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Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
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I work on airplanes, and from time to time we have someone come on with nut allergies. They ask that no nuts be served on the flight, etc. My company's policy is to honor that we won't serve that particular passenger any nuts, but the people around them...in the rows forward and behind often want them. We advise the passenger that, while we understand their situation, we cannot guarantee that someone near them has not brought on their own supply of nuts. Also, they expect us to wash each and every tray table before they board....um...that won't happen. There is neither enough man power or time to do that. They are welcome to wipe down their own tray tables, and the tray tables in their rows.
I realize that it is dangerous for some people to be exposed to an allergen, but to expect the rest of the world to accommodate them is unrealistic. They need to be prepared, bring their own epi pens, meds, etc.
Yah, I hope the guy recovers. @ the same time, he noticed the waiter wasn't paying much attention to him nor his concern about the food, the lighting was dim, the place was noisy. If the victim knows what's @ stake - potentially, his life - he should have marched his plate into good lighting & verified what he was getting - or asked his partner to taste it for him. Something, anything.
I don't know about Canada, but wait staff @ restaurants in the US are typically underpaid (except for the possibility of tips for good service). & it's an entry-level job, unless you're good @ it. My advice to the victim for next time:
1. Carry a flashlight & use it (& carry your Epipen. Keep another in the car, if you like. [If it were me, I'd stash multiples in car, coat, home, office ...]).
2. See if there's a litmus test or something similar for your allergy, to test food & drink with. Whatever it costs, if it works, it's a lifesaver. Get several, & keep them with your Epipens.
3. Evaluate your dietary habits. It's asking a lot of wait staff to interrogate them about food prep & ingredients (see para 2 above). If your allergy is dire, you might consider limiting your restaurant meals to places that cater to people with food allergies, or @ least cultivate a handful of restaurants & become a regular there - get to know them & inform them of your allergies.
And it sounds like the guy with the allergy didn't get upset until he saw the waiting otherwise smiling and joking around and not profusely apologizing. So he was just mad the guy was making a scene for his "mistake".
Sad story but if I'm allergic that bad where I'd die or become comatose if I ate seafood, I'd probably eat at home or places that don't even serve seafood and ALWAYS carry my epipen.
I must agree with this. The customer has to take some responsibility. I too have to carry an Epi-pen wherever I go. When this is necessary you absolutely cannot depend upon others to make certain you will be safe. Mistakes happen, people don't quite understand the seriousness of allergic reactions.
Why would the customer leave this very important piece of medical equipment in a car when a restaurant is the very place he would be likely to need it the most? Epi-pens must be used within nano seconds of an allergic reactions, not in the minutes it takes to run to a car and get them. It is not the waiter's responsibility to make sure he is safe. A busy waiter is not necessarily going to look at what he is serving. Maybe he should but realistically that may not happen.
And for goodness sake, anyone who is that allergic might just want to take a good look at his food before eating it no matter how dark the restaurant is.
I don't want to say the poor customer was totally at fault, that's not the case, but I believe he should have been more alert given his serious condition.
This makes me think of the commercial currently running on television where the girl at the party goes into anaphylactic shock because the hostess forgot and put peanut butter in the brownies (OMG, it's on right NOW!, lol).
Years ago I had to stop dating a well off woman I met online. She never wanted to pay for a single meal out. She would always find some serious fault that caused the restaurant to give her the meal for free. Always. This waiter had to spend a night in jail because a high net worth opportunist played fast and loose with his life to score a big pay-day. When a mistake is obviously not your fault you don't have to press the advantage to the degree this couple is doing. Any restaurant pretentious enough to have both beef and salmon tartare on the menu would be fighting to make things right out of court. But that isn't enough, they don't want a settlement, they want blood. The waiter is just a pawn. What we will never know is how it all turns out for that couple. Karma is a beyotch. I believe that. Think twice about doing crap like this in your own life. I have been involved in two accidents and I could have played the insurance company Powerball Jackpot game but that isn't how I roll. I have found that living with integrity has brought money and opportunity my way when they were most needed. Not nearly as much as I might want, but at least as much as I need.
Our personal health and well-being is not the responsibility of those around us. If you're deathly allergic to certain foods, don't eat anything prepared by someone else.
The problem really is, the waiter did not take the right dish to the table. The customer had ordered Beef, and told the waiter that he was allergic to fish. The waiter would have seen the food in lighted area when he picked it up, and would have known he was serving the wrong food. No matter what, the waiter made a huge mistake, and that mistake almost killed someone. As the customer had told the waiter there was a problem if served fish, it was up to the waiter to make sure it was beef not fish.
As the waiter was an employee of the restaurant, and the cook another employee is the one that put up the wrong dish, you can bet there is going to be a huge law suite against the restaurant before this is over.
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