I usually love to come to Chili's, partly because they make it easy to know what I can have, having a gluten allergy. But today, the manager, Josh, made two people at our table cry, and then didn't even make it right.
Let me start by saying, I work in customer service and hold myself to a high standard. I try to do everything in my power to make my customers happy, because I understand that if not for them, I don't have a job.
I told our server, Cheyenne (who was lovely, by the way), that I had a gluten allergy, which I watched her write down. My husband and I both ordered the 6 oz. sirloin. While my husband is not picky about how his meat is done, I am. I ordered medium, and because meat at a restaurant is so lean, if it is even slightly overdone, it is tough, in my opinion. So when it came out, Cheyenne asked us to check it before she left the table. I felt mine was a bit overdone, but because we had already waited 40 minutes for the food, I was willing to suck it up. However, the manager, Josh, had seen that it was a problem for me and took it to be fixed. Within moments, he brought the same plate BACK out to me and told me that it WAS cooked properly, and that in the future, I should order medium rare. While I didn't appreciated being told **I** ordered wrong, I decided that the best thing I could do is just leave it be, because obviously, I wasn't dealing with an accommodating management staff.
However, as he walked away, Cheyenne came back and wanted to know if I was okay with everything, because she genuinely cared. I said it was fine, but as I was saying that, I looked down and realized there were fried onions that were stuck in my mashed potatoes. Because of my allergies, I could not eat it, so I put my face in my hands and asked her to take it. I didn't want anything else. I then had to leave the table and go to the bathroom to compose myself because I was emotional. I just wanted to eat lunch with my family at a place that would/could be respectful of my dietary needs.
I know I take a risk when eating out, because there is always a risk of cross-contamination. But I do also think that when an allergy has been made known, the staff should make a reasonable effort to help.
When I came back to the table, my youngest was crying and my husband told me that the manager had come back to the table and told him that he didn't see anything on the plate (indicating that he didn't see fried onions and essentially calling me a liar), but that he would get me something else. I had lost my appetite and no longer trusted that the staff would make a true effort to keep me from getting sick. I had already ordered something that was supposed to be GF.
All this to say, when a customer has a problem with the way the food is cooked, just make it right. Don't lecture me on how I was wrong and then call me a liar. Oh, and he removed my meal from the ticket, but there was no apology or attempt to make our dining EXPERIENCE right. Very frustrated, to say the least. I am glad I decided to leave before the ticket came. I came home and made myself a lunch, while my husband stayed to finish his meal. If I had stayed, the entire restaurant may have heard this review in person. read more