike and let everyone walk by and see it!

A mistake can be made, but not the attitude of these two people!

Friggin Morons! :mad:

Wonder how adverse PR would go over in the local News Media:confused:


Sure glad you werent allergic to Scotch one Sat. Night a while back!

:D

Sure glad I am not allergic to nuts as love them!:)

I am, by no means, trying to defend the actions of the restaurant staff, but being a former restaurant employee myself, I don't think people realize how...short-sighted some of these employees can be. I can give you many examples of similar things happening, only b/c the employee does not STOP and THINK about what the customer is saying. Or perhaps it's b/c they're not well-trained, but it's probably a little bit of both.

When a customer comes in that has an allergy, it's the restaurant's responsibility to accomodate them as best as they can. Sure, that might mean a limited menu, or customizing their order, but they should do that since it's probably hard for this customer to be able to dine out to begin with, and they have chosen this establishment to dine at when they could have chosen another one instead.

This is why I am always wary of dining out (although, I do dine out quite a bit). For example, I would frequently see the salad boy or another kitchen employee, when asked to take the garbage to the dumpster, reach in, push the garbage down to close the bag, carry it out to the dumpster, come in, and then resume to make salads/cook/whatever. Hello! After you've touched the garbage, you need to WASH YOUR HANDS! It's stuff like that that makes me curious as to what exactly am I eating when I receive my order.

Anyways, I've gotten off topic. Please post to let us know that you're feeling better, and what happens w/ the restaurant (sue 'em!). :)

Hope you're feeling better.

Did you say up front that you wanted no almonds because you're allergic to nuts? If not, I'd say it was an honest mistake. Even so, it does not excuse the server's or the manager's responses. Apparently they do not understand that if you're allergic to something, even a teeny little bit of the allergen can cause a reaction. If I were you, I'd be pissed simply because of their callous responses.

You should've stated that you had an allergy. Peanuts, peanut oil, etc. is in a LOT of things you wouldn't think of (as I'm sure you know.) A waitress can't know if you'd just prefer not to have the whole almonds on top.... or if you have a life threatening allergy.



I'm sorry to hear about this, though. TGI Friday's definately handled the situation poorly, as did the server.

I have an ex-boss with a servere peanut allergy and a lactose intolerant boyfriend. My ex boss had the same thing happen, Andy, only she was DRIVING BY HERSELF when the reaction kicked in. I would demand they pay your bill as well as sport you a gift certificate or two.

Mr 33 can have some dairy and he won't die, but if anything often when he asks for no dairy people are more accomodating than he actually needs - making sure it's OK for the food to be cooked in butter, etc. May I add that this happens when we eat at places around the colleges where there are lots of vegans and vegetarians.

I agree. A lot of people don't have allergies to them, but just don't LIKE almonds. But still, even if the server didn't realize that you were allergic, she should have said something along the lines of, "The crust has almonds in it. Is that okay?" And then you would have been informed and could have chosen something else. And nothing excuses her behavior after finding out, and the manager's behavior as well. I hope you're feeling all right. Definitely try to make them pay the ER bill. If they refuse, threaten to sue. Unfortunately, I think a defense attorney would be able to point out that you didn't specify that you had an allergy (if in fact you didn't).

Oh, and that manager's comment is ridiculous. I thought it was pretty common knowledge that exposure to any of it at all is enough to cause a reaction for someone who is allergic. What an idiot.

I know you've been doing this a long time, but just asking for "no almonds" without mentioning the allergy is going to get you in trouble (like it just did) because people don't take a little request seriously.

My sister is lactose intolerant, and has learned to us the word "allergy" when ordering at restaurants because that is the trigger word to get the server to listen to what you have to say. Just asking, "is there milk in that" or "is that made with butter?" Won't do the trick. She always gets, "I don’t think so"-- which is NOT helpful. And saying "lactose intolerant" doesn't work either because people don't understand. "There's only a little," is a VERY common response. Ahe is sensitive to even the slightest bit of lactose- a little bit of butter or whey will make her very ill. People are very ignorant!

Lifesaver, always carry an EpiPen.

My mother has a terrible allergy to almonds, peanuts, coconuts, etc. She once ate pesto not realizing it was made of nuts. She took one bite and immediately puked all over the table and was rushed to the ER. She was lucky that she didn't die. She took Benadryl which probably saved her life. The ER nurse told her to always carry an EpiPen because she really could have died. Now whenever she goes to any restaurant or facility, she calls in advance and requests a nut free menu due to her allergies.

