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Food allergies (or food intolerances) are abnormal immune system reactions in the human body after consuming certain types of food. In some individuals, food allergies can lead to serious conditions such as anaphylaxis, endangering lives.
In reality, only a small percentage of people suffer from food allergies. Therefore, many restaurants (including upscale ones) sometimes neglect to train or simply 'forget' to remind staff daily about how to handle situations when customers experience food allergies at their establishment.
An incident involving a customer experiencing a food allergy can be detrimental, severely tarnishing the reputation of a restaurant. However, on the flip side, you can also turn adversity into opportunity if, in such a crisis situation, your restaurant responds intelligently, not only satisfying the customer but also preventing competitors from undermining your business.
So, what's your plan? Follow PasGo Team's comprehensive guide on 'Handling Food Allergies at Restaurants' below!
1. Clearly Describe the Ingredients of Each Menu Item
In the article '6 Tips for Designing Beautiful Menus by Major Corporations,' PasGo discussed the importance of providing clear descriptions of the ingredients and components of all menu items during menu design. This not only increases restaurant revenue by 30% but also helps customers identify what's in the dish and whether it contains any allergens. This helps avoid frequent incidents of customers experiencing allergies.
For professional restaurants, clearly annotating the ingredients of menu items is no longer a matter of 'should or shouldn't,' but has become a 'must-do' task.
2. Train Staff on Knowledge of Common Allergenic Foods
Food allergies are considered chronic (lasting a long time) or acute (sudden) conditions. However, not all customers have the habit of thoroughly reading the ingredients of a dish, even those with a history of food allergies. They often choose dishes based on their preferences from various places without hesitation. But they forget that each restaurant will have different cooking methods and secret recipes, with possibly different spices.
But that's the customers' habit. As a service provider, you cannot 'blame' them for that habit. Although servers cannot stand next to every customer and list all the ingredients of each dish for everyone, do not forget the duty to remind customers to read the ingredients of the dish while browsing the menu.
After customers have chosen their dish, the server's task is to advise customers on which ingredients in the chosen dishes are likely to cause allergies. At this point, customers will either exclude the foods they cannot eat themselves or make specific requests tailored to their tastes and health.
Training employees on basic knowledge of food allergies, especially understanding certain types of foods with high allergy potential, is always necessary.
>> Common Allergenic Foods
According to nutrition experts' research, below are some of the most common food items that are likely to cause allergies in humans:
- Seafood (shrimp, crab, fish, shellfish, scallops, sea snails, squid, etc.)
- Eggs and products, derivatives from eggs
- Cow's milk, goat's milk
- Gluten-containing grains
- Peanuts
- Soybeans
- Wheat
- Tree nuts such as almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.
- Even seasonings like MSG (monosodium glutamate)
3. Serve the Correct Food to Customers
This is a crucial task for a server. Always double-checking the accuracy of the food ordered by the customer with the dishes prepared by the kitchen is essential. Servers must not be subjective and must always cross-reference one last time before serving the food to the customers.
In cases where it's not ready to be served, those dishes need to be placed in a separate area to avoid confusion with other table orders. Additionally, it's important to inform other staff members about this and absolutely refrain from adding any ingredients, seasonings, or substances into them.
4. Train Staff in First Aid Steps for Customers with Food Allergies
Don't be complacent just because your restaurant hasn't encountered any instances of customer food allergies so far. Such incidents can occur unexpectedly at any time. Smart restaurant management means never allowing the restaurant to fall into a passive state.
Ideally, as a manager, you should be the first to prioritize understanding 'food allergies.' Consequently, organizing regular training sessions for staff on first aid skills in situations where customers experience food allergies is crucial, even requiring multiple rehearsals.
4.1 Understanding Common Symptoms of Food Allergies
Symptoms can appear within minutes to 2 hours after consuming allergen-containing food. Common symptoms include:
- Itching in the mouth, throat itching
- Hives
- Swelling of lips, tongue, throat, face, or other parts of the body
- Dizziness, lightheadedness – fainting
- Wheezing – nasal congestion – difficulty breathing
- Nausea – vomiting, abdominal pain – diarrhea
- Anaphylactic shock: This is an extremely severe allergic reaction, including symptoms such as respiratory distress, throat swelling, difficulty breathing, drop in blood pressure, dizziness, or unconsciousness…
For some people, food allergies only cause uncomfortable itching. But for those experiencing anaphylactic shock, it's highly dangerous – as it can lead to coma, or even death.
4.2 Handling Customers with Food Allergies
- Ideally, your restaurant, hotel, or eatery should have a licensed medical professional authorized to use Ministry of Health-approved allergy medications.
- Always keep the phone number of the local medical center (ward, district, or emergency number 115) handy for direct guidance when needed.
- Always have some common allergy medications with valid expiration dates on hand (as prescribed by a medical professional), typically antihistamines.
- In the absence of a medical professional, restaurant staff must rely on the customer's allergic symptoms to handle the situation promptly. However, under no circumstances should staff administer medication to the customer without their consent or medical guidance.
+ For mild allergic reactions, such as mild itching: Servers may consider seeking advice from the local medical authorities or obtaining the customer's consent before administering over-the-counter antihistamines (or equivalent medications the customer has previously used) to help alleviate itching symptoms.
+ If the customer exhibits more severe symptoms such as dizziness, difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat... then they must be promptly taken to the hospital as soon as possible.
5. Provide maximum assistance to customers, never neglecting them for fear of reputation damage
Many restaurants find themselves in situations where customers experience food allergies, often trying to avoid or deny responsibility for fear of tarnishing their reputation. However, as mentioned earlier, sometimes a 'mishap' can be an opportunity. How you navigate through difficult times can be the key to elevating your restaurant's professional image to new heights.
Your business isn't built in a day. If you want your brand to thrive sustainably, learn that the best restaurant management means facing challenges head-on.
Therefore, if unfortunately a customer suffers health issues due to an allergy after dining at your restaurant, don't rush to blame. Instead, immediately seek ways to help them recover to the best of your ability. After initial first aid proves ineffective, promptly take them to the hospital and take responsibility until the cause is clarified.
What should restaurant management do if a customer is truly allergic to the establishment's food?
The answer is to boldly admit fault. Furthermore, smartly commit to all customers, demonstrating a clear attitude of responsibility to avoid putting the restaurant in a passive position.
There's no shortage of customers using this as an excuse to demand unreasonable compensation and blame the restaurant for food safety issues. Depending on each case, you must be alert to negotiate or accept a reasonable level of compensation to 'calm the waters.'
However it's done, always remember: all handling should be swift, decisive, absolutely avoiding prolonged indecision, to prevent creating prolonged discussions offline or on social media platforms. Over time, people will only remember your restaurant's courageous admission of fault, both parties resolving the issue satisfactorily,... and eventually, after a while, they won't recall exactly what happened...
6. Note customers' dietary preferences on the software
According to numerous studies on psychology, diners feel cared for and positively inclined towards a restaurant when the staff remember their eating habits after their first visit. Hence, noting down customers' specific dietary preferences is one of the arts of professional customer care, which every restaurant manager should incorporate into employee training programs.
However, how should these notes be stored clearly and systematically? With a large number of customers reaching into the thousands, you can't sit down to sift through each person's preferences in notebooks, can you?
Using Excel files for note-taking is also a solution. However, as the customer data grows, retrieving information from Excel files can become overloaded, causing system freezes, or sometimes inaccuracies when filtering customer data.
In this case, restaurants should consider using restaurant management software or collaborate with professional restaurant booking service providers like PasGo. All software and applications from these providers are built on connected technology platforms, so all customer information, including booking preferences and specific requests, is stored accurately, with large data volumes and data retrieval in less than 1 second.
Utilize booking software and customer management tools to professionally care for your customers.
Above are detailed insights into how to help restaurants handle situations where customers experience food allergies. These scenarios should be categorized as serious and sensitive, and the highest authority at the restaurant (supervisor, manager, owner, etc.) should be present to provide guidance and coordinate appropriate staff responses.
In restaurant business, after each meal, before guests leave, as a manager, you should inquire about the food quality of the restaurant, particularly paying attention to inquire about guests with pre-existing allergies, as noted from the beginning.
This gesture demonstrates your care and hospitality. Moreover, it helps you confirm that the food does not trigger any allergies for the guests, and if any issues arise, you can promptly devise a solution.
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