[MaureenN]

Wow, a crusade! How fun :-)

We've eaten at hundreds of restaurants all across america during the 9 years of my son's life so far. The only time that I've had trouble making sure that the food he was eating was safe for him was if there was a language barrier. And, even then, we are usually able to manage.

We are actually kind, patient, appreciative, understanding people -and- most restaurant owners, managers & staff realize that financial and reputational value of treating customers with respect & courtesy. Most people, in general, are kind to others & understanding of medical limitations that others have.

I was *not* asking for anything to be changed at the restaurant. I was not demanding immediate service. I was, I thought, actually being understanding of what seemed to be a bad day for the manager/cook/owner (I didn't know who I was dealing with at the time) & just skipping right over the request to read ingredients which he didn't seem able to fulfill and moving right on to going with foods that I knew were safe & simply asking for a quick wipe of the grill before the meat was cooked. I'm hoping that they do that from time to time throughout the day, anyway. I believe it's required by the health department, actually.

No voices were raised until the owner came out to the parking lot yelling at me & telling us that he refused to serve us. An act which actually took him longer in his busy day than it would have taken him to wipe off the grill... He is irrational & rude. And, an unkind human being. I'm sorry he's so unhappy in his life, but that doesn't make his behavior towards his customers acceptable.

I don't think I'm going to pursue this matter under the ADA, although food allergies *are* a medical condition covered by the ADA -and- asking to read ingredient labels when available, asking for clean preparation surfaces, asking for a substitute when possible are all 'reasonable accomodations'. They take almost no effort on the part of the restaurant staff. And, it's just polite & good customer service.

This restaurant owner, though, needs to be aware that he is in violation of the ADA, but more importantly perhaps, that I noticed that he was just a sad, mean person. He and I were both there. We both know exactly what happened and how unreasonable & rude he was. How unkind he was. I hope he didn't take any of that anger out on his wait staff that day. The girl who helped me, originally, seemed so scared when she came out to tell me what he had told her to say to me.

If he's going to continue in the restaurant business (and I'm thinking he's burned out on that, perhaps only in it because it's the family business & he was forced into it), then he would do well to renew his understanding of customer service, of the balance that keeps the money flowing, between customer, reputation, staff & owner.

And, if others have had the same experience with him, then talking about it on my 'crusade' :-) is the only way for us to all find each other. From there, it's possible, that we can either help him to see that we see him for what he is (and help him see himself for what he is) -or- at least, let other patrons know what they can expect if the choose to eat there.

And, seriously, he does need to stop advertising 'custom-made food while you wait' if he's not actually willing to provide that.

[tjay]

wow, some rude responses in here. nothing like judging a person just for asking a question. hilarious when it was predicted nobody would respond and there were several. sorry for the hostility poster.

[David_Hosticka]

Hello, I own the Dog 'n Suds in Montague Michigan...

I am dissapointed that you all have simply taken this woman's word as gospel.

None of you were there, also none of you have taken the time to e-mail or call me on the telephone to get my viewpoint.

I had tried very hard to get this family to settle down and allow me to spend the time needed to serve them in a manner that would protect their child from allergens, and also meet my obligation to the Michigan Food Code, which requires me (as person in charge) to be involved in such situations.

I also would like to point out that most of my customers are from the White Lake and surrounding areas, the Illinois license plates are mostly families that have had summer homes on White Lake for generations, and have been Dog 'n Suds customers since the place was built in 1963.

I would also like to point out that the 911 call that I placed to get police aid in the disturbance this family had created at my restaurant, is on file.

I also have several other customers that were there during the "incident" and have also been monitoring this forum, have come forward and are ready to speak on my behalf.

I also have copies of at least 5 phony e-mailings that she sent to make this look like it was a common occurance, as well as copies of e-mails she sent to the Dog 'n Suds parent company and my local Chamber of Commerce.

I will gladly share this information on an as needed basis to get this woman to stop smearing my name.

She states that she will not follow up in "ADA law" or any other law for that matter because she is wrong. This forum is the only court that she will win, simply because some of its members do not check the accuracy of the information posted by people like Maureen.

The following text is my e-mailed response to Maureen, It was sent the same day I recieved her initial complaint.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________________

Thanks for taking the time to relay your experience...

I was the person that came out and tried to explain to you why you were not getting service.

As I explained to you at the time, I am not going to get into an argument,either at the restaurant, or here on the internet.

As I also explained to you at the time, We take food allergies veryseriously, my staff is not trained to handle such situations, as they are mostly teens.

Therefore, to protect customers, staff, and Dog 'n Suds, I handle such situations myself.

Three of my staff members attempted to tell you that, you refused to listen and be patient until I was availible to assist you.

It has been my experience that customers with such unique needs are very patient and understanding about matters such as this that concern their children and their childrens health, and glad to wait to get accurate information about the food they are about to feed their children. Also are quite understanding about making a return visit at another time when they can recieve the attention that they deserve.

That being said, your husbands behavior was unexcusable. Shoutingprofanity in front of me, my staff, other customers and their childrenwill not be tolerated under any circumbstances.

Also, just to clarify, you were at the Montague location, but I will inform my manager in Norton Shores so he can prevent such a situation from happening twice.

Thanks again for taking the time to relay your message.

Good luck, David.

[magellan]

Methinks that MaureenN = snuffybear. Same sentence/paragraph structure. Way to make it look like multiple people were having the same problem Maureen. I smell a shill. Do people really think we were born yesterday around here?