Is this grim or am I being pathetic?

[Idontwantbeans]

As the title says. Name changed as I really don’t know if it’s just me.

Went to a local garden centre for coffee with my mum today. While we were there we purchased two jacket potatoes.

I ordered bacon with cheese for my potato. I have a suspected allergy and am following a diet that removes foods. At this moment I cannot have legumes in any form among other things.

When my food came they brought beans and cheese. I cannot have this. The girl that came out asked to look at the receipt and I pointed out what I’d ordered. She seemed to have a huge issue with taking it away and giving me what I’d paid for.

5 minutes later my food returned. I could see straight away that she had scraped the beans off and replaced it with cheese and bacon.

It’s a Sunday and I wasn’t going to cause a fuss so just took it. The cafe was full by this point.

On eating the food was cold apart from the bacon that they’d just cooked. I also had to pick beans out that she’d missed.

Am I being precious or is this as disgusting as I think. If you work in food standards what would be your opinion. What if id been highly allergic to the beans or the sauce that was stuck all over the potato?

First world problem for me I know but could have been a serious issue for someone else.

Complain to the Environmental Health service at your local council. This should be taken seriously.

@Idontwantbeans

Your Mum🙄🙄. 😂😂

You wouldn't want to make a fuss about something that could kill someone now would you!?!?!

As a vegetarian of 35 years, I've had my fair share of this kind of nonsense & no, I won't eat it if you've just take the meat out if it!! 🤮

I'm 'lucky' in that it'll upset my stomach but it won't do any real harm like an allergy.

if they send vouchers maybe your mum can use them with a friend!!

Do let us know what response you get.

I had made a huge fuss and complained to the manager. It's no okay! At all.

@Crunchymum

she didn't make a fuss because her Mum asked:said not to.

shes written an email to the management to ask what their policy is & seems very determined to follow it up. It's more than most would do & is actually more likely to get a better outcome than simply insisting on a fresh meal.

If I hadn’t have paid I’d have walked out. If id have paid I’d have handed it back and asked to speak to a manager. Especially given you have dietry requirements! Outrageous.

Absolutley unacceptable and potentially life threatening.
With so much news coverage of the devastating effects of fatal food allergies and pepole eating incorrectly labelled food they really should know and do better. I'd definitely be contacting them to explain.

My OH is a Head Chef and has been for 20 years now. He said his last Environmental Health Officer visit was roughly 50% check of the kitchen (e.g. temps, everything labelled, cleanliness etc) and 50% was how he handles allergies; paperwork, how he makes certain foods separately etc.

It should be taken very seriously but it sounds like she hasn't been given appropriate training- which is down to the management.

@AdultFemaleWoman

Don't be so bloody rude. It's none of your business.

You didn't have to make any kind of fuss, just tell them that they hadn't bought you what you ordered and you needed a fresh serving. It has nothing to do with allergies (someone with actual allergies would have got the meal changed) and everything to do with basic customer service.

The cafe was shit and your mum was ridiculous, but you were - yes - pretty pathetic. Grow a spine.

Despite your mum not wanting you to make a fuss, you absolutely should have refused it. You told her you can't eat legumes and she didn't care. If it was me, I'd have refused, as I'm allergic to tomatoes. I wouldn't have trusted them, so would have asked for a refund instead. It's extremely poor behaviour from a food establishment.

i thought of that case too, reading this. Please “make a fuss” ie the appropriate response complain to manager. Guessing your mum is of the keep quiet don’t complain type. Having said this the allergy is irrelevant they brought you the wrong food and responsed badly.

Not relevant. If you don't wantbeans on your food, you want food without beans on....not food that has had beans on which have been scraped off. The reason doesn't actually matter.

Sorry that you had an unpleasant meal and was treated as though you were an inconvenience because you returned your meal....
Your mum is wrong in telling you not to make fuss !!! You could have had an allergic reaction or anaphylaxis .
I have severe allergies to certain foods and carry epi-pens and prescription antihistamines and my mum and family all had training in how to administer the injections if ever needed .
Please be very careful of cross contamination when you eat out and take your time reading food labels as there can be hidden ingredients. I found keeping a food diary helped as I recorded what my reactions were like and how they affected me .
Ask your doctor about allergy skin tests and controlled tests at the hospital . Hope this helps xx

I’m not a complainer but I would here unless they have a sign saying they can’t cater to allergies.

Totally incorrect. I’m anaphylactic to legumes. A bean would kill me

I have had this exact situation. Ordered something and told them to leave the ice cream off the top. It came with ice-cream so I explained and sent it back. It came back without the ice-cream but with the ice-cream that had been on it still melted on top from earlier. I sent it back and asked for a fresh one, which they did, while giving me dirty looks.

