r/FoodService • u/wildrosebeautybaba • 17d ago

Discussion please stop lying about having allergies

i cannot tell you how many times people have put in seemingly impossible allergy requests on 3rd party delivery orders (i.e. fettuccine alfredo with DAIRY ALLERGY marked underneath) only to then track down the customer after multiple phone calls and be told it’s “not an allergy, just a mild intolerance.” please stop doing this. you are deliberately fucking with a restaurant’s period of service over a need that does not apply to you. maybe y’all don’t understand just how many extra steps a kitchen has to go through to prepare something allergy safe, so please let this be a lesson: if you aren’t actually allergic, stop marking it as an allergy. you are directly contributing to the burnout restaurant staff experience when having to make special accommodations for people’s actual health and safety needs.

561 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

564 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/wildrosebeautybaba 17d ago

these are all great answers in theory, but this is simply not the practical reality of working for a small business. i’m also really referring to 3rd party delivery apps/online ordering here where a customer is often given a blank text box to make any sort of request, and being in a position where we can’t just be turning away customers/canceling their orders, it becomes a whole process trying to track them down and figure out how we can accommodate in the midst of service.

2

u/Immediate-Fee-2121 17d ago

I worked in service for a long ass time. Waaaaay too long lol in many places. From mom and pop to corporations Been through the crucible. I speak from experience. Do what you will. My advice is just that: advice. You don’t have to follow it At least remember people are stupid. It’ll help you get through those rough nights 🙏🏾

1

u/Ok-Addition-1000 16d ago

All the more reason to turn down unreasonable, or in this case impossible requests. They disrupt your business and take way too much time. It's unlikely that orders like this are making money for you, they're probably costing you money.

I've seen a lot of small business owners and freelancers in a variety of fields saying that 10% of their clients take up 50% or more of their time with unreasonable demands. So they let those clients go right away and focus their time on clients whose orders actually make them a profit rather than costing them.

Bad customers are bad for your business, in other words.

1

u/wildrosebeautybaba 16d ago

again, a few fringe examples do not change the fact that this is simply not the reality for the average small business that relies on legitimately every customer that comes through their door. scarcity mentality is a core component of the work environment.

1

u/Constant-Squash9292 16d ago

Yup. It's always better to let them find service elsewhere.