Ignorant Server Of The Day

[NicoleAJ]

I always go to this fantastic place, the Gamble Mill Tavern, in central PA. It's pricey, but if I call the day that I'm going to dinner there, either the head chef will write on a menu in pencil exactly what I can have or he'll write a list for the server to discuss with me. I always get the same server, who is so wonderful she remembers to offer bread to my boyfriend but not to me and then always checks if the complimentary chocolate confection at the end of the meal is one that I can eat. I went there for Valentine's day and got a new server. When I showed up, the waitress said, "oh right, you're the one with the glutton problem," and my response was "Well yes, now that you mention it, I suppose I have a slight problem with gluttony, but right now the issue at hand is my gluten intolerance." Then, being an English grad student, I explained that there's no reason in the world that she should know how to pronounce that strange looking word, and she started to get a glimmer of recognition instead of a blank stare. I had a really good laugh about it when I got home.

[pegom1]

On a recent business trip to Mississippi with my husband, I asked the waiter at this very chic steakhouse to check the ingredients on the french onion soup. I asked if it was made at the restaurant . When the waiter returned, he brought the soup out and told me it was gluten free except for the crouton floating in it!

[MallysMama]

I have loved this topic!! I've laughed and laughed and laughed at the stories!! I serve at Outback 3-4 nights/days a week - so I could easily be one of these ignorant servers. However - I'm not usually stupid about allergies - it's alcohol that gets me! I once had a table order - what I heard to be - Smirnoff ON ice - but they wanted Smirnoff Ice. So, I bring back a small drink in a "rocks" glass...and he gives me the dumbest look and asks what it is. So, I tell him. Ooops. I go back to the bar - and it turns out we don't carry regular Smirnoff Ice (just flavored ones...and he didn't want those). Boy did I learn something new!! I'm still teased by co-workers about it. At least I can blame my stupidity on the fact that I don't drink - so I know NOTHING about alcoholic beverages! (Sure doesn't help my tips though!)

[PreOptMegs]

Gluten is a protein, so it is possible that it can be denatured by temperature and thus made inactive, but I do not know the exact temp range in which it does occur, but my point is that it is possible. I mean, eggs are mostly protein and look at how quickly they are denatured and thus coagulate (scrambled eggs). Each protein is different, but all have common biochemical baselines.

[joanne3482]

When I was first diagnosed, I was in North Pole, AK at a McDonalds and I ordered a burger, no bun. The guy behind the counter looked at me then looked at his key pad then looked at me again and then looked at his keypad and then looked at me and said, "There's no button for that." And so I told him he could just turn around and tell the prep cook behind him and he said "There's no button for that." And I said "Ok, nevermind."

The bad experience I've had (also in AK) was when I went into a KFC with some friends. I have DH so my skin was all broken out (still just after dx) and I was just having a coke. And our waitress looked at me and stopped and bluntly asked what was wrong with me. I told her and for the rest of the meal she walked AROUND me giving me wide berth in case I was lying and actually had some terrible skin condition she could catch. It could not be more obvious that was what she was doing. We wrote the nastiest complaint card to KFC that day.

[lpellegr]

Gluten is a protein, so it is possible that it can be denatured by temperature and thus made inactive, but I do not know the exact temp range in which it does occur, but my point is that it is possible. I mean, eggs are mostly protein and look at how quickly they are denatured and thus coagulate (scrambled eggs). Each protein is different, but all have common biochemical baselines.

Yes, you can denature the gluten protein by heat or other means so it no longer has the ability to perform its natural function, but when it is broken down in your digestive system or by scavenging macrophages and presented by antigen-presenting cells in your immune system those fragments of protein will still be seen by your immune system the same way. It would be lovely if heat was enough to do it, but unless you can break that sucker down into individual amino acids, it ain't gonna be enough. Heat can destroy its activity, but not its antigenicity.