My mother was mortified that I 'made a fuss'. I wasn't apologising for sending it back. It wasn't my mistake and it's their job to fix it. I'm paying for it after all. I don't want to be in pain, which I would have been if I ate it, and my mother is a bit of a martyr. I was polite and reasonable.

Send it back and don’t pay. It’s crazy what these places think they can get away with.

That is piss poor behaviour, OP, and you really shouldn’t have settled for that.

Absolutely this. An allergy to beans, whoever heard of such a thing? OP you must be mistaken or an attention seeker.

What do you mean, peanuts are legumes too?

(Not great with emojis but please imagine a sarcasm one)

I loathe bad customer service. If you don’t like people don’t work in customer facing roles, or act like you’re doing someone a
favour. No, it’s your job! The bad attitude alone after having gotten your order wrong, would have rubbed me up the wrong way and resulted in a complaint, let alone the rest of it.

I’ve worked in hospitality, and I imagine they would have had training. That food would have gone back, and I would have requested a refund. Like others have said it’s not about making a fuss. There are many other things to consider.

I have a friend who is allergic to legumes. She once returned a meal because they put peas on the plate after she requested "no peas". She didn't realise they had simply scraped the peas off and served the same plate until she started to vomit! I think that restaurant learned their lesson.

@BuildingAShepherdsHut

Thank you, thank you, thank you for being an allergy ally and spreading awareness like in your cafe situation. Please keep spreading awareness!

I hope your DS’s allergy is managed ok.

Sorry to break it to you, but in my experience, more unusual allergies are often not taken as seriously as the more common allergies.

Many people don’t realise that food places only have to give you a full ingredients list if they sell you food that is ‘pre-packaged’. If they sell you food without packaging, they are only legally forced to give you information about the top 14 most common allergens.

I have allergies outside the top 14. This makes eating and drinking out very hard. For example: I am allergic to pepper (including ground pepper). Legally, a restaurant does not have to tell me if their food contains pepper, because pepper is not on the list of ‘top 14 allergens’. I always have to ask to speak to the chef before ordering my food, because the front of house staff don’t know.

I once had a chef question me, it went like this:
me: “I need to check if (meal) includes pepper please because I’m allergic to pepper, including ground pepper.”
chef: “really? You’re allergic to pepper?”
me: “yes I am”
chef: “what, like it actually does something bad to you?”
me: “yes”
chef: “what happens if you eat it?”
me: (explains symptoms and gets out my EpiPen)
chef: “wow I can’t believe someone’s allergic to pepper, I’ve never met anyone like that in all my years of being a chef” (then chef finally goes in search of the ingredients list on the packet to tell me if the meal does include pepper).

It felt like the chef was almost doubting that I actually am allergic to pepper.

For anyone looking for allergy support, or to help raise awareness of allergies I really recommend the charity ‘Allergy UK’ https://www.allergyuk.org/

I also highly recommend the website ‘Allergy Companions’ https://www.allergycompanions.com/
This is like a Tripadvisor for people with allergies. You can write reviews of how a venue dealt with your allergy & you can read reviews. I now review every restaurant/cafe I go to!

@Idontwantbeans
@BuildingAShepherdsHut

I have a serious allergy to kiwi fruit.

I once ordered a baked cheesecake in a cafe that was served with a kiwi dressing, of which there was no mention on the menu.

Naturally, I sent it back, explaining that I have a serious allergy.

The waitress brought it back and it was blatantly obvious that they'd scraped it off and replated it.

I calmly asked to speak to the manager, explained my complaint and asked about the nature of their staff's allergen training. The manager was incredibly apologetic and my bill was refunded in full.

I didn't want to get anybody into trouble, but fucking about with allergens is a really stupid game to play and I doubt any cafe or restaurant owner wants to see somebody made violently ill or even killed as a result of their practices.

OP, I'd call them for a chat and explain in depth what happened.

A big thank you as well to you for sticking up for people with allergies!

Your experience was awful. They absolutely should not have scraped the beans off and given you back the same potato to eat.
I have allergies too. I react to tiny traces. If that had been me, if I had eaten the potato with traces of baked beans, I would have had an allergic reaction. This includes facial swelling, and potentially anaphylaxis, requiring my EpiPen and 999.

I remember being admitted to hospital just after my 18th birthday for a similar allergic reaction. I remember the absolute feeling of terror that I would never reach my 19th birthday and would never achieve the career I want, would never achieve all my other life goals. It was terrifying. To everyone reading - please remember people like me. Please stand up for people with allergies whenever you can. Please DO ‘make a fuss’ about allergies. You never know, your actions might end up saving a life.

@Idontwantbeans