I'm writing this in a hospital waiting room.
now the other issues we had of the night became smaller, what with missing drink orders, lame excuse for wax paper found inside an enchilada and no comping until asked, and making the group of 13 wait an hour for food while watching other tables being served/having eaten & left... SOMEONE WITH A SEVERE GLUTEN ALLERGY WAS SENT TO THE HOSPITAL RIGHT AT THE END OF THE MEAL, after ordering from the dedicated GF menu, and asking to make sure that food is prepared safely for her to consume.
person in question had a seizure right at the table. we were the ones to call 911 and remove her from the table to the bathroom. what's worse, paramedics had arrived and left, yet we were STILL waiting for the manager to get to our table to talk to us. meanwhile, the whole dining section was looking on, wait staff passing by not really stopping to check if she was ok. NO HELP from this place. imagine if she was dining by herself -- might have been left for dead right there.
once His Majesty finally arrived, and i presented our issue to him, all i got was "we are serious about this", "we have been doing this for 9 years, never had an issue", because "everything is done according to guidelines".
this is relevant how? i've never driven drunk and killed anyone for 30+ years either. does that mean i can say it'll NEVER happen....despite a person lying right under my car as i emerge from the vehicle, like, right now??? can you GUARANTEE there can be no mistakes to be made among that large staff of yours? besides, if you "never had an issue" with allergies, why do i see multiple reviews in the Find Me Gluten Free app stating otherwise?? maybe those diners never brought it up to your attention, or maybe you just shunned them the way you did to us.
let me break this down a little bit. so, by "treating this seriously", do you mean:
- appearing from the kitchen to check on your guests a whole 10 minutes AFTER a life-threatening incident had happened?
- showing no other emotion but defensiveness?
- refusing to at least comp the meal for the person in question? (trust me, i'm not asking to eat free here though your food is nothing to rave about, nor was it my intention to gyp the waiter who wasn't entirely doing his job)
- refusing to give us the ingredient list (that you claimed to have on hand), and would produce that ONLY when the hospital asks for it?
- suggesting that the person in question might have eaten something ELSE before arriving at your restaurant, which is making her sick now?
- insisting that we pay in full just to "prove that we ate here, in case we have a problem with the allergy issue down the road"?
who does that??? and exactly what guidelines are you following???
let me tell you, this person in question is now crying bloody murder in a hospital room because she is in intense pain, suffering from multiple seizure episodes, and purging your contaminated food every way her body knows how. AND YOU ARE STILL TRYING TO SAY THAT THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FOOD YOU SERVED HER?
and i thought i might have misinterpreted his reactions/attitude in the heat of the moment (during which we both tried to be calm), but others at my table heard our conversation and thought likewise: he offered little to zero sympathy or solution to our problem (well, not even being there in the first place), did not own up to the issue at hand (more like fighting it the whole time, much less offering an apology), and basically treated me as if I was attempting to complain my way to a free meal.
mind you, although some of us strongly disagreed, we still paid in full (with a smaller than normal tip) -- just bc we didn't want the waiter to be penalized for the owner's inexcusable behavior (he claimed that he would have to pick up the tab if we didn't pay). we did it "just to prove" that we're not here to get a free meal out of you.
again, who does that???
Mr. Antonio Santillain, you had MANY chances along the way to rectify a customer issue, yet you chose the road to make it worse. much, much worse. you blew it big time, sir. just be careful of any lawsuit and formal complaint coming your way.
good luck doing business like this.
(i'm adding this on my GF list just so to warn people OFF this place. eat here at your own risk. seriously.) read more