Dealing with customers with allergies can be quite tricky.

Their health and your job as a cook or a server depend on giving them safe, non-allergenic food.

This man working in a restaurant shares that it’s not a problem serving people with allergies.

What’s more difficult are those who are just riding on a specific diet trend, such as the gluten-free trend.

Read the full story below for all the details.

Sorry you said you were allergic.

Here’s a restaurant story from a few years ago.

I cook or wait tables, depending on how long it takes me to get fed up with one or the other, and I need a change.

We always have to be very conscious of allergies in food service.

As it can be life or death for some people for shellfish allergies, nut allergies, celiacs, et.

This person could easily determine customers with real allergy problems.

Enter gluten-free-trend crowd.

While I recognize some people have a legit allergy, there are so many that are trying to be trendy.

The big difference is that a person with a true allergy has an already general idea of what they can and cannot have, and they will start the whole process off before ordering by letting you know what said allergy is.

Which we appreciate as it saves time.

No big deal.

Some are just riding the gluten-free trend.

The trendy gluten-free peeps need to tell you three times throughout their order.

And then, they always end up back tracking.

Finding out that basically everything they desire to order either contains gluten, or is potentially cross contaminated.

They have a regular customer who tells them about her gluten problem.

I was waiting this time around.

And I started getting tired of hearing about it.

We had a particular almost daily regular who would tell us every time about her gluten intolerance.

She tells all the people sitting near her about it, then proceed to order items that had gluten.

She ordered her usual food.

I was having a bad day.

She comes in.

She does her normal spiel about being allergic to gluten, and I say, “Yup.”

It wasn’t sufficient enough attention for her.

She emphasizes what it does to her delicate system because she’s allergic.

She orders the usual.

He’s a little tired of her, so he thought of a genius idea.

Food cooked and prepared in the fryers, which have had gluten ridden food fried in them all day.

I’m thoroughly annoyed now having to listen to her graphic details about her gut and the effects from gluten.

I, as usual, inform her the fryers are cooked in with items containing gluten.

As she says the normal “Oh, that’s fine,” I have an evil idea pop into my head.

He explained the risk of giving her food that may be cross-contaminated.

“Ma’am, you just said you’re allergic to gluten. I cannot, in good conscience, put this restaurant or my job at risk by serving you food that you will have an allergic reaction to. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to pick another item.”

She’s shocked.

Starts backtracking.

He stood firm and showed her her options.

I stand firm.

“No. I’m sorry, but I just can’t do it. If you get sick from the food because I was careless about your allergy, then I could lose my job. These are the items you can choose from today.”

Even the manager backed him up.

She calls the manager over.

The manager backs me up after hearing the story (manager was tired of her, too).

So, the lady indignantly orders one of the items I listed to save face.

Obviously no tip, but I don’t care, it was worth it.

Still came back two days later… miraculously cured of her gluten allergy.

That’s a creative way to put her in her place!

Let’s find out what others have to say about this on Reddit.

Someone with lactose intolerance shares their thoughts.

This is perfect compliance, says this person.

Here’s a valid point from this person.

Someone with gluten sensitivity speaks up.

Finally, this person thinks it’s priceless.

Some people just ruin it for everybody, especially for those with real allergies.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.