[nettiebeads]

When I was first diagnosed, I was in North Pole, AK at a McDonalds and I ordered a burger, no bun. The guy behind the counter looked at me then looked at his key pad then looked at me again and then looked at his keypad and then looked at me and said, "There's no button for that." And so I told him he could just turn around and tell the prep cook behind him and he said "There's no button for that." And I said "Ok, nevermind."

Loved it!! (My dd is an exMc emp)

And I'm not surprised by your KFC. Some people are so so SO IGNORANT! Or as we say here - ignernt.

[cgilsing]

Hubby and I were at a pretty upscale restaraunt and really the whole thing turned out ok, because our server was willing to ask the chef anything we told him to ask, but the poor guy was sooooo stoned he couldn't remember more that one task at a time and that only stuck in his head for about 30 seconds I told him when I came in about celiac disease and asked that he help me with some suggestions of what I could have. He went back to the kitchen and asked the chef. When he came back he said I could have a steak or one of the fish entrees. Then he told me that something with pasta would be a great side dish with that! I reminded him about gluten and he again went and asked the chef what I could have for a side dish. This continued throughout the meal. He offered me bread, he suggested pastries for dessert, he brought croutons on the salad. Plus he never did remember to refill drinks or bring a check. Really he was a nice kid, and he probably would have been a good waiter too if he wasn't so stoned he couldn't keep his eyes open! I didn't get sick and really it became humorous! So no harm done!

[lukeslichy]

I've had more than one server say, "white bread isn't made from wheat, right?"

I also had a server swear up and down that steamed rice (rice, water) had gluten.

I, luckily, have not had many bad experiences.

One funny one was at a McDonald's in BFE, Texas. I ordered a burger with everything on it except the bun, and went through the spiel about the bread can't touch the meat, etc. All she could do was exclaim in a voice not meant for indoors, "YOU DON'T WANT NO BUN?!?!" She was baffled. Apparently atkins has not yet reached that part of the world.

When I worked at my old job, the people that worked in the bakery brought cresent rolls to the breakroom. "Craig" who worked in the bakery asked why I wasn't having a roll. I told him (for the like millionth time) that I couldn't eat wheat. He got this puzzled look on his face and said, cresent rolls have wheat in them? I said yes of course what did you think they were made from? (for crips sakes he WORKED in the bakery!) He says butter and kind of trailed off.... It was SO funny! I almost died laughing. My husband and I always remember "Craig" and his cresent rolls made from butter fondly.

-Heidi

[par18]

I've had more than one server say, "white bread isn't made from wheat, right?"

I also had a server swear up and down that steamed rice (rice, water) had gluten.

I, luckily, have not had many bad experiences.

One funny one was at a McDonald's in BFE, Texas. I ordered a burger with everything on it except the bun, and went through the spiel about the bread can't touch the meat, etc. All she could do was exclaim in a voice not meant for indoors, "YOU DON'T WANT NO BUN?!?!" She was baffled. Apparently atkins has not yet reached that part of the world.

ChelsE,

Was that east BFE or west BFE? Also did they ask you to supersize?

Tom

[penguin]

ChelsE,

Was that east BFE or west BFE? Also did they ask you to supersize?

Tom

East, between Texarkana and Dallas. And no, no supersize, because the chick was so DUMBFOUNDED that she lost her words, and apparently, her grammar.

[Suezboss]

I went to a health food market near my work to get some lunch, because I figured being a health food store they might be a little more informed. They had a tomato soup that looked good, so I asked if it had any gluten (wheat, barely etc) in it. She said, "No, no, no, it's vegetarian!" Haha!

Then I went to a Mexican restaurant and asked to speak to a manager to see if there was gluten in various sauces. He said well, there isn't any wheat in them, but there is flour. Haha, these people crack me up!

