(date)
To The (General Manager/Proprietor)
Re: Disappointing Dining Experience
Recently (date) I had a meal at your venue.
I am a coeliac, and thus had requested a gluten free version for myself. I have felt to provide feedback as I was so disappointed with the gluten free choices on offer and the meal I eventually received.
Let me put this visit in context. I have looked forward to dining at your venue as it has (a great reputation/is in a great location…)
Sadly, however, my expectations were not met in the following ways: (delete those that do not apply)
- the waiters were misinformed re gluten free options and created an exhausting experience just trying to establish what I could eat
- it was obviously annoying to your staff to have to cater to gluten free questions/requests
- the gluten free meal I received had all of the flavour/texture removed in order to make it gluten free, and therefore was not very enjoyable, yet I was still expected to pay full price
- there were very limited menu listed gluten free options even though I had been assured that you do cater for gluten free
- there were NO dessert options…do we not deserve a sweet end to our meal?
- cross-contamination occurred as I became quite sick
- staff incorrectly assumed that gluten free meant dairy free, and unnecessarily restricted my options
- add some specific details of your particular dining disappointment/frustration here
As a result, I was made to feel that I was not worth the effort.
My companions meals were presented well & showed a lot of love…mine looked like someone was annoyed to have had to have prepared a gluten free option, and it made me feel like I was a second rate diner…coeliacs have to just ‘make do’, and be thankful they are fed at all.
Coeliacs, like all diners, are not there just to have something to eat for sustenance, it is also about the dining experience. Dining venues like yourselves do, of course, normally have ‘dining experience’ in mind with respect to your choice of décor design, location, and food presentation & quality. This committment, however, seems to be completely lost in the transfer to gluten free options in your venue.
I do appreciate that gluten free ingredients can be more expensive and harder to source, and that storage of pre-prepared items can be an issue due to lower volumes of demand. However, coeliacs are prepared to pay extra when required for the more expensive ingredients, and there are many gluten free substitutions that freeze/store well. Other venues have obviously problem solved in this regard, producing wonderful gluten free options on their listed menus. In many cases I have been blown away by the gluten free food they have prepared for me…and as a result have felt just as valued as my companion who was eating from the usual menu.
Sadly this commitment to quality & dedication of ‘experience’ regardless of eating requirements was not replicated at your establishment.
Friends of coeliacs try to find establishments where their gluten free friend will be catered for, so if we are not looked after with respect to the food or the experience, our friends won’t be choosing to dine in your establishment either. And, the gluten free ‘word of mouth’ network is huge…if you stand out from the crowd, positive word spreads fast!
I write all of this because obviously it is upsetting when I am made to feel as though ‘I am not worth the effort’. I paid the same amount as my companions & expected the same commitment from (name of restaurant) to make this a fantastic dining experience for me.
Your promo on your web page was not honoured for coeliacs.
Kind regards,
(name)