Andy, I hope that you feel better.

Thanks everyone for the words. Lessons learned. Mention that I dont want nuts because of an allergy.

I did go to the ER and dropped $450. I will be getting in contact with their corperate on Monday when I feel better.

I'm still real pissed about it.

Here's another example, from today! :) I had lunch at Subway, and as I was eating my sandwich, I realized that there was an onion on it! The lettuce tray sits next to the onion tray, so as the onions are put on the sandwich, they can easily fall into the lettuce. Good thing I'm not deathly allergic to onions!

I can kind of understand if they didn't know that the crust had almonds and since you might not have said anything about having a severe allergy to nuts, but they did know what was in it and their response to what happened was uncalled for. Hope everything works out!

I totally agree with OTW. If i was the manager the server wouldve been fired. I wouldnt necessarily scream lawsuit yet, however if they do not offer to pay your ER bills and whatever medications they may give you such as epinephrine or any kind of brochial dilator or anything(jsut throwing out ideas here) and them not pay for any of that, then I'd be suing not just for the bills but the trauma and trouble it caused you.

I'm deathly allergic to all fish and seafood. I cant even eat chicken or anything else that has been fried in the same oil as fish or seafood. When i go out to eat to somewhere that i know serves seafood i always tell them to make sure that none of the utensils back there used has come into contact with fish or seafood and tell them I'm deathly allergic. They look at me like I'm nuts, yet they seem so understanding and kind and whatever to my vegetarian friends who ask them to make sure none of the utensils have come into contact with any meat, or my others friends who cant eat beef or pork.

I have a chapter sister who was the same way with curry. :eek:

We were at an event one afternoon and we didn't know what was on the menu. Anyway, chicken curry w/ pita bread was one of the items...and just the smell made her run out of the room, into the bathroom, where she proceeded to yack.

When she was a kid she nearly died after accidentally eating curry in her school cafeteria. She couldn't breathe because she felt like her airpipes were blocked.

The not-BF is the same with mangoes. Poor guy. Born and raised in Hawai`i and allergic to mangoes. :(

My husband has a good friend/co-worker who is also highly allergic to nuts. Whenever I make treats for Mr. ISUKappa to take into work, I go so far as to check the bags of chocolate pieces/cake mix to make sure there are no nut products so Bob can eat them. I've caught myself a few times and had to make something different.

I had an allergic reaction once. I was a senior in hs and I was out at this Chinese restaurant for one of my cousin's baptismal reception thing. I was mostly eating shrimp from the different entrees. During the course of the dinner, I felt my top lip swelling like I had a swolen lip. I thought it might have been from my little cousin hitting his head on my mouth. But it kept getting bigger and it looked embarassing so I told my parents that I was going home. I stopped by my old bff's house and her mom who is a nurse saw me and said that I was having an allergic reaction and that I should go to the hospital fast. While I was at the hospital, my lips were HUGE! It was embarassing. It didn't helpt that the doc was hot. I didn't know I was having a reaction and didn't know how serious it could be. I've eaten shrimp before and have eaten shrimp since then. The doctor said that shrimp can have a lot of iodine in it, so that might have been it. It was not the best Chinese restaurant around, so who knows.

I also went to the hospital for a food allergy reaction. Got shots of something and decided it was high time I go and get tested for all allergies. It was a lot of testing, but at least now I know what to watch out for if I don't want to end up in a hospital again...

Onto your situation, not only would I be pissed with the fact that I was served something I said I did not want. And not only would it upset me that the waitress was aware that there were almonds in the crust and couldn't be smart enough to mention that before serving you. But the real thing that tickles my spine is the aftermath reaction by both her and the manager. I think the last thing they should be doing is acting all nonchalant about it and not apologize immediately.

It's just insulting to you and other customers to be treated in that way and I hope you get your money back for the hospital costs, the cost of your dinner as well as some sort of apology for putting you through that misery.

Their reactions were definitely out of line, I will agree.

