Wednesday, September 12, 2007

T.G.I. Friday's, their service goes above and beyond the food!


Happy Wednesday everyone! I want to relay a story to you today. This was not my personal allergic dining experience, but that of a coworker. I was so impressed with the way a very famous company handled a bad experience of one of their customers, I asked and received permission to blog about her experience.
My coworker "M" (obviously not her real name, but how great would that be? Like the Bond movies...)recently found out she has allergies. She went to dinner at T.G.I. Friday's and had a fish dish there with a very spicy sauce. She didn't feel very well later that evening, but didn't think much of it and went to bed. In the morning she woke up with one eye swollen so severely that it had swollen shut, and she had hives on her face and neck. Rather than freak out, M remembered talking to me about allergies, sent her fiancee to the drugstore for the wonderful Benadryl, and got her doctor on the phone. She was fine in about 5-6 hours, and the doctor cleared her but suggested she talk to T.G.I. Friday's about what the ingredients in the dish were.
M spoke to me about my struggle to get the salad dressing information from Friendly's (still no word...and it's been MONTHS, I should probably pester them again), and her concern that Friday's would respond the same way. I helped her craft a letter and she sent it, fingers crossed.
To my shock and pleasant surprise, T.G.I. Friday's not only sent her a full ingredient listing for that dinner within 48 hours, but also called her to see if she was alright, and if there was anything else they could do. They even explained that if the fish was OK, but the sauce turned out to be what she was allergic to, they'd be more than happy to make the fish plain the next time she came in.
I am astounded to see that a company finally responded appropriately to an allergic reaction! T.G.I. Friday's has set a model that other restaurants should feel compelled to live up to.
On behalf of M, thank you T.G.I. Friday's! I will be enjoying a meal with you in the near future!
Sincerely,
Your allergic diner

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