Not Going To Cry Over This Onion

(About twice a week, I go to a burger place during my lunch break. The burgers are expensive, but worth it because they have gorgeous, fresh, unusual ingredients. Instead of ordering those ingredients separately, you choose from burgers with pre-set combinations of toppings. I order one of my usuals.)

Me: “Hi, can I have [Burger], but with no onions, and with [substitute sauce] instead of the regular sauce? I know it has onions in it and I’m allergic.”

Clerk: “No problem!”

(I sit down to wait for my order, and the owner comes up to chat with me. After a bit of small talk, he seems to get to his point.)

Owner: “I notice you always order everything without onions. What exactly would happen to you if you ate them?”

Me: “Well, I get a lot of intestinal distress. Stomach pains, horrible nausea, things like that. So I guess it’s more of an intolerance, really. I just say ‘allergy’ because it’s easier to get my point across. Even a little bit of onion can make for a really bad day.”

Owner: “Oh, so it’s not like you’re going to stop breathing or anything. It’s not life-threatening.”

Me: “Well, no, but it can be extremely painful and uncomfortable. And the problem could get so bad that I’d have to go home from work, and I really can’t afford to do that.”

Owner: “Gotcha. Well, let me go check on your order.”

(When my order is up I head back to work to eat it. When I open the bag, my order has onions on it and no substitutions for the sauce. I know it’s easy to make mistakes so I’m not angry, but I do call the restaurant since I don’t have enough time left in my break to go back.)

Owner: “My cooks must have made a mistake. It’s not that much of a problem though, is it? You said it’s not life-threatening. You can still eat it.”

Me: “I just wanted to call it to your attention so that you can let your staff know to be more careful. I know mistakes happen, I’m just letting you know. With allergies and intolerances, it’s important. And actually, I can’t eat it. I can’t risk getting sick.”

Owner: “I’m sure you’ll be fine. We can’t be making you special orders all the time because you’re afraid of getting a little gassy. It’s a waste of our time.”

Me: “I see. Well, no worries, then. I won’t be ordering anything at all from now on.”

This story is part of our Food Allergies roundup!

Read the next Food Allergies roundup story!

Read the Food Allergies roundup!