Tuesday, January 13, 2009

When Service Stinks - It Smells Like Wild Dog

Thought I'd include this bad experience I had written about in a previous blog from last year.

Bad experiences I have had occurred at Wild Wing Cafe one night (Ardsley Plaza, Charlotte, NC) when we ordered nachos with NO jalapenos and told the server I am allergic to them. A different guy brought out the platter and each cheesy chip had a jalapeno sitting on it. We told him I am allergic to them and sent it back only to have the same one returned with the jalapenos picked off! We could still see the indentation from them on the cheese AND some droplets of jalapeno juice were still on the chips! Now, it wouldn't have KILLED me to eat them but I would have become tremendously uncomfortable with hives, swollen and runny eyes, asthma coughing and of course, the need to give myself a shot, which I hate to do.
Another bad experience was at the Fox and Hound in Winston-Salem, NC. I handed my allergy card to the waitress and asked her to check with the kitchen staff if the tartar sauce was safe for me to eat. I rarely eat fried foods but the Fish & Chips sounded good. She came back a little while later saying, "they don't know, so you better just not order it." SAY WHAT? I got up and asked for the manager on duty to come speak to me. I handed him my card and asked him to check the label of the tartar sauce and see if it was safe for me. (Often contains mustard powder or mustard flour.) He checked, I couldn't eat it. But to have to go through the hassle of demanding service like that is bollocks! Hello? Is anybody listening? CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NOT A REQUEST, IT IS AN EXPECTATION! I have more than 20 years of food and beverage service under my belt and know this is not the way good business is conducted.

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