Foodborne Illness Complaints: Make Sure Your Staff Is Ready

By Bill Marvin, the Restaurant Doctor
Here are some suggestions from Bill Marvin, The Restaurant Doctor, about handling the most dreaded of all phone calls, one from an upset guest who has come down with symptoms they claim are the result of eating in your restaurant.

Because of the potential liability (and devastating publicity) that could result, it is very important that you have a well thought out and deliberate plan to respond to these types of complaints.
Here are a few initial steps that Bill suggests you take to resolve this type of complaint quickly and fairly:

1. Have a Foodborne Illness/Complaint Form ready. Have a form ready to gather information wherever a call of this type could be received. You do not want to ask an upset guest to wait while you hunt for a form, or trust your memory to make sure you get all the information you will need and you do not want to ask the caller to call someone else at another number.
2. Get the facts. The first thing is to find out the facts of the matter so you will be able to determine what actually happened. It is safest to assume the complainant has a valid claim and you will need every possible scrap of information to locate and eliminate the cause of the problem. You do not know if this is the first of many calls and you must be careful not to convey an attitude with your tone of voice.
3. Apologize for any upset the guest may be experiencing. You must be more precise when dealing with complaints of this sort but that does not mean you cannot also be compassionate. This is a human interaction with a person who was a guest in your restaurant and who is now experiencing a major upset for which you may (or may not) bear some responsibility. Do your best to stay neutral.
4. Don't argue or admit liability. You do not have to admit to anything in order to be empathetic. At this state, you are not trying to resolve the matter, only to collect the facts. Resist the urge to react to the complaint. This is often difficult as the complainant may be making statements that sound irrational to you or making demands that sound unreasonable.
5. Resist the temptation to admit that it was your entire fault and throw yourself on the mercy of the complainant. This posture can be tempting just because it will end the conflict but remember you are a detective at this point not a peacemaker and stick to your task.

When you receive a complaint claiming foodborne illness, it's important to first get the facts and document what was said. If you don't already have your own Foodborne Illness/Complaint Report form (devised by the National Restaurant Association), I will supply you with one that explains what to ask so that you have a permanent record of what the claimant said. Just email me at brianhanson@choiceinsurance.net and I will be sure to send you the PDF. Complaints that may carry some possible liability, such as incidents of foodborne illness, cannot be handled like a typical service complaint.

I will say it again - You do not want to ask an upset guest to wait while you hunt for a form, or trust your memory to make sure you get all the information you will need, and you certainly do not want to ask the caller to call someone else at another number. Actions such as these will likely be interpreted as stalling or lack of concern - they will only make the caller more anxious and upset.

This would be a good topic to discuss at your monthly safety meetings. In fact, discussing the following "Safe Food Handling - Clean: Washing Hands and Surfaces" would go along real well with the Foodborne Illness topic.

Safe Food Handling - Clean: Wash Hands and Surfaces Often
Bacteria can be spread throughout the kitchen and get onto hands, cutting boards, utensils, counter tops and food. To fight bacteria always:
-Wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers and handling pets.
-Wash your cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next food.
-Consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces. If you use clot towels wash them often in the hot cycle of your washing machine.
-Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running tape water including thos with skis and rinds that are not eaten.
-Rub firm-skin fruits and vegetables under running tap water or scrub with a clean vegetable brush while rinsing with running tap water.