This weekend, I took my daughter and her friend to the mall to go to Build A Bear for her birthday. They wanted to eat at the food court. My daughter is one of those peanut allergy kids. We ordered sandwiches and fries from the Great American Steak booth. After she ate the whole cup of fries, she got a strange look on her face and told me to read the cup. It said, in fairly large letters "Great American Steak Fries, deep fried in peanut oil". She had no reaction. They aren't really using peanut oil because if they were, I'd have been calling 911. She ate half a cashew cooked in peanut oil this summer and was in ER getting epinephrine, benadryl and steroids via IV because her throat closed and she was completely covered in hives. I'm so thankful that they weren't really using peanut oil.

Dee

I was a camp counselor this past summer and had a girl in my cabin that has a nut allergy. I had to carry around an Epipen for her when we went on off camp trips. Honestly I had never heard of it before I went to this camp, neither had a lot of the counselors. The waitress could be ignorant to extent of which people can be allergic to things and how scary a true, full on allergic reaction (I would try to spell the correct term A___ shock, but have NO clue)

This in no way excuses either the server or manager's cavalier response. I would be more than pissed if I were you and would totally persue getting my medical bills paid for, as well as either boycotting Fridays, or having all of my future meals there comped. There really is no excuse. Feel better !

This must be a time for allergic reactions because my co-worker just went to the hospital over the weekend because she ate some chow mein that had seasame oil in it. (which they claimed it didn't)

I agree with most of what y'all have already said, but would like to add one thing. TGIFriday's is supposedly on a higher scale than say, Denny's or such. Their waitstaff should similarly be of a higher calibur - which means, they should know the ingredients of the entire menu. It also means that they should know that when a person asks about certain ingredients which are more likely to cause allergic reactions, ie: nuts, spices, seafood. The very question, "Are there nuts in the cheesecake?" should have tipped them off that there could be a food allergy afoot.

An example was when I was out with my mother (who has developed a seafood allergy recently, after her last surgery). She asked if there was [I forget which seafood] in a dish, and the waitress said no, so she ordered it. Minutes after taking our order, the waitress returned and said, "I'm sorry, I asked the chef and yes, there IS [seafood] in the casserole. May I change your order?"

Guess who got a huge tip?

Thank goodness, there are People Like Ya'all who make people like me feel normal for not having any allergentic reactions.

I do have reactions against Peas, Spinachich, Beef Liver, and anything I dont like to eat!;)

God Damn, What a Normal Person I am!!!! So To Speak!!!

Shut Up Andy!:rolleyes:

While I may make fun of the situation, I deal with a lot of people daily and it is tuff.

I consider My Self Lucky as all must!

My only question is why is lifesaver 5' 4" tall and wondering about His Body? Oh, 205 but good fighting Muscle!:D

Kidden Bro. He is a Stud for the GC Ladies!:)

OH Sue Their Ass, but give them a chance to grovel, drag some cash, I will be Your Official Rep!:D

As a former and (hopefully) future restaurant manager, every single item that comes into a restaurant(supplies) has/should have an ingredient list on it so the management knows what is in everything specifically for that reason. At my restaurant (I am head of training) I make sure the staff understands if someone mentions an allergy or stongly insists a certian food be left out of the meal that the server double check with the management before ordering to ensure the offending food is taken care of. If I had been the manager I would have immediatly comped your food, got YOUR phone number, as well as contact my HR department to see what steps should be taken next. I would suggest calling back to speak with the General Manager as soon as possible, and if he/she blows you off as well ask for the corporate number. The reason I say ASAP is so they can't think "he must not have been to sick if it took this long to call us". I hope you are feeling better!!

(thats long, sorry!)

Never Be Sorry, You Know what its the right way to Handle it.

These Morons Need To Go Back to Magement School!;)

Or Have their ass Handed To them on a Friggen Platter!!!!

NO Matter, if 99 % of the customers are Happy, in Retailing, You can only hope You are as Happy Too!:cool:

Actually I *CAN'T* understand that the server didn't know the crust had almonds in it. I don't know about Friday's, but I have several friends who are working or have worked as servers in those types of restaurants and they are seriously TESTED and GRILLED (no pun intended ;)) over each menu item. They have to remember everything what it is made from and the kinds of sauces the entrees come with it. So there's really no excuse just like you said.

I do agree that their response was pretty rude. and I would def. be upset about it too. you can bet their corporate office would be hearing about it if it was me and their manager didn't want to do anything about it.

I'm sorry that this happened to you, and I don't think their reaction was very good, BUT, I have to agree with PMMama on this one.

