Friday, May 22, 2009

No Joy

It's been a week since the incident. I have been thinking a lot on whether to write or not to write about this. But in this age of viruses and health scares, we all have to be vigilant about what and where we eat.

It was last week when I went out to pay some bills. I was going to meet a friend for the afternoon and I had promised to make her some pasta. I went to the grocery of SM Makati to buy some ingredients. Seeing it was lunch time, and I was getting hungry, I decided to eat over at their Food Court at the basement. The nearest taxi stand was right in front of SM, so I deemed it logical to eat nearby. I ordered a chicken meal in a popular fast food chain, since I wanted to go the safe route to food.

But as I opened my drumstick hungrily, with my fork and spoon, I noticed bloody parts near the bone. Because I have been countlessly reminded by my mother never to eat bloody chicken, I had to do something about it. I went back to the counter to have it checked and replaced. The counter personnel then reported the matter to their supervisor. The supervisor then told me, that the chicken was really like that because it was still "young", so it was never going to be really white and opaque. I continued to point out to them that I just couldn't eat chicken this way, since it was unhealthy...and that "I was afraid of diseases." I emphasized the last word rather clearly, that she had to shake her head and insisted that their food was safe, but they just couldn't replace it. They offered to have it cooked again, so I agreed. After a few minutes, the very same chicken piece was returned to me, opaque and cooked through.

Talk about customer service, health and hygiene. I guess not all food trips are happy. But like all trips, we should be always be alert and careful.

Hay, I should have grabbed myself a tomato.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

good for you to state your point... we really need to be extra careful nowadays... :)

Shalum said...

i know. thanks mikky!

gwacie said...

That's actually quite ridiculous. Since when does a chicken's being "young" mean that it's undercooked? They should have apologized and replaced it right away without that lousy excuse. Talk about customer service! Buti nalang they cooked it more. Grrrr...

Shalum said...

i know, ridiculous right? the explanation was like ---the chicken was young... so the meat couldn't be cooked through or something stupid like that. hay. thanks grace!

although husband says, it would have been more hygienic to replace the chicken piece than have it cooked back in the oil with the rest of the uncooked stuff. oh well.

Anonymous said...

what an absurd excuse! the manager shouldnt even have argued with you and replaced your meal!
good for you for insisting!

Yummy in my tummy said...

I would have done what you did. Glad you held your ground! That is just so unappetizing.

Shalum said...

thank you all. :) i hope we can all stand up for rights, even for a good ol' drumstick :)

Guia Obsum said...

geez, they should have apologized first and replaced your order right away. it's not right to argue your case to the customer especially when you're in the wrong. whoever heard of young chicken as an excuse for undercooking?! you did the right thing!