Summertime, and the living can be queasy

I suppose the most worrying telephone call a caterer serving fresh food can receive - more of a worry even than one from the Inland Revenue saying they are coming for a wages inspection - goes: "We had dinner in your restaurant last night and my husband has been violently ill all night with vomiting and diarrhoea. He had the help-yourself hors d'oeuvre table as a starter and we both think there was something on that which has upset him. I didn't have the same as he did and I haven't been affected. We think it was probably the prawns. We thought you'd like to know."

Cause for concern

We had such a call just recently - probably only the sixth or seventh such call we have received in 17 years. Eachone has represented a great cause for concern, and we have taken them all very seriously.

One hotel/brewery chain, advertising for unit and trainee managers, poses the question "What would you do in this situation?" and gives three possible options, implying that there is never one correct way of dealing with a complaint or problem.

No magic formula

In the same vein, I do not believe there is a magic formula for dealing with an allegation of food poisoning. There is no standard reaction that is appropriate. Sometimes the customer is left satisfied that they have told you; sometimes they threaten to inform the local authority; others want recompense or credit for their upset stomach.

In our recent instance, a gentleman phoned and made his allegation much as I have quoted above. He actually said he did not want to take things further but just wanted to let us know. He told me which foods he thought could have been suspect. He and his wife thought at the time perhaps he should have avoided them.

I thanked him for his comments and assured him we would review the way in which we produced, refrigerated and displayed our hors d'oeuvre table. And without admitting that our food was the cause of his illness, I did apologise for the inconvenience of his having to call us about it.

Later the same day, his wife rang back. Her husband was still very ill, they had not been able to eat the foods she had bought for their meals that day and she reckoned we owed them something. In listening to her comments, I realised she had decided we were responsible for her husband's upset stomach.

Who was to know whether he had an allergy he was unaware of; whether he was on medication which reacted with certain foods; or whether he had mixed drinks? I agreed to reimburse the cost of his meal, and she accepted a £25 voucher in full and final settlement.

Eating food we are not used to can cause us to believe we have a "tummy bug" and yet, on holiday or while travelling generally, we accept this as normal. Unless one party or the other threatens proof of medical evidence in these circumstances, no one will know for certain the cause of any stomach upset.

Actually, far more worrying than receiving just one call about alleged food poisoning is getting half-a-dozen calls, all indicating the same source of possible contamination. Thank goodness this has never happened here.

So to another "health scare" incident we witnessed during the recent warmer weather - one that indicated there are times when you should totally ignore what a customer says. A local lunch group, numbering about 80 women, had just finished their first course in the Walhampton Room when one of their number - an older woman - passed out with the heat. She was out for only a short period and she had come round by the time Justin - our head chef and first-aider - had reached her in the room.

Prudent precaution

As she sat in her chair, being fanned and comforted by her table companions and watched for indications of further revival by 79 pairs of eyes - the organiser had insisted the rest of the meal be suspended - Justin suggested it was prudent and wise, bearing in mind her age, to call an ambulance. The woman declined, saying she would be fine in a short time. Nevertheless, Justin went ahead and called one.

The paramedics attending later told us that the lady had a pacemaker, and that both her surgeon and GP had given her strict instructions to seek medical assistance in the event of collapse or fainting.

I was glad we had covered ourselves in this situation.