To think the kitchen were deliberately trolling her?

[Bernadettebleu]

DD is vegan. She went for dinner with a friend at Wetherspoons last night. She ordered a vegan burger. When she took a second bite she bit into a piece of streaky bacon in the middle of the burger. It’s hard to see how that could have happened accidentally. She sent it back politely and a new one was brought out. The server said ‘I hope it’s vegan this time!’. She opened it up and there was a piece of bacon in the middle again.

DD is very quiet and conflict averse some said nothing and ended up just paying the bill and leaving. She wishes she had made more of a fuss though.

I can’t see how this could have been accidental, twice. It definitely feels as though someone in the kitchen was trolling her. AIBU to think this?

She was a teen and she was out with her friend. I can see why she didn't kick up a fuss.
If she isn't going back to that Wetherspoon's I would write a Tripadvisor review with the pictures to warn other vegans.

as I said to AncoraAmarena..
It was a joke - hence saying I was being facetious.

I completely understand the OPs point, and agreed that this was poor service. All I was saying is that the way Weatherspoons describe the creation of a plant-based meal makes it sound quite Frankensteinian, whereas ... oh, never mind, just miss the point and call me crass and ignorant.
I'm sure you are perfect

I doubt Wetherspoons create each burger patty by hand. They will buy them in frozen and cook them, so bacon in the middle of it would be a supplier problem, surely?

Once, I could put it down to a mistake

Twice, that's on purpose

Regardless of if the burger is prepared on site or off, I would complain to head office. There's clearly an issue somewhere

She (or you if she isn't confident enough) need to go in and ask to speak to the manager and who ever is in charge in the kitchen.
It seems a bizarre thing to do deliberately.

She must be at least 18 though? Wetherspoons wouldn't serve an under 18 whether ordering alcohol or not.

It isn't just allergens, what if someone barred from eating pork on religious grounds had ordered that burger?

I’m going to stick up for spoons here. They are run off their feet, they are just putting toppings on burgers like a production line, easy to make a mistake. They probably had a miscommunication in the kitchen. Somebody has probably gone in and mentioned bacon, and they probably misheard and thought the customer wanted bacon, so made up another burger with bacon on. If you’re in a hurry and somebody brings back a vegan burger and mentions bacon, your first thought probably wouldn’t have been that there was already bacon on. It’s a perfectly plausible explanation given the conditions. My DS has had a vegan burger at spoons a few times, even though he’s actually a meat eater, and there’s never been any bacon on it. It could be people playing up at this particular location, but honestly I’m not sure they did it on purpose.

I would write an email of complaint, because like PP have said, giving out the wrong food could have serious consequences, but as for thinking it was deliberate? I’m inclined to say that on this occasion it’s probably unfair to attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by incompetence, or just being rushed off your feet.

She knows she should have said something. She’s a teenager though and not massively confident unlike me who would have definitely complained!

She needs to learn how to complain though, it's not about kicking up a fuss, it is about saying "this isn't what i ordered" and for the next one "i would like to speak to the shift-leader" or seeking that person out herself. You can do that quietly, discreetly etc. But it is a life lesson that too many people haven't learned.

Id say that was on purpose and id make a fuss

The first mistake could have been a supplier or kitchen error but to NOT check the second burger going out is piss poor service.

A trip advisor review would be a good way to go and might spark a proper investigation into that particular branch of Wetherspoons before they kill someone with an allergy.

I read it as bacon had been added on top of the burger. So added by a staff member.

Anyone going to Wetherspoons after his behaviour over brexit and the way he treated his staff during covid is mad.

So what if she is 18 or even 19? That’s still a teenager.

Can she write to head office? This really isn't on, as PP said people can have allergies etc. A letter is a way to flag a potential issue higher up without direct confrontation. it can be hard to assert yourself in that situation, vegans are made to feel like they're awkward enough already (not a vegan!).

I cant get over the fact that she settles a bill in wetherspoons after receiving the food. In all tbe Wetherspoons I've been to up and down the country that has never been allowed.
The server said ‘I hope it’s vegan this time!’. She opened it up and there was a piece of bacon in the middle again
Come on! All your daughter had to say is ' you know when you said, I hope its vegan this time...... guess what!!!' If she didnt want to appear confrontational. It would have been a complaint but with good humour.
Tell her to speak up and stop being a doormat .
Where is this Spoons were you pay at the end?

That's much worse than eating decomposing bits of animal, which is a really good idea to have slowly going around your long intestine, extracting all those lovely rotting carcass remains. So healthy and not in any way contributing to bowel cancer or gut problems.

It's rubbish. For lots of reasons.

Once happens, but twice? If not someone taking the piss then crap kitchen organisation.

She could have had a major allergy who knows?

I think you should whack off an email to the branch and to the head office. See what happens.

I'm Never Never Land. 🙄

Well, that's Wetherspoons for you.

Not everyone can afford to have such principles.

Wetherspoons offers burgers at less than a tenner, most other places charge £15 these days. It's a cheap place for cash strapped teens to meet.

Exactly this. I would rather eat 'plant based mash' any day.

Some daft comments from vegans and non-vegans alike on this thread.

OP - I'd complain to Wetherspoons HQ. It is (obviously) completely unacceptable to have meat products in anything marked vegan or vegetarian. Even if this is a supplier problem, Wetherspoons still need to own it.

That's completely outrageous! I think Twitter is the way to go - certainly they need to be made aware and a public forum is a good place to ensure that the customer services team are informed. Even giving the benefit of the doubt and assuming it was an honest error the first time, there's no excuse the second time around, and failing to check it was correct is also very poor service.

If the 'vegan' burgers are actually mislabeled in the freezer then that's a serious failing in terms of kitchen safety - obviously has the potential to cause distress to a vegan, but could be indicative of other issues and as previous posters have said food management can have serious consequences for allergy sufferers. I know that's not the case here, but the potential is clear.

If the kitchen was trolling then they deserve to be sacked, frankly. They would be bringing the firm into disrepute, as well as everything else.

I'm not vegan and am quite surprised to find myself up on my high horse about this, but I would be furious and would, in your daughter's place, feel justified in raising this with head office.

Totally agree.

Being able to bring up issues in eating places is a valuable life skill that everyone has need of at least once in their lives. I see so much passivity on here and it astounds me. For context I'm an introvert and not massively confident, but I do know how to complain about bad service. I worry more about being taken for a mug than a do about embarrassing myself.