First, let me say that I am LOVING this post!!! I'm having a good laugh- it's making me feel better that I am not the only one out there to get these wacko responses to gluten-free!

and Yes, I've gotten the "there is no wheat, but we do put flour" on it more than once! And one of the times it was at a fancy hotel, I was a bit surprised that the head-chef said it when he came out... He said to tell the server to tell me "tell her there is no wheat, but we put flour in the sauce"... so when the chef came out to clairify, I told him "well, flour is wheat" and he said "well, that's why I said that"... um NO, you would n't have said it like that if you knew! nice save! ha ha

[penguin]

When I was at Starbucks today (not my usual one) I asked them to clean the blender before they made my frappucino, because the java chips have gluten. I said "I'm allergic to the java chips, please clean the blender". The teenager taking my order made me repeat three times, and didn't tell the person making it. I got the maker guy's attention and said that I would like for him to clean the blender first, and he said "well we rinse 'em". Great. I said that normally they sanitize one first (power washing and heat are my friend) and then he had the balls to say, "so are you like, really allergic?"

No, I just get a kick out of making things difficult. Since when does it MATTER. He was a manager. Dipstick.

[Guest nini]

I almost completely forgot about the one where I was in the health food store looking for gluten-free bread (3 years ago) and the doofus employee said, "OH!!! You can have SPELT bread!!! We have LOTS of SPELT bread!" Um no, spelt is a form of wheat! lol! She was so puzzled! She just looked at me like I had just grown 2 extra heads and then walked away!

[cultureslayer]

Not a server, but after I explained it to my parents for over an hour, my mother asked if I could just skip bread and pasta and get better, just a little slower! I strongly suspect that she would benefit from a gluten free diet, but just doesn't feel like going through the trouble. I was over there and the only "safe" stuff I could find was canned fruit and ice cream (unless I wanted to make rice and put refried beans on top, yum)! They eat a ton of mixes and pre-processed. She's not the quickest on the uptake sometimes too because she IMO needs a little T3 added with her synthroid but doesn't want to bother the doctor with it.

[sillyken]

My fav story was when I contacted an asian restaraunt and when I asked if a particular item had wheat there was a short pause with a cute asian woman that spoke little english replies "no, no wheat. Cash only. "

[penguin]

My fav story was when I contacted an asian restaraunt and when I asked if a particular item had wheat there was a short pause with a cute asian woman that spoke little english replies "no, no wheat. Cash only. "

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!!!

[debmidge]

And it's a bad thing to pay in "wheat"? At least that would be a good use for it.

[steveindenver]

As a newbie (just diagnosed with blood test last week, awaiting biopsy results), this message board has saved me, and this forum (Ignorant Server) has given me the humor I need! Keep it up.

I've got a boss who consistently tells me she'd die without beer or pizza. I feel like telling her she is going to go F*ck herself since I enjoy pizza, too. And our office is one to get pizzas every so often, so it will be interesting to gauge reactions. I do know come my birthday month, I am going to ask for a non-gluten non-dairy cake and see what I get.

[skipper30]

These are just too funny...it a good laugh and much needed ...thanks for sharing!!

We ate at a mexican restaurant righ tafter our son's diagnosis and they manager was trying SO hard to be helpful and get him just what he needed...we explained that we wanted a CORN tortilla with cheese and needed it prepared on a clean surface not used for wheat products and with non wheat used utensils...he was happy to do it for us but did let us know that their flour tortillas were not made from wheat....

[JenAnderson]

"YOU DON'T WANT NO BUN?!?!"

OMG...I thought Oklahoma was bad....And I'm a Texan!

[2Boys4Me]

I was at McDonald's last week, getting take out. I said the the lady taking the order (about 6 times) Cheeseburger...plain...NO bun...he's allergic...don't take it OFF a bun, I don't want it to ever touch a bun. So she tried to give me a cheeseburger w/o cheese instead of with ONLY cheese, and we were being interrupted every two minutes by the guy who ordered ahead of me because there was no bacon on his BLT sandwich. (I did explain to that guy that the sign CLEARLY says sandwiches may vary from restaurant to restaurant, and this one does BLTs w/o B...he laughed). Anyway, finally my order is taken, I watch them put the cheeseburger with only cheese in a box, never touching a bun...and a manager walked by. I called her over to ask about the hashbrowns and eggs in case we ever have to have breakfast there - not likely, but you never know.

