Nutty Custy

'sup, all!
 
You may remember my rant about Boss Bitch and how happy we all were that she was leaving for three months over Christmas.
 
I spoke too fucking soon, but that's neither here nor there. This is the tale of me, the customer and the poppyseed friand that took place yesterday.
 
Custy: Does that chocolate have nuts in it? *points*
 
(Note: I am well prepared for this question because people are stupid and don't know how to protect themselves in order to avoid having an allergic reaction and I'll be damned if it's on my head)
 
Me: It does not have nut chunks as part of its flavor, but I cannot guarantee that any of our chocolates are completely free of nut traces.
 
Custy: *only hears the first part* That looks like a nice chocolate. Or maybe that one.
 
Custy's friend: It doesn't have nuts in it.
 
Me: Like I said, I cannot guarantee any of our chocolates don't have nut traces in them.
 
Custy: What about this cake? This orange and poppyseed thing? That doesn't have nuts in it right? It wouldn't.
 
Me: *deep breath, count to five* Ladies, I cannot guarantee that ANY of our food products do not have nuts or nut traces in them. Do you have an allergy, madam?
 
Custy: Yes.
 
Me: Then I have to tell you, it's entirely possibly that everything in this shop possesses either traces of nuts or has been in contact with products or utensils that had nuts involved somehow.
 
Custy: Unbelievable.
 
Me: *blank stare*
 
Custy: I'll get the poppyseed thing.
 
Custy's friend: But it's got nuts.
 
Custy: It should be fine.
 
Custy's friend: Well, you can just try a bit and see how you go.
 
Me: *mentally rewinding trying to make sure I've covered everything before I give her the friend of anaphylactic doom*
 
Custy: Do you get that question a lot?
 
Me: Not as often as you'd think (It's true in the two and a half years I've worked there I've only been asked about three times.)
 
Custy sits down with friend and I look over a moment later to see her tucking into her 'poppy seed thing.' I turn to a co-worker who had watched the whole thing.
 
Me: There's a certain part of me that wants her to have a reaction.
 
Co-worker: *gigglesnort*
 
Seriously, It is not my job to police your health. It is no one's job to do that but your own, or your caretaker/guardian.
 
Much consolation to you Black Friday victims.
Peace Out,
Just Jay
 

Comments

[Pharmacy_psycho]

As a person who has had an anaphylactic reaction to bee stings and something else we have never been able to trace, I don't know why anyone who KNOWS what they were allergic to would even risk it! Even with an epi-pen, the treatment isn't always guaranteed to work, and a trip to the ER isn't exactly my idea of a fun time... EVER!

I would never want to be in your situation. I would be dragging someone over to make sure they heard the custy say, "Yes, I want this and I understand it may have been in contact with a nut product" before I sell it to them, or make them sign a waiver if they asked me, I told them, and they still insisted on buying it... MORON!

[atombomb1945]

I used to work in a bakery that was part of an all you can eat buffet when I was in High School, and one night the manager came over to me and told me that I had to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies, but that I had to sterilize EVERYTHING that I used to make it due to the fact that one of the customer's children was allergic to peanuts. Mind you, I had been spending the last hour making Peanut Butter cookies for the line.

I did it, and the kid didn't swell up like he was visiting Willy Wonka's, but the mother didn't even tip for the service. Really? If someone is going to insist that something is done to cater to them one would think that they would be grateful.

Of course that manager had the spine of chewed bubble gum.

[Logan]

I once went to the chinese kitchen of my local grocery and got stuck behind an older couple. The man was allergic to wheat and needed to get something without breading. He ordered the sweet and sour chicken. They pointed out that it was breaded. So he picked something else also breaded. This was not being ordered from a menu, it was all laid out in front of them. As pointed out, if you are allergic to something, know what you are ordering. I am not allergic but I can tell what breading looks like. I think everyone does, but you certainly would if it were going to make you sick.

[N/A]

It is surprising how few times you get asked that question. My hubby is allergic to nuts so I ask before I buy something and a lot of the time the retail slave doesn't know the answer. I once went to the naked lady chocolate shop and asked if any of the boxes were nut free. Totally threw them, there were 5 people working that day and they all wound up on the floor discussing the topic and wondering why they didn't have a nut free box.

When I worked the demo counter I always knew the ingredients and allergens so I would be ready with answers because I worked at a very unique grocery store and our customer never stopped asking questions. Of course I also memorized most of my regular customers allergies because I'm a total nerd and well, you have to make the job challenging somehow. It was always fun when they started trusting me. One guy came in every day so not only did I know his allergies (onions and garlic, sucks to be him) but I could tell him if he would enjoy a product before he ever tasted it.

[Magical Shrimp]

Atombomb1945, I think that was definitely an unreasonable request to be made of you and the bakery. I have nothing against kids or people with allergies, but what the hell? Smacks of the usual self-centered attitude of so many custys. And how would she know that everything really had been sterilized?

[Logan]

"And how would she know that everything really had been sterilized?"
Probably the fact that her kid didn't swell up and die.

[Jit]

Gimme your ears for just one second...

*Shouts* IT MAY FUCKING KILL YOU! LEAVE THE STORE WHILE YOU STILL FUCKING CAN!!!!!

[Magical Shrimp]

Logan: She would have been pretty pissed off to find out that way.

[CheerfulChirps]

I don't have any allergies, but I understand how dangerous can be. Some people are so sensitive to their allergies that even the smell of what they are allergic to (if it's food) might give them a reaction.

I'm all for making sure that everything is properly sterilized, leaving no trace of the allergen, but people have to be careful buying packaged foods. If one is that allergic to something, why wouldn't they make the same food at home, so they would know for 100% that it was allergen free.