This happened to me today at lunch. About 3 bites into my meal, I discovered a 3" strand of hair embedded in my entrée. I knew it wasn't my hair, since my hair is less than 3" long and a different color. I brought it to the attention of the server. She apologized, and made me a new order (but by then I had no appetite). I was pretty ticked that I was still charged for the item, and ticked that the manager didn't even come over to our table.

Anyway, I did mention the hair in my report, stating that an ordinary customer would bring this to the attention of the server. Of course, I suppose I'm now "memorable," but after that experience I wouldn't return anyway

I like the suggested link under your post.

I would have just stop eating, stayed my required time, left and entered my report with all the facts.

If the manager comped the meal you would not have a receipt for the report.

Phoebe70, I think ShoppingDad hit the nail on the head. If the meal was comped, you would not have had a receipt. Having been in food service, I have mixed opinions about comping meals in these types of situations. A lot depends on the attitude "you" present. In most cases, I might not comp a meal, but I would apologize and discount it some percentage, especially since you were given a replacement. On the other hand, if you're raising all kinds of hellfire and brimstone about the hair, I would just give you the replacement meal, no discount and no comp. The reason? You're so ticked off that you're presenting the image of someone I can't please regardless of what I do. I know that, regardless of what I do, the odds are that your online review would focus on the hair and not mention what I did to make it right. Then there is a thin line between the two extremes, someone who realizes that sometimes things like this will happen because we are human. That's the person who, IMO, would get a comped meal.

Phoebe, the instructions should have been your guide. They almost always tell you what to do when there is a problem or issue.

I have seen instructions require you to act as a normal customer would. There, I might report it. I have also seen instructions to not report issues at the restaurant but do so in the report. If it were the later, I would do as ShoppingDad suggested. And then never return. Probably.

If it wasn't a shop, I would probably just play with the hair at the table. Just kidding.

@Phoebe70 wrote:

This happened to me today at lunch. About 3 bites into my meal, I discovered a 3" strand of hair embedded in my entrée. I knew it wasn't my hair, since my hair is less than 3" long and a different color. I brought it to the attention of the server. She apologized, and made me a new order (but by then I had no appetite). I was pretty ticked that I was still charged for the item, and ticked that the manager didn't even come over to our table.

Anyway, I did mention the hair in my report, stating that an ordinary customer would bring this to the attention of the server. Of course, I suppose I'm now "memorable," but after that experience I wouldn't return anyway

I can certainly feel your pain, yes I would have told her, and no I would never have been able to eat there again.

I had this happen on a Golden Corral shop and I did bring it to the attention of the server. I was given a voucher for a free meal but I won't ever eat there again.

I wasn't expecting the entire receipt comped, only my entree. I ate there with my spouse and 2 kids. And even if it was comped, I'd still have a receipt. In fact, the receipt showed the chicken entrée for $9.99 twice, and then one of them removed and listed it as "comp."

ETA: The guidelines don't state how to handle this situation. I was polite to the server but was really surprised that she didn't at least have a manager come to our table.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2015 11:57PM by Phoebe70.

I once bit into an apple fritter and there was this tugging sensation. I looked and a very long hair was baked deep into the apple fritter, half the bite with the hair was in my mouth and the other half was attached to the fritter, kind of like I was a fish and the bait was caught in my mouth. Totally disgusting!

(not a shop)

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I once bit into an apple fritter and there was this tugging sensation. I looked and a very long hair was baked deep into the apple fritter, half the bite with the hair was in my mouth and the other half was attached to the fritter, kind of like I was a fish and the bait was caught in my mouth. Totally disgusting!

(not a shop)

Oh ack! I would have gagged and probably would have been really struggling not to throw up. In fact, I'm struggling a little now. Hrmmm.

@LJ wrote:

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I once bit into an apple fritter and there was this tugging sensation. I looked and a very long hair was baked deep into the apple fritter, half the bite with the hair was in my mouth and the other half was attached to the fritter, kind of like I was a fish and the bait was caught in my mouth. Totally disgusting!

(not a shop)

Oh ack! I would have gagged and probably would have been really struggling not to throw up. In fact, I'm struggling a little now. Hrmmm.

It was beyond "extremely disgusting"..... so much so, that to this day, I can't really enjoy apple fritters, for fear this hair gagging incident will happen again!

I have half swallowed very long hair and then had to pull it back up out of my throat. That is a very creepy feeling.

I found the very tip of a finger in Dinty Beef Stew. I was chewing on it and spit it out, when I examined it I found that it was a small disk with fingerprints on it, like swollen from water. (I know <scream> TMI TMI. But I have massive issues with people I don't know preparing my food, including processed food, canned meals, etc.)

A friend found a metal bolt in her taco salad from the mall food court. Yeah! I don't do very many food shops. You can't pay me enough to eat most of the food at most places, and never for reimbursement only.

As a hair stylist I routinely find other people's hair in places you don't even want to know about. A 3" hair in a salad wouldn't phase me at all.

@NumberNineteen wrote:

As a hair stylist I routinely find other people's hair in places you don't even want to know about. A 3" hair in a salad wouldn't phase me at all.