Me: Hi, can you tell me if the hashbrowns and eggs are gluten free?

Her: (Blank look with wide eyes, like I've just shot her or something.)

Me: Do you know what gluten is?

Her: (Oh My God! She's been shot again.)

Me: Maybe you have a guide with allergy information on it? Like your nutritional info? Because I've checked the website and it's really quite useless for allergy info. (We're in Canada)

Her: (Is she even alive?!)

Me: Maybe you have an 800 number I can call your corporate headquarters for the information.

Her: Uh, I really don't know anything about that.

Me: (Now I look like I've been shot) Okay, keep up the good work.

Yeesh.

[Generic]

I had surgery last July. I was in the recovery room, (still under the affects of the anesthesia). I was barely aware of even being conscience. I was having alot of pain, so they wanted to give me some vicodin pills. The nurse comes back with the pills and some crackers to eat. I had a allergy wrist band on clearly saying no wheat/ gluten. She tries to make me eat them. I'm trying to explain I can't eat it. I'm groggy and my brain is thinking clearly. THANK GAWD! the nurse who had signed me in was there, she intravened and explained it for me. She also was a celiac!

[schuyler]

I had a really dumb surver this afternoon. I went to lunch at a place that serves breakfast all day long. I ordered a veggie omlet without cheese and I explained my food limitations to the waitress. I went through everything like;no milk in the eggs, no toast, no seasonings, check for cc, and I gave her one of my triumph dining cards to show the chef. She assured me that it would be no problem to prepare a gluten-free meal and that she knew someone with celiac. Hearing that really releaved me, and when my food came, I ate in confidence. Well, after I was done with my omlet, she asked me how I liked it. I told her that it was one of the best omlets that I'd ever had.

-She replied, " I thought you'd like it because I had them make it special for you."

-Me, "You did, what did they do?".

-Stupid (smiling; very proud of herself), " Well, since you said that you didn't want milk or cheese used, I thought that the omlet would fall apart, so I had them mix pancake batter into the eggs to make it better."

-Me (In utter disbelief), "You did what???!!!! I told you that I can't have that stuff!!!!! Didn't you show the chef my card???"

-O Brilliant One (talking to me as if I were a two year old), "Sweetie, I didn't have to show him the card because we don't make wheat pancakes here; only white ones, and those won't make you sick because they're just made out of flour, eggs, and water, so you'll be just fine."

Well, I haven't been fine since about 30 minutes after finishing. I ate a HUGE omlet filled with gluten. I was so upset at the restaurant that I started crying. The manager apoligized to me, took care of our tab, and he gave the waitress a lecture about listening to what a customer says and if they tell you to give something to the chef, do it. He then decided to tell all of the servers that if any customer says that they have a food allergy or intolerance, they must have the chef come out and talk to the person to verify what can be used. I was really pleased with how the manager handled things because he was really on top of the situation. I kind of felt bad for my server because she really was trying to be nice and I know that she felt bad about what she did, but she should have listened to what I told her to do.

Right now, I'm in horrible pain. The worst I've ever felt. I've also developed a new symptom; muscle cramps, which are absolutely horrible. My legs do not want to work

I am glad that I was able to let this restaurant know how serious celiac can be, and I'd like to think that maybe what happened today will keep another celiac from getting glutened at this restaurant.

Sorry for such a long post.

-Danielle

[Guest mmc]

First, I would like to apologize on behalf of ALL restaurant staff members to every celiac who has ever had a ignorant server. manager, chef during a dining experience. I have spent the better part of 15 years in the restaurant business, some as a chef, some as a dining room manager. Reading these posts made me want to vomit...I can relate because I've had more than my fair share of dining experiences, (and I haven't even ventured into the restaurant world since suspected celiac). Some such as "no, no wheat. Cash only." are absolutely priceless and I got a good kick out of it, but for the ignorance of restaurant staff in general, there is no excuse. Companies no longer take the time to properly train employees because of the high turnover rate and most employees think of thier jobs as a "just until..." job, not a career.

Again, I apologize for the ignorance...

Melisa