I’ll Have A Caesar Salad… Possibly Poisonous Needles on the Side
Two days ago, I craved some of Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup. So, as many of us do, a friend and I headed on over to Chili’s (the one on the Gulf Road) to have Iftar.
We sat down, we ordered: our food came, we ate it. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. But as we neared the end of our meal my friend spotted this thing.
It was a needle: an I.V. needle.
Yes, we found a possibly used, possibly poisonous, and definitely unsanitary hospital grade I.V. needle just sitting around at the edge of our table. Disgust does not even begin to express what was going through my mind when I first saw it. After snapping a few incriminating pictures with our iPhones, my friend and I immediately informed the manager who apologized profusely, comped our bill, and promptly took the needle away.
He promised that he would get to the bottom of how the needle got there and how it could’ve been so horribly neglected. He seemed very earnest and extremely apologetic as he repeatedly assured us that he would handle the situation with his superiors somehow. After having a very stern conversation with him I didn’t want to make a scene or to do anything that would lead to someone needlessly losing their job.
So, my friend and I left Chilli’s and, even while thoroughly grossed out, decided we didn’t want to hurt someone’s life over a mistake.
But then the next day I thought: hold on, that was a needle. Placed precariously close to our food.
It could’ve been poisonous; held some highly contagious disease; had we had any toddlers with us they could’ve easily stuffed it in their mouths. The possibilities for a very scary situation were endless.
And God knows how long its been left out there, right under the noses of the Chili’s staff! I mean, we came into the restaurant at Futoor time, which I’m guessing is when the restaurant opens (since, you know, Ramadan), that means that there is a good possibility that this needle which someone might have stuck through thier skin was left out over night without anyone caring enough to notice it or clean it up.
That level of negligence on the part of Chili’s cannot by any means be excused. Hell, if that’s how negligent they are about the part of the restaurant that people can see imagine how negligent they are about the part that they can’t.
What it came down to in the end was simple: I would not want anyone to even possibly be exposed to the same level of unsanitary eating. If I knew of someone who was exposed to this kind of incident, I’d definitely want them to report it for everyone’s sake. It’s not that I want to cause trouble for anyone or that I don’t trust the manager will try and do something about it. It’s just that I think its my responsibility to try and do as much as I personally can.
Now, here’s where I might need your help (yes, you’re the “your,” you!). See, I’ve tried reaching out to a few places that might be able to help and, basically, I haven’t come up with squat. I called 135 (the Ministry of Commerce hotline) only to be answered by a gentleman who, with all due respect, did not seem to take me seriously at all or know his elbow from his knee. He informed me that they would try and look into it but, after my conversation, I’m somewhat doubtful he even put it on record. I tried to find a way to contact the Ministry of Health (cause maybe there was an angle there) and couldn’t even find so much as a working phone number.
So, just to be safe, I’ve now taken to the blog. And to you my faithful, wonderful readers! Yes, I’m invoking the indestructible powers of LE WASTA!
If you or anyone you know can get some serious health inspectors down to Chili’s in order to really get this matter sorted out I urge you to please do so. If you don’t then please pass this post along to as many people as you can, and hopefully it’ll catch the eye of someone who can really do something about this.
Public health and eating sanitation is not a joke and when something as scary as I.V. needles are found it should be our responsibility to make sure they are never found again. Please help if you can.
All my love! (also here are more pictures of the scary I.V. needle, taken with a mediocre iPhone 4 camera)
I very curious to know what the story behind that needle is! Who would bring a needle to the restaurant and just leave it there? What was it used for? And how can someone not see it? Everything about this scene is just weird..
YES! It’s very bizarre! And the thing is that there is a good possibility it was left out overnight. However it got there it’s still quite disgusting and definitely a very scary indication of the way that this restaurant is run!
This is really strange, but did you get any update on that ?
Well, I don’t know if this counts as an update but I’ve recieved an email from what I believe is Chili’s higher management (I guess this post reached them). They wanted to speak to me personally and I when I told them I don’t share any details of my personal identity (i.e phone numbers) I didn’t hear anything back.
I’ve been contacted by people who have had similar experiences in Chili’s and, if I get their approval, I might very well share their stories here as well. Still unsure though.
So far I’m just trying to spread the word on this so that an official, government investigation can seriously take place. I really don’t want to hurt Chili’s, I just don’t believe something like this should just go uninvestigated.
How absolutely horrible and you’re right to share this story with others. Thank you!!
As you said, there are a number of horrible incidents which could have happened. I’m glad to know Chilis management seemed to take it seriously, but a ‘comp meal’ doesn’t solve this very serious problem. Sure, it could have been left behind by a customer from the night before, or, it could be from your server. Either way, this is a serious matter that should result in an extensive health/sanitation related inspection at that location.
That’s pretty much what I’m focusing on right now: figuring out a way to get some real health inspectors down there in order to make sure this never happens again. Unfortunately some people have been hesitant to help because they’re afraid of any legal issues. I guess they can’t be totally blamed though.
But the fact that this has caught the eye of the upper management is a good sign, although I’d prefer it if an impartial party did the inspection. Mostly because I’ve recieved a few emails from some readers telling me that this is not exactly an isolated incident.
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