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  #1  
Old 01-14-2005, 03:13 AM
lifesaver lifesaver is offline
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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.
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  #2  
Old 01-14-2005, 03:26 AM
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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.
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  #3  
Old 01-14-2005, 07:01 AM
IowaStatePhiPsi IowaStatePhiPsi is offline
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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.

Last edited by IowaStatePhiPsi; 01-14-2005 at 07:05 AM.
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  #4  
Old 01-14-2005, 08:42 AM
mmcat mmcat is offline
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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.
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  #5  
Old 01-14-2005, 09:25 AM
ZTAngel ZTAngel is offline
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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!
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  #6  
Old 01-14-2005, 09:59 AM
KSigkid KSigkid is offline
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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.
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  #7  
Old 01-14-2005, 10:17 AM
Tom Earp Tom Earp is offline
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Angry

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!

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


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



Sure glad I am not allergic to nuts as love them!
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Last edited by Tom Earp; 01-14-2005 at 10:21 AM.
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  #8  
Old 01-14-2005, 10:29 AM
WCUgirl WCUgirl is offline
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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!).

Last edited by WCUgirl; 01-14-2005 at 10:32 AM.
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  #9  
Old 01-14-2005, 10:38 AM
aephi alum aephi alum is offline
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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.
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  #10  
Old 01-14-2005, 11:29 AM
HotDamnImAPhiMu HotDamnImAPhiMu is offline
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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.
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  #11  
Old 01-14-2005, 11:35 AM
33girl 33girl is offline
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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.
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  #12  
Old 01-14-2005, 11:49 AM
SSS1365 SSS1365 is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by HotDamnImAPhiMu
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 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.

Last edited by SSS1365; 01-14-2005 at 11:52 AM.
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  #13  
Old 01-14-2005, 02:07 PM
XOMichelle XOMichelle is offline
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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!
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  #14  
Old 01-14-2005, 02:25 PM
Peaches-n-Cream Peaches-n-Cream is offline
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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.
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  #15  
Old 01-14-2005, 03:28 PM
lifesaver lifesaver is offline
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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.
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