Restaurant Workers Who Intentionally Taint Your Food

reply to post by zysin5


Thank you for your honesty, zysin. I am of the opinion that this goes on a lot more than people would like to believe. And that is just from the research I've done for this thread-- so many blogs and forums for restaurant workers to vent and tell their "revenge" stories... things that simply boggle the mind. It gives the impression that these people hate their work and their customers with irrational passion.

ask.metafilter.com...

Interestingly, fast food franchise type places seem to have stricter controls. Well, in some of them. If the manager cares.

Are you familiar with the "Visine" or "red-eye" treatment? I've read about this on a number of different sites.

To the poster who linked the Waiter Rant site, thanks. I was going to do that. I understand that Bourdain's book is about the underbelly of the restaurant business too.

What gets me is how people say: I don't think this goes on much, but I would never send food back because I'm afraid they'll taint or poison it in some way. Or other people say they leave good tips to prevent someone from messing with their food. And every waiter/waitress blog or forum that deals with this subject all have the same refrain: don't mess with the people who prepare/serve your food, or else!

It seems that people generally believe this goes on and accept it.

[edit on 12/29/08 by kattraxx]

reply to post by Morningglory


I agree to a certain extent.

Some people just need a reality check, and fortunately I am allowed to get away with giving it to them because (not to blow my own horn here), but I am extremely good at my job and generate quite a bit of revenue with my following, so management tends to accept me being an ahole to a customer once a month or so.

I always check my food and if i find anything like was mentioned in some of the other posts i would end up in a cell for the night.....

Originally posted by kattraxx
reply to post by zysin5

 

Thank you for your honesty, zysin. I am of the opinion that this goes on a lot more than people would like to believe. And that is just from the research I've done for this thread-- so many blogs and forums for restaurant workers to vent and tell their "revenge" stories... things that simply boggle the mind. It gives the impression that these people hate their work and their customers with irrational passion.

You are very welcome! I must say any kitchen I worked in, I took pride in my work. Being it lowly, hot, stuffy places I have worked.. Granted I never have worked in fast food joint, so I can't say to much about those.

But the kitchens I have worked in.. All the food I sent out, I would have eaten it myself! Thats the code, dont serve it, if your not going to eat it!

I use to get into kitchen battles with my boss at the time.. I had bad wings, a whole case.. I was told to bread them up and serve them.
I refused to do so. He threatened to send me home, cut my hours what not. So I breaded the damn wings, and guess what? like 5 people got horridly sick.. I ended up in court, and spoke aginst The Stadium.. That was the restraunt. I was threatened to lose work, if I didnt try and save them some money and serve bad food. I just wont do it now.
But thats when I was younger and just starting off, I had no power in the kitchens I worked at. Things changed after about 5 years.. I became the boss, and if something went bad.. I put it out.. Even if that meant, I made a little less money that week. Teaches you how to order your stock correctly! No reason to make another person suffer, just becasue you wanted to make a couple bucks!!

Now onto the issue of people in kitchen that hate their jobs!
Thats true.. Ive met a few "lifers". I was almost destined to become a lifer myself If I didnt think fast, and get out of the kitchen.
But most the time, the guys that hate their jobs, dont go out of their way to taint food..
The only time tainted food happens. Or did happen under my watch, was when the customer really honestly was being so rude, and so hurtful to others.. Well I deemed it justice!!!

Id never do that too someone that wanted a well done burger, and it was medium.. Id never do that to a person who was unhappy and said it nicely.
Heck some people could get down right pissed off about stuff, and that still doesnt warrent tainted food.
Tainted food only happnens when a waitress comes back crying.
Or someone has damaged the property.. Or went out of their way to give me a hard time..

You see the waitress really rely on us cooks to get it right, and make the food great for them!! They are the ones earning the tip!
So Waitress and cooks have a love hate relationship..
If one of your waitress, or waiter comes back and gives you the thumbs down.. Well its decided upon..
Ever seen the movie waiting?
Funny enough it works like that!!!

You have to be a real winner to get your food tainted..

Cause as for me, Im really picky about where I eat, and who cooks it.
I know not everyone has my standards.. And with my high standards.. It can still happen.. But will only happen if you are in no way shape or form being a nice person...

But many things are out of my hands, and its the kids who work in places that you really have to be mindful of.

