Pizza Hut Waiter Jailed For Serving Up Wrong Order

[Michael]

LF, you should appreciate this...


NEW DELHI: When a waiter gets an order wrong, it usually means that he will not be tipped well. However, such is not always the case.

A particular waiter at Pizza Hut, Vasant Vihar presently finds himself in jail because
he got an order wrong.

Siddhartha Jain, a resident of Sainik Farms, claims that he went to the restaurant at
about 10.30 pm on Friday. Being a vegetarian, he ordered some vegetarian spaghetti.

However, when he started eating he claims he found chicken in it.

In his statement Siddhartha later claimed that he reported the matter to all senior

officers at the restaurant who refused to offer any apology.

"The Pizza Hut staff was amused by the entire episode and were surprised as to
how in today’s world one can create such a fuss and can be so backward and orthodox," he said.

Siddhartha later had a case registered against the restaurant for a deliberate and
malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings.

The unfortunate waiter who allegedly served the wrong dish has been arrested and
reportedly denied bail.

Pizza Hut has, however, denied Siddharth’s allegations. In a statement CEO
Devyani International, a Pizza Hut franchise, Viraj Joshi said: "The allegations are completely untrue and fabricated. This is a clear attempt to tarnish Pizza Hut’s reputation.”

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=13794851&sType=1

[Teri]

Siddhartha for president :)

[KillsTheWeak]

Well it is kind of funny, seeing a veggetarian throw fits about meat in there spighatti :) Thats itallian food, and the itallians are all about the meat :)

[Teri]

When I lived in Italy, with a vegan, that wasn't the impression that I got.
Besides, if they think it's funny serving up chicken unrequested, maybe it'd be dog **** or a tampon next time.

[Thalia]

I don't doubt that the people at the restaurant did it on purpse. We don't know for sure, but I definitely wouldn't put it past people. I am actually kinda scared in some kinds of restaurants that if I make a really big deal or ask for something weird, they'll put something in there on purpose (at a place like Taco bell).

But this happened in India?

[stonecrest]

granted that pizza hut certainly didn't act very well in the situation, but doesn't anyone else find it a little ridiculous that the guy's in jail without bail? if i punished myself everytime i thought a food was vegetarian and it ended up not being veggie, i'd end up behind