I get regular work from a mystery shopping company to do a chain of upscale burger joints centered in NYC, visiting a couple of the locations every month, sometimes visiting certain ones once a month. They have "knowledge questions" every month that I'd say, 50% of the time, have me pretending to have a certain allergy and see how they react or what items they tell me I can't eat. I've been told to claim I have an egg allergy, dairy allergy and this time, a gluten allergy. I should preface this by saying I do not have any of these allergies, or any kinds of dietary restrictions, in real life.
I have also been explicitly told that I can't downplay these as just claiming I have an "intolerance" or some other reason for avoiding the ingredient (like it being against my religion or my doctor telling me to shy away from the items- both of which I tried to use, and both of which I got reamed for).
Today I went in and claimed I had a gluten allergy and needed a gluten-free bun, which I had done twice at two other locations this month. They were cautious, warning me what might be cross contaminated, advising me not to order certain items (that I was nevertheless required to order; oy vey!). The managers at the chain are expected to be social and hands-on, so while eating my burger, she stops at my table.
First she asks if I'm enjoying the food. I was. So far, so good, thought she'd go on to ask the next group of diners.
Then she asked if the gluten-free bun I had was the "best I've ever tried." Now, I'm not gluten-intolerant. I love me a nice piece of bread. And I love the potato buns they normally serve with their burgers. Gluten-free buns are disgusting. They have the consistency and taste of tightly packed, wet sand. I also haven't had "gluten-free bread" anywhere else other than this place, so I didn't really have a barometer for whether or not it's good, but I do hate it. I try to be diplomatic by saying something like "Oh, I was just diagnosed recently, I'm still getting used to the taste" and hoping she'd move along; simply because I was worried if I complained I'd either stick out as a shopper or it might look like I was faking my allergy because going "gluten-free" is also a food trend.
Well that was a bad decision. Turns out the manager's sister had celiac disease (the disease that makes people have to abstain from gluten). She started talking about her sister's symptoms, asking if mine were as bad as hers, asking how I coped with the issues... thank god I had read a little bit about the disease on my own, long before doing the mystery shop, because I would've looked like an idiot if I couldn't fake it. I was told what other products at the store contained gluten- products I was required to order in other months. And after finally leaving after talking to me for fifteen minutes, she came BACK to tell me that there was another gluten-intolerant person in the restaurant who LOVED the buns- and continued to talk to me about being gluten free for another ten minutes.
She was a wonderful, sympathetic, gregarious manager.... and I am so glad I'm a natural liar because I can never set foot in that restaurant again. I really resent this mystery shopping company, and their client, for making us lie about our allergies, often changing our story month to month, not allowing us to modify our stories to make them more believable, and I know I will not be able to do this location through no fault of my own (especially because this manager mentioned she's been at that location for years and would probably be present and remember me if I showed up again.) And what if I knew little about the disease that makes people gluten-free? At best I'd basically be insulting her sister, at worst I'd be outed as a shopper, and it's not like the MSC or client provides us with any information about the disease.
I have also been explicitly told that I can't downplay these as just claiming I have an "intolerance" or some other reason for avoiding the ingredient (like it being against my religion or my doctor telling me to shy away from the items- both of which I tried to use, and both of which I got reamed for).
Today I went in and claimed I had a gluten allergy and needed a gluten-free bun, which I had done twice at two other locations this month. They were cautious, warning me what might be cross contaminated, advising me not to order certain items (that I was nevertheless required to order; oy vey!). The managers at the chain are expected to be social and hands-on, so while eating my burger, she stops at my table.
First she asks if I'm enjoying the food. I was. So far, so good, thought she'd go on to ask the next group of diners.
Then she asked if the gluten-free bun I had was the "best I've ever tried." Now, I'm not gluten-intolerant. I love me a nice piece of bread. And I love the potato buns they normally serve with their burgers. Gluten-free buns are disgusting. They have the consistency and taste of tightly packed, wet sand. I also haven't had "gluten-free bread" anywhere else other than this place, so I didn't really have a barometer for whether or not it's good, but I do hate it. I try to be diplomatic by saying something like "Oh, I was just diagnosed recently, I'm still getting used to the taste" and hoping she'd move along; simply because I was worried if I complained I'd either stick out as a shopper or it might look like I was faking my allergy because going "gluten-free" is also a food trend.
Well that was a bad decision. Turns out the manager's sister had celiac disease (the disease that makes people have to abstain from gluten). She started talking about her sister's symptoms, asking if mine were as bad as hers, asking how I coped with the issues... thank god I had read a little bit about the disease on my own, long before doing the mystery shop, because I would've looked like an idiot if I couldn't fake it. I was told what other products at the store contained gluten- products I was required to order in other months. And after finally leaving after talking to me for fifteen minutes, she came BACK to tell me that there was another gluten-intolerant person in the restaurant who LOVED the buns- and continued to talk to me about being gluten free for another ten minutes.
She was a wonderful, sympathetic, gregarious manager.... and I am so glad I'm a natural liar because I can never set foot in that restaurant again. I really resent this mystery shopping company, and their client, for making us lie about our allergies, often changing our story month to month, not allowing us to modify our stories to make them more believable, and I know I will not be able to do this location through no fault of my own (especially because this manager mentioned she's been at that location for years and would probably be present and remember me if I showed up again.) And what if I knew little about the disease that makes people gluten-free? At best I'd basically be insulting her sister, at worst I'd be outed as a shopper, and it's not like the MSC or client provides us with any information about the disease.