I fired kids for putting lizards, frogs, stupid stuff in my fryers..
I have fired 3 mexicans for smoking crack in the walk in freezer..
I've caught 1 guy straight up cuddled up out back sleeping!! LOL

And when you get in the weeds at work, the last thing you wanna do is spit in someones food.. You just want to get it done, and clean up and get the hell out of there...

So does it happen? Sure it does, more so than most are willing to admit.
But I will say, I wouldnt ever spit in someones food, never have and never will... But theres other ways of fullfilling that need to show them who is in control... Such as the grill grease, or a quick floor stomp.

Im just glad Im out of the kitchen finally, and working my dream AV job!
So much happier than in the kitchen..
And now I just cook for family and friends, and would never dream of tainting any of that food..
But just for a little fun, after I serve dinner, I make a joke that you never mess with the man making your food.. EAT UP
Evil laugh...

Its all fun and games... Point being, dont be a Jerk when dinning out.

If you dont think your food is up to Par, be nice about it. And be understanding its busy and they will do everything in their power to fix your meal.
If they keep on getting it wrong, dont flip out.. Just get the manager.
And keep a level tone, and just say hey.. I paided for something that I wanted this way.. I didnt get it.. Can we fix this please?

Presay jumping up and down, cussing them out, and making them feel like your slave.. Or that you own and rule them beasue you pay them money.
Nope.. dont do it.. But thats my advice


Edit-- Anytime I eat out, I never do anything to warrent tainted food.
But there are many types of tainted food.
1 being, the unknown is was tainted.
Some cooks just dont know, nor do they care what they are cooking, turn and burn send it out.. The mind set of most line cooks.

2 Being tainted, knowing its gone bad, but cant throw it out.. Boss flips!
This is the kind of cook who knows his stuff.. He knows it smells bad, but cant afford to toss it all out.. Needs to bread it, mask it up, and make it a lunch special!

Dinners TIP-- A special means, they have to much, or its going bad, they need to get rid of it, I suggest always steering clear of Dinner specails, its cheper for a reason!!!

3 Taint being, Opps dropped it on the floor.. Wash it off under the sink if your lucky.. Turn and burn serve it out next!
This is the kinda cook, who is in the weeds, has like 15 tickets in front of him, Waitress'es yelling about this or that, they forgot to add to the ticket.
So much going on, this cook is in the *snip* stage.. if something falls on the floor, you will be lucky if they wash it off before cooking.

4- The bad taint Any number of things being done directly and meaningfully doing something to a food item. Putting aside all reason and safety to fullfill either a mean deed, or a deed that feels justified..
This cook is your worst nightmare! He is in control, he is making your food, if his girlfriend just called him and said shes sleeping with his best freind.. Well lets just hope your not the next ticket!!! THis cook has been though so many places becasue of his bad attitute, and was fired for "tainting" food at other places he works.. Best this person finds a new line of work.

5-Justice Taint- See #4. However you never put any body fluids, or anything that would endanger the victum health.
You do something so that the food tastes bad, but they can't place the taste! Are then thinking to themself.. I will never come back here!!!
Thats fine, becasue most places dont need that kind of biz.


personal note.. If I ever found something like that in my food, be it I was a real Jerk or not.. Im not sure how badly I would react.
Honestly I might get put in jail.. Or you could stay calm, and gather evidence and sue the hell out of the owner!!!
Anyone heard of Dirty Dinning? Its a show they do on Fox 13 here in Tampa Bay.. You ever think thats happned to you? Turn them in!

Thats a whole other topic I think I will start to help you with your research.
Dirty Kitchens.. You would be amazed at how dirty some of these places can be.. I have personal worked for like 1 day in one such place.. It WAS GROSSS!! I refused to work any longer than 1 day there. Its called the Holiday Restraunt, on ALT 19 Holiday florida.
So in essence if you eat in a dirty restraunt, your food is tainted by default right???

[edit on 29-12-2008 by zysin5]


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[edit on 12/29/2008 by Badge01]

I worked at McDonalds for 4 years and I can say I never did this, it's really gross and dangerous. The whole time I worked there I never saw or heard of any of the staff doing it, and we were all close friends. I'd like to know how you could urinate on peoples food. What do you do , just whip it out right there in the kitchen, I don't see how that would work.

reply to post by kattraxx


There's no health risk in UK, because they have to give certficates that they are fit and healthy at start of employment and when they have been ill. I've been suffering from everything on the job tho!!!! Seen someone put snot on a garlic bread n cheese. He wasn't unwell though, though that was a bit bad. The girls who were eating it though were advertising it to the entire restaurant. Maybe that's why they annoyed our waitresses.