If you have an allergy, you NEED to mention it. These people aren't psychic. Maybe they think you just don't really like almonds. For instance, I don't particularly care for almonds, so I would've asked for it without. However, i wouldn't have a problem if they were ground up in a crust or something. I just don't want any pieces of them.

You really don't have a legal cause of action. Hopefully as a gesture of goodwill they'll offer to pay for your bills; but I don't think they're required to.

Your health is your own responsibility. When you have a food allergy, it's not tattooed to your forehead and there's no big sign above your head that says "I'm allergic to ____." You need to make it clear, especially in a restaurant, that you're allergic to a certain ingredient. You ordered something that you were aware came with almonds on it, possibly in it. It would at least have been stored and prepared in the same area as almonds. You would've been safer getting something that had no mention of almonds.

If you sue, you'd likely just come across to the jury as a sue-happy individual trying to get a buck when it's something that's their own fault. You also do not have any long term damage to your health and really haven't suffered that much emotional turmoil as a part of it. The only thing I could possibly see happening is Friday's settling just to not have to deal with this. But then again, they might not, because legally it's ridiculous.

I also have to question that, if you're so allergic, why you stopped back at home, posted on GC, THEN went to the hospital?

I don't want to come across harsh, but you asked for opinions, and I've tried to analyze this from both sides. Probably only a shyster lawyer would take this case, and then he would be grasping for straws. I really don't think a legitimate attorney would take this on.

Hey hey. I don't think Lifesaver said he was going to sue anyone did he? I thought he was just pissed at this point? So lets not piss him on some more by telling him he doesn't have the case he didn't ask about.

I agree that lifesaver should have made it clear that he had an allergy, if only for his own safety.

I also agree that the waitress should have said something simple like: "oh, there are almonds in the crust do you still want it?"

I mean thats not so hard right? Putting an ingredient in the food that you don't like the taste of is big deal also isn't it?

I mean lets say I really don't like the taste of mushrooms. I am not going to want that on the food, cooked in the food, or in the crust of the food. Thats going to spoil my meal. I am not going to eat it.

In fact I have had meals comped when they did that even though i offered to pay (once they took the gobsmacked mushrooms off it).

Now with a food allergy once you taste it its too late. It more than ruins your meal.

As far as why he posted here and then went to the ER . . . Food allergies can take up to 45 minutes or so to kick in depending on the severity of the allergy and other factors.

They can also take a while for all the symptoms to be fully realized.

Not all allergies are immediately life threatening in nature, but you kind of never know if the next attack will be.

Anyway. Call corporate. If nothing else there is a serious failure of customer service.

VERY well said James!

i have to agree with pmmama and kddani on this one.

it is your responsibility to mention a food allergy. they can't possibly know that you are severely allergic by looking at you.

chalk this up to a learning experience. your health is now okay, no serious damage done. now you know that you should mention your allergy at all times. that will alert a waitstaff, especially if they know they use peanut oil, etc to cook foods in but don't blatantly mention it on the menu.

and honestly, i don't consider fridays upscale by any means. at least it's not around here. it's like any old chain restaurant. i would expect more professional service from a more upscale restaurant, but not fridays. they're cheap.

glad you're okay though!

i don't think many people consider Friday's upscale.. but come on... I've received better service at McDonalds :p

No, but quite a few people brought up getting a lawyer in this thread. Wanted to point out that it's not a good idea, and why.

It's not like he didn't realize there were almonds in it. He did. He said he's deathly allergic to any nut product. As soon as you realize it, should've gone straight to the ER. You don't sit around and wait until your throat is closed up and you can't breathe. With treatment for anything, the earlier you see a doctor the better.

I truly hope that Lifesaver is feeling better, and this sucks that it happened. However, people go a little crazy saying oh- you should sue, when it's something that's not the restaurant's fault.

I have a "sensitivity" to peanuts. When I was 12 years old, I ate a bag of airplane peanuts and my lips just swelled up and I had a little bit of trouble breathing. What's weird was that I had had peanuts and peanut butter before, and the worst that happened was that my tongue felt funny or I'd have a minor rash around my mouth. I haven't had peanuts since then. Until recently, my dad had trouble believing that I have a "sensitivity" to peanuts and peanut butter because it's so unusual for Asians to have this problem.