Boycot Frankie and Bennys

[Cherry.Chops]

Ive put this in the main forum because i wanted everyone to see it.
This is my first dealing with a non-vegan restaurant and im NOT happy.

This is the letter im sending to head office. Im not allergic, but i think saying that i am is the only wany they will listen to me.

To whom it may concern

On the 21stDecember 2008, I visited your Kettering branch to order a takeaway.
I am severely allergic to dairy products, so I ordered my pizza with the manageress, asking her to make sure I got NO cheese on my pizza. When it came I checked it and it had cheese on it. I presented it to her, and she took it back to the chef to get me a ‘new pizza.’
When it came back she showed it to me quickly, and at the time I didn’t see any cheese.
I had to pay full price and I didn’t even get an apology.
It was only when I got home that I moved a piece of tomato and found a lump of melted cheese!!
The Chef had just scraped off the topping and replaced it. Further more, the manageress was standing there, talking to him and watching him!!
If I had eaten even a small bit of this pizza I could have nearly died.
I am so angry about what happened, the total disrespect, disregard, incompetence and sheer laziness of the chef, and the total misconduct of the Manageress!!

We had 1 x 15” pizza that was stone cold due to waiting around, A cheese burger (that had no fries, yet we were charged for them) that was also stone cold again due to waiting around and a smaller pizza that should have come with no cheese but for a second time had cheese in it….A total waste of £31.00

This is completely unsatisfactory and I don’t believe that what happened to me was simply an accident, but total ignorance and neglect on the people in question and because of this I am reporting you to the Food Standards Agency, and I will be seeing my lawyer to discuss suing you for negligence.

I will never be visiting ANY of your food chains again, and I will be spreading the word about what happened and will be urging people not to eat in your restaurants.

I hope to heat from you soon
Yours sincerely

[BJJNick]

awesome!

[emzy1985]

Wow! What a powerful letter! Please let us know what kind of response you get.

[Risker]

Good letter but I would avoid making threats in letters like that, you'll get much more cooperation without them imho.

If you are seeking legal representation it's also best not to make threats from a legal standpoint, speak to your solicitor first and they will advise you on what you should/shouldn't be telling them. Either way you should only make statements of fact, no threats or lies, it won't help you in the end.

[Cherry.Chops]

i wasnt planning on suing them as im not allergic and id need proof that i am. But i think if i actually had the money too i would put in a case, but i wanted to show them how ANGRY i am about this.
Thank you so much for all our support

[Pob]

I've only eaten in Frankie and Benny's once since going vegan.

Have to say that my experience was totally different. I asked the waitress if there was anything that could be made vegan. She spoke with the chef and he made me a decent sized meal from scratch. The waitress was really helpful and enthusiastic about getting me sorted with a decent meal.

I can understand boycotting the restaurant in question and complaining about those particular members of staff, but I'm sure it's not company policy to give cheese to people that ask for cheese free food.

Crap food and bad staff attitude is just as possible in veggie restaurants.

[Gorilla]

i wasnt planning on suing them as im not allergic and id need proof that i am. But i think if i actually had the money too i would put in a case, but i wanted to show them how ANGRY i am about this.
Thank you so much for all our support

i can understand you're angry but threatening them and saying you nearly could have died when it's not in the least bit true isn't a good way to go about complaining, IMO.

[Cherry.Chops]

I just want them to realise the severity of the situation, and if i happened to be allergic, i could have died. Thats the point im trying to make.
I havnt sent the letter yet, so i may make a few changes based on your suggestions.

I have been to frankies' before i was vegan and one waitress was particually helpful, but it is the job of the chef and especially the manageress to make sure people get what they asked for and i think it was totally..well i dont even have a word. im so angry at them both for being so irresponsible.

[Ruby Rose]

You're entirely free, of course, Cherry C, to make your complaint in any way you see fit. Although if I were the person on the receiving end of your letter, I'd certainly be able to see your anger, but I'm not sure I'd immediately see what the issues were that you want put right, and how you want them to be put right.

Personally, I'm not sure that claiming that you are so highly allergic to dairy that cross-contamination puts your life at risk is necessarily helpful if it's not true, particularly if your order included other items with cheese.

If you feel it is negligent behaviour (rather than, say, sloppy kitchen practice or lack of understanding about allergy on the part of the chef), you would need to be absolutely certain that the chef (with the manageresses connivance if, as you say, she was standing there when he did it) deliberately only scraped off and re-topped your food in the full knowledge of an allergy risk (rather than, say, giving you another pizza which had been cross-contaminated by a piece of cheese getting mixed up with the other ingredients being put on top of it).

And unless you genuinely intend to take legal action or file a complaint with the Food Standards Agency, again this might slightly detract from the points you want them to take on board.

IMHO, I don't think that calling for a boycott is a proportionate response to this one bad experience you have had, but it's entirely up to you.

[Cherry.Chops]

i will defenatly take that into consideration. I am planning on reporting them to the food standards agency once i find the right contact detail.

I'll post the re-touched letter on here soon x

[stonze]

I think that stating that you're allergic to dairy when you're not is a bad idea (they might want proof and if they find out you're vegan and not allergic to dairy that's not going to look good) and actually does a disservice to veganism as it seems that being allergic to dairy is seen as being being more important than being vegan for moral reasons. How are restaurants ever going to take veganism seriously if people hide behind allergies and intolerances to foods to make their point when things like this happen?

Plus, whilst people can die from anaphylactic shock due to nut allergies people don't die, or even nearly die from dairy allergy.

[Risker]

With regards to mentioning a dairy allergy you risk them responding that they do not claim to cater for those with dairy allergies and that had you told the staff they would have informed you of this.

[Gorilla]

but then again they probably don't claim to cater for vegans either! ;)

[Risker]

But they did agree to provide food without cheese.

[Daffodil]

well I was about to praise F&B's before I found this post.

Went there today and I asked for Penne Arrabbiata which they said they'd do with Spaghetti instead of Penne for me and leave off the garlic (coz my b/f wasn't having garlic and didn't want to smell of it alone lol). Was very impressed. It was spaghetti with a tomato sauce with herbs and olives and chillies. Lovely. I am really hoping this is vegan and no-one will tell me different....washed it down with a pint of Strongbow. Hoping we've found a new restaurant that myself and omni b/f can enjoy tog.

[Enchantress]

I don't know about the pasta, but the vegan status of Strongbow is a bit suspect.
http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=488785&postcount=333

[Daffodil]

I don't know about the pasta, but the vegan status of Strongbow is a bit suspect.
http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=488785&postcount=333


oh..... bugger..... i've drank this and scrumpy jack for months now since i became wheat-free (gave up lager). I can't remember where I got my info that they were both vegan......

[Enchantress]

Strongbow did used to be vegan, or at least the makers said it was.

[*live*&*let*live]

i will defenatly take that into consideration. I am planning on reporting them to the food standards agency once i find the right contact detail.

I'll post the re-touched letter on here soon x


Did you send the letter eventually Cherry? Did they get back to you? :)

[Jiffy]

Mmmm, I'm a bit worried now about the Penne. Why did they say they would do spaghetti instead? Is the Penne not vegan then? I have been to the Croydon one (don't worry I've had my tetanus jab) several times and was assured that the Penne was suitable.

I do hope they haven't been telling me porkies.

[Windfall]

I've always had good experiences at F&B only ever been to the Glasgow branch though, but the staff were really helpful there.

[fiamma]

Mmmm, I'm a bit worried now about the Penne. Why did they say they would do spaghetti instead? Is the Penne not vegan then?

I don't know the chain Frankie and Benny's; normally though, the pasta itself - Penne and Spaghetti - would only be made with wheat flour and no eggs, therefore fine for vegans. As for the actual sauce and their kitchen practices - how they make the actual pasta dishes up - I have no idea.

I applaud your fire, CC, but making untrue claims and empty threats is bad IMO; a letter like that might easily just get thrown in the bin. A more measured tone and less bombastic claims would help your case I think. Having said that, I'm really sorry to hear your experience. I rarely eat out now because I just find it such a disappointment.

[Daffodil]

Mmmm, I'm a bit worried now about the Penne. Why did they say they would do spaghetti instead? Is the Penne not vegan then? I have been to the Croydon one (don't worry I've had my tetanus jab) several times and was assured that the Penne was suitable.

I do hope they haven't been telling me porkies.


Cause I asked for spaghetti instead of penne - I prefer the texture and like twirling it round my fork lol.

[Zero]

Cherry.Chops I really don't think lying to them about being allergic is the way to go here. I think you should state that you are vegan and therefore have ethical and moral issues with consuming dairy.

I agree with Risker and stonze' comments above.

You are a paying customer and therefore should get what you ordered, it is that simple. Plus if you talk about being vegan it bolsters up the cause because they are sure to have had other letters from vegans in the past regarding similar issues, or requests for what they can provide in terms of vegan food.

If they understand there is a market it may change things in the future (much like pizza express working on putting a permanent vegan option on the menu).

I always find that being frank and showing disapointment that you didn't get what you asked for works better than sending an angry letter.

[Jiffy]

Cause I asked for spaghetti instead of penne - I prefer the texture and like twirling it round my fork lol.

Thank you for the clarification...had me worried there for a bit :)