Originally posted by zysin5
So in essence if you eat in a dirty restaurant, your food is tainted by default right???

A flag to you for a good posting. As to a dirty restaurant, I've been told...and it sounds fair to me...that if you don't like the state of the washrooms, you're not gonna like the kitchen, either.

geeeeeze .. I was going to take my daughter out to lunch today.
think I'll stay home and make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead.

when minimum wage is paid with no incentive to do better...minimum work is done with no incentive to do better. and with the smallest pay and no incentive, you have to have someone constantly watching over those employees.
by the way, has anybody eaten a hotdog from a sidewalk cart? or a taco truck? or a pretzel stand? do you see any sanitization standards followed at these fine eatery establishments?
it's a wonder that more people do not get sick

reply to post by Government Cheese

I do agree with you some people need to know they are jerks. I have had no problem with checking someones reality for them. I simply prefer not be a chicken $%&@ and take revenge behind their back there are better ways than tainting food.

I too generated sales for my employers so they did trust my instincts. If I went off they knew I had good reason. I think it depends a lot on your toleration levels. I will take only so much.

The restaurant I waited tables at had a great boss/owner if anyone messed with us we were told to let him know. He was a huge guy and he would get pretty angry if anyone was abusing the staff. He owned the place so he could do as he pleased.

Let me give an example this kid around 13 or 14 came in with his doting rich parents. The parents in their own little world let their son run me ragged he was having a good ole time. I knew if I snarled at the little monster there would go my tip. The people were "campers" never going to leave and I was busy. Well Jr. it seems needed to use the bathroom he asked me to show him the way. This 13 year old, skinny with long hair glasses no facial hair a real soft look to him you know the type could be pretty enough to be a girl. Not having been formally introduced I could only assume his gender by appearance. Knowing full well this was a boy I proceeded to deliver him to the door of the ladies room telling him very nicely "there you go young lady." At that age guys are kinda sensitive and unsure about their gender identity.

These people stayed in the dining room until closing the change in the kid was amazing the parents never knew and left me a huge tip.

I'm not a back stabber in any area of my life. I can be plain spoken and to the point with out getting upset. I have worked in so many places with so many people in this tourist town. When summer crowds hit someone has got to take the lead and tell people how it's gonna work. They take it better than you would think. Often others at their table do it for me. If their family member is being an idiot and I'm being my hardworking friendly self they often take them down for me, apologize and leave me a great tip. Just my experience.

reply to post by Morningglory


Kudos to you man for keeping your cool! And letting that little brat have it like that !!! hehe thats smooth! and you still got your tip!! Good job!

But being front of the house, things work a little differently for you than it would for me being a back of the house worker.. Or kitchen creature as I have been called many times!!!

AS you well know its always good to be on the good side of your cooks.
They can make or break you when it comes to a tip!!

alot of people dont realize that if the food is not cooked right 75% of the time its the cooks fault, not the waiters fault..

Granted I have been handed tickets that dont have temps on the tickets.
And things are missing, and when I put the food up.. They are like where my side of carrots or what not.. I show them the ticket.. It didnt say carrots!!! Or by chance it gets busy and the waiter didnt add the temp to the burger.. Well by default its get cooked medium if I dont see a temp and Im to busy to track you down and ask how you want it cooked!!!

Over all.. Front of the house, needs to work with back of the house to get the job done!!!
And NO one in my kitchen would ever do something bad to peoples food.
Its simply not right.. and its down right cowards way.. I agree with that.

But now and then, I would get a waitress who would come back in tears becasue of someone being a jerk. Thats when its decided upon.. And never do something that could do real harm to a person..
Just to idea of watching them bite into something you dropped on the floor is justice enough for me and the waitress

But as far as doing really bad things.. Heck no.. its morally wrong, and I wouldnt want it done to me too..
Thanks for the good post.. that speaks to your side.. Front of the house.. VS my placement Back of the house!!!


