Feedback Can Make A Difference

My family was invited a birthday party tonight at a local pizza place. When we got the invite, I called to check on the food ingredients to see if they were safe for my son who has a peanut allergy. I was told not to put my son at risk by coming to the restaurant. I was not satisfied with the attitude that I received so I left a comment on the comment page of the restaurant's website. You can read that story here: Told Not To Risk It

Several commenters requested that I let them know if I got a response from the restaurant.

I did not get a response.

As week went on, we struggled with how we were going to handle dinner. Should we eat and then show up at the restaurant for the birthday dessert, presents and playing at the playland?

I asked my husband to call the restaurant today. I was curious if he would get a different response than I did. He called the corporate office first. They transferred him to the local restaurant.

He was told their food was safe, they did not serve anything that contained peanuts and that they even got rid of the peanut butter cookies they used to have "for that very reason".

You would think that would have satisfied me. However, it didn't sit right with me to get 2 opposite responses from the same restaurant.

So, I called the restaurant.

I asked to talk to a manager. The man on the phone said he was a manager. I explained the situation- that both my husband and I had called asking about their ingredients and food allergies and had gotten two very different responses. The man put me on hold and then another manager picked up the phone. He was very polite. He told me that he had received an email about the situation. He said that I should not have been told what I was told. He said that his employees should have checked about the ingredients. He apologized. He asked me what my concerns were. He said that restaurant makes all of their sauces. They use fresh ingredients and there are not any cross contamination issues. I told him that I was concerned about getting such different responses when we called. He said that should not have happened and that he was taking care of it. He said he is responsible for making sure the employees know the ingredients. He apologized again and assured me the food should be safe. I appreciated his kind response.

The restaurant did not call me or email me in response to my comments on the website. I think they should have.

However, my feedback made a difference.

It seemed that both the employee my husband talked to and the one that first answered my call knew about the situation. The employees are more aware of what they are serving. That is a good thing. And, maybe, just maybe, they are taking pride in their ingredients like their website states.

Never hesitate to give feedback in a respectful way. It can make a difference.

Now I better get ready to enjoy a fun filled night eating pizza and watching the kids play.