Poor Customer Service is not Only Insulting - it May be Putting Your Health at Risk

If you are like me then you have seen the steady decline in customer service over the years.

While employees acknowledging customers, and taking pride in the food the products they are selling seem simple enough components of customer service – the truth is they are becoming less and less a part of customer service.

While standing waiting for s employee to finish a loud phone conversation or having to deal with the bad attitude of an underpaid employee are both irritating and regular occurrences in foodservice, they are not exactly putting your health at risk.

On the other hand, being served cold old food that should have been disposed of by employees is more than just irritating - it is placing your health at risk.

According to national foodservice statistics food in the "danger zone" is one of the biggest contributors to foodborne illness.

Yet, foodservice employees are seemingly consistently severing food with in the danger zone to customers.

The danger zone for food is between 40 and under140 degrees. Food in this temperature zone can breed bacteria that causes foodborne illness at a rate that doubles the bacteria every 10 to 30 minutes.

Some may think food that can actually make a person sick would have telltale signs of being dangerous – however, this belief is not necessarily true.

Before bacteria results to spoilage, it is odorless, colorless and tasteless, making the bacteria even more dangerous and is an even bigger reason why foodservice workers should not serve food past the expiration time.

This reason for my concern came about when during a visit to Little Classer's Pizza located at 703 S. Neil St, in Champaign IL, I received a sausage pizza that was visible in the danger zone.

The pizza had no warmth and even an untrained eye could see that the pizza had been at room temperature for hours at the least.

This kind of neglect in customer consideration is what led to the 1993 food poisoning out break associated with Jack in the Box.

While in full disclosure Jack in the Box out break was due to under cooked burgers, the same principle applies to my situation – food being served in the danger zone.

It seems to me that the 732 customers infected from the Jack in the Box out break should be reason enough for Little Caesar's to ensure that all their food is up to temperature.

However the fact that a product with the potential danger to make an individual sick made it to the hands of the public is proof enough that it is not necessarily always enough.

While the stomach cramping, dizziness, body pains, diarrhea and vomiting associated with foodborne illness is bad enough for an individual to deal. The Jack in the Box out break left 178 victims with permanent injuries to organs like the kidneys and the brain.

Add in the fact that the symptoms of foodborne illness are more sever for the elderly, children and people with comprised immune systems and the risk of serving food in the danger zones are greatly increased.

While it infuriated me to have been served such a poor quality product, like pouring slat in an open wound the mangers response to the situation was heartless at best.

I trusted Little Caesar's Pizza with my health, and money, yet when the negligence of the store's employees put both my health and money in danger I was treated as if I was scamming the company for a five-dollar pizza.

I brought my plight to the attention of the corporate office and they did make some attempts to contact me concerning my experience with the store. Even the owner – Michael Paige – made an attempt to get in touch with me concerning the issue.

However, when I was finally able to return calls to the corporate office and the owner, it seems as if they have lost interest in resolving the issue.

It may have only been five bucks, but it was my five bucks and if I spent it expecting something in return, it is reasonable expectations to receive the item that was purchased without having to go back into rain, thunder and lightening to get the quality product advertised by the store, on the first visit to the store.

It has been several weeks since I gave my money for a meal and as of today I still do not have the meal I purchased or a refund of the money I spent.

The entire situation is a reminder to me of the willingness of corporate America to place the health of the public in danger in pursuit of profit.

I also think about if it were I who took five bucks from out of the register of Little Caesar's, I would have been incarcerated. Yet Little Caesar's took five bucks from out of my pocket and gave me nothing of value in return and I there is not much I can do about it.

However I can do this – from this point on I will carry a thermometer and bacteria testing strips with me to every foodservice operation I visit and I will be doing random testing of the food items purchased.

I will record my visits and post the results online and sharing them with local and national news sources in an attempt to shine a light on the dangers of poor customer service.

I will do this in an attempt to make consumer aware of the health risk potential associated with poor customer service such as the service I got from Little Caesar's.