TIP... YEah anyone going out to eat.. make sure the place you eat has a clean ktichen, and clean bathrooms.
Like one guy said.. if the bathrooms are nasty.. You can rest assured that the kitchen area is nasty too!!!

I spent so much time in my kitchen days cleaning and making sure all my food preping areas where nice and clean.. And no bugs, and my motto is this.. A clean kitchen is a happy ktichen!!!!

Tho.. When kids get paided low amounts of money.. and even adults, they are not so willing to go that extra mile!!

To be honest, the most I would make in a ktichen is 15$ per hour..
And thats good money for a short order cook.

Last place I worked they only paided me 9$ an hour.. So I was not to motivated to keep the place clean.. And do anything extra..
I cooked the stuff.. Did a quick clean up and got out!!!

You get what you pay for!!!
And those who paided me over 10$ an hour got a really good attitude from me!! Anythign under 10$ an hour.. Would make it another hell hole that I could care less about.
But I always did care about the food that went out..

its a personal thing.. And its karma too.. If you go out to spend your money on food.. It should be atleast what you paided for..

But again.. You get what you pay for!!!

Thats why I love Burns STeakhouse here in TAMPA!!
now that place rocks!!! Granted for 2 people its close to 120-160$!!!
And then I would leave atleast a 20-40$ Tip..

Funny enough when I went to burns steakhouse they thought I was Dave mustang from Megadeth.. OH boy I go the royal treatment!!
The waiter asked for my autograph.. And I just couldnt ressist that ego burst I got from being mistaken.. So i played along..
And my girlfriend at the time was laughing, and she thought it was pretty cool.. But then again she was a huge Megadeth Fan.. So she only liked me becaause I look so much like Dave Mustang.. LOL true story..

[edit on 31-12-2008 by zysin5]

Originally posted by jimmyx
when minimum wage is paid with no incentive to do better...minimum work is done with no incentive to do better. and with the smallest pay and no incentive, you have to have someone constantly watching over those employees.
by the way, has anybody eaten a hotdog from a sidewalk cart? or a taco truck? or a pretzel stand? do you see any sanitization standards followed at these fine eatery establishments?
it's a wonder that more people do not get sick

I had worked in many restaurants and hotels when I was much younger. I held positions in the prep and line areas as well as middle management. Although through that time many of the cooks would joke about wanting to do something to the food, no one would.

The first and most important reason is that if one person was ever caught doing something like that they would have received a very serious beating from the other cooks. The logic is if you would do that to anyones food, you would do it to ours. And for this reason each cook looked out for the food they presented, no matter how the ww (waiter/waitress) staff were treated.

The second reason food tainting did not happen, is that in most restaurants of any reputation, the cooks are not paid minimum wage. Often they are paid equal or greater than most of the restaurant staff.

I can't say how it is in a local Denny's, but if one is planning to go out for lunch/dinner it is best to go at the busiest possible times. You might wait for a table, but there is far too many eyes watching the process for any one person to have an opportunity to taint your food.

Thanks for reading
..Ex

ps. As an employer, I look for the person who saya "If you paid me more I'd work harder". I look for that person to punt them out the door. That person will NEVER work harder for more money. They may put on the pretense for a short while, but will soon fall back to being a lazy slob. It's the person that works harder no matter what they are getting paid that makes more in perks and in wage, because they have proven their self worth. At least that has been my experience. (and these days I pay alot. )
..ex

[edit on 12/31/2008 by v3_exceed]

reply to post by asmall89


I agree.
I worked in the food industry a lot of years. Mainly the people that the workers despised are the ones there to cause trouble. And most were not elderly or children, just cheapskates. Or people expecting five star dining in a two star restaurant.
If something wasn't right cooked right, I didn't have a problem taking care of it. But when it is three or four times and nothing is wrong, then someone is looking for a free meal.

I have seen cooks switch out items, because we have run out of something. I have seen stuff dropped on the floor and used.


But that is not to say there are just not bitter servers out there. You have to understand that the awful stories are going to be reported. But it is not like every chef or server is dumping stuff into the food.

Waitstaff want repeat customers, and happy customers. A busy establishment means more money. So they don't tend to try to anger customers.

UNLESS, you are a lousy tipper. If you frequent the same places, then you should be careful.