Ha Ha! If ever your home, or your car (God forbid) became a crime scene? Or any place you spent significant time in did for that matter... That would be a Holy nightmare cataloguing the DNA, fiber and hair samples!

I guess from a scientific standpoint it's just fibrous protein, not flesh or anything, and no grosser than silk. Think of all the dead skin cells that slough off randomly and fall in things.

As a kid, I chewed a roll forever, finally spit out the last piece, and it was a cigarette filter. Four of us at work used to go to a dine in deli once a week for lunch. My friend spit out a bite of sandwich, and it was a used bandaid. The owner tells him he checked in the kitchen, and no one has any injuries, so it must have come in the turkey. Gives him a receipt for a free future sandwich. We never went back to use that coupon.

The finger tip is the worst!

@Lexxycon wrote:

Think of all the dead skin cells that slough off randomly and fall in things.

Nope. Nuh-uh, no way, nooooo thank you. Can't make me do it.

Darn, I wondered where that last hair went.

I'm generally pretty "meh" about hair, but I would still send the meal back.

Also, this thread is hilarious.

I did twice. My DH is the food examiner, hair police. I sort of regretted him doing that as it made us memorable. One venue stopped their MS so I don't feel a great loss there. They comp'd the entree. The other venue apologized over and over. Server, Manager, and Chef personally visited our table. We didn't make a scene and relayed that things happen. At the end, our server informed us our meal was totally comp'd. OMG, please let us pay! I just reported it as it happened and was reimbursed for the tip and valet. Haven't been back for over a year. Think I'll wait a wee bit more.

I have found, not once but twice, what was clearly a chewed off piece of fingernail in my Starbucks drink...the barista probably chewed her nails, bit one off, and PATOOIE! Spit it out.

This thread is great for my diet. My appetite is completely gone!

I got a 9 out of 10 on the report, but this msc for some reason rarely gives 10s, and they never state the reason for their 9s.

Why am I reading this thread? I'm getting a little green around the gills but I can't stop reading!
\_('o')_/

I remember years ago going out to dinner with my parents. The restaurant served bowls of a corn salad. My mom noticed the corn was moving as a cockroach crawled out of the salad. It was still alive and crawling around. YUCK!

Ditto to on why am I still reading. Awful topic, with too many vivid details. I too would report hair if guidelines said act as a normal customer. Otherwise, I'd be done eating as quick as time limits allow. My report would be carefully worded. I would not return for a long while if manager did not come by to apologize. It is normal for this store or do they just not care. I am very careful about which food shops I accept. This just reminds me why.

I am not grossed out by a 3" strand of hair which is obviously from someone's head and probably washed recently with shampoo..... but I would freak getting a 1.5" wiggly squiggly weird shaped hair in my stuff, from someone's junky body, hint. Which I have gotten by the way at a pizza place. I have also gotten a roach IN my Chinese food, from my favorite restaurant no less and a rat sitting underneath my table at my favorite Mexican place.

Moral of the story. Don't let people you don't know prepare your food. It eliminates the whole discovery-of-yuck factor. It only takes one or two of these incidents to realize all of the things you have likely ingested without knowledge.... and I have a very active imagination.

If you knew half or what you eat contains, you'd not eat any processed food at all. If it is less than what you can taste, and it's not poison, then your fine. The FDA says so.

If the hair was long enough, you could floss with it when your done eating.

@scanman1 wrote:

If you knew half or what you eat contains, you'd not eat any processed food at all. If it is less than what you can taste, and it's not poison, then your fine. The FDA says so.

If the hair was long enough, you could floss with it when your done eating.

Yes, yes and yes! I know whats in it (intentionally in it that is) because I used to work in Food Science, R&D. I quit that in a hurry. It's one of the most unethical fields out there. And the FDA allows poison too - half our additives are banned in Europe. More like if you don't die immediately from eating it, then the lingering slow aftereffects of the poison can be brushed off as coincidental, and therefore given a pill for the symptoms.

Money to be made by all involved. The consumer is the one harmed, but they don't care; they already have your money and are guaranteed to keep getting it as long as you keep eating their food. Then they use your money to fund marketing to combat any bad vibes people may develop about the food when finding out it's toxic garbage. (Hey arsenic tastes great when excellent flavoring science is employed. So lets not make people feel bad about eating it. That affects our sales. Remind them how the small amount of whole grain fiber and protein in the slop is so good for them and helps them lose weight and is so fast and convenient. Tastes great too. The kids love it.)

No, it's really not the cigarette butt, the hair, or the skin, or the roach or rat turd that we can see that we should be so concerned about... just one more reason to not eat it.

[Sorry about the diatribe. I have massive issues from my insider experience in the food industry. Just trust me. Make it yourself from scratch - source your ingredients carefully. This is the end of my public service announcement for today!]

Is it true they use human diploid cell cultures to experiment with food additives?

@HorseFeathers wrote:

Is it true they use human diploid cell cultures to experiment with food additives?

Yep!

Lexxycon, if you hadn't already become one of my favorite posters, that one would have sealed the deal