What most people don't realize is that tip or no, servers have to pay on your food. We have to pay taxes on it. We have to tip the bartender, bus boy or expediter ifi there is one. If someone only leaves a 10% tip, the server is breaking even and not making money.
So not tipping or not tipping enough is actually costing the server money, AND they have worked for free.

reply to post by zysin5

Thanks that one worked out too perfect. Ya gotta be ready when opportunity strikes!

Boy have you got that right about the cooks. Imo they are the true front runners the wait staff mostly keeps things organized. I took good care of my cooks. I tipped them well and helped in any way I could. If I was running back to the walk-in I would always yell at them to see what they needed. I would grab a glove and garnish my plates or get whatever for them cold drinks etc. Sometimes I would make really beautiful sundaes for my customers and the cook would lick his lips so I would come back when I had time and make a real nice one for him. My cook made a point of seeing my food was done right. I never took his steaks back except one time to have it cut for a disabled person. My cooks often did special nice little things to my plates!

I would hear other waitresses talking about food done wrong or coming out late. They simply were not communicating with the cooks. I loved my cooks and they always gave me warning when things were getting close or slow down a bit they were great. Good job to you I know how hard it is for you guys and often you don't hear the compliments.

I think it takes a good waitstaff to truly do the cooks justice. It's like a dance. For me It was always about getting the most money for my time and energy spent. Doing a crappy job often takes more time in the long run, it often requires back paddling, it can be frustrating putting you in a lousy mood which will effect your tip. I found it easier and more profitable to take the time and effort to do it right in the first place. So that means we've got to do our homework, know the menu, ingredients, cooks preferences/methods, soup of the day, dressings, desserts, bar stock etc. all beforehand be professional for Gods sake!

I was highly motivated to make as much money as I could. I loved large tables of golfers, fishermen and hunters out doing their male bonding thing and having a great time! Really for the most part a really fun bunch of people just wanting to have fun. It was my job to help them do just that. I liked my job waiting tables I only left to work for my husband. It was the prep cooking at that other place that ended it all for me.

I have been warned by another waitress to watch the soft-serve ice cream at some places. She said at one place she worked the soft-serve machine was close to the drive-thru window wasps were coming in attracted by that sweet ice cream smell and were turning up in the shakes. What could happen if someone was allergic? She said they never cleaned the machine during the time she worked there. I've sold soft-serve before our nightly procedure was to turn the machine off a couple hours before closing so it can defrost. We would dispense out any remaining mixture and refrigerate. The machine was thoroughly wiped clean and purged with a bleach water solution then rinsed clean. We had the best shakes.

No I agree with you 3 cheers for the cooks of the world Everyone should think about the cooks too! Stick your head in the kitchen door and give them a wave and a "good job" slip em a fiver or buy them a drink! It could put them in a better mood to pass it on to the next guy.

I had a friend some years back that worked in a popular seafood restaurant in coastal South Carolina. She shared a little trick that the kitchen often pulled when they were short on scallops. They would basically use the prepared wings of ocean skates or rays and cut them with a round cookie cutter to pass them off as scallops.

Down there the skates were common and often caught in trawling nets. No need to waste a good skate. Most of the tourists could never tell the difference especially if ordered as the jumbo fried basket o' scallops. YUM YUM

I know of one time this was done to me..I live in L.A..I won't name the restaurant, but, the waiter was this young mexican guy..he just kept smiling at me in a creepy way when he took my order..same smile when he brought it to the table.. it was different than the way he treated the others at my table(the others were white). I had my food, and got violently ill about 2 hours later..I mention he's mexican because I'm black, and although it's un-PC to say this, lots of mexicans HATE black folks, and mess with our food on a regular basis, when they're in a position to do so. I've gotten that from more than one server..I did nothing to deserve that..always nice to waitstaff..I've waited tables myself, and would never think about messing with someone's food. You don't know what allergies, etc someone may have, and you might well kill them.

Originally posted by abstrusenumber1
... I'm not worried about bacteria etc just the thought of bodily fluids in my food!!!

Funnily enough, I'm the reverse. Having food that someone has spat, urinated or ejaculated into doesn't phase me at all... that's well within my sense of humour threshold. I'd eat such food for a dare any time anyway.

It's e-coli bacteria from not washing hands after going to the toilet that worries me. Using food that has been dropped on a filthy restaurant floor and all that kind of stuff goes on at so many restaurants and seems really bad to me.


[edit on 3-3-2009 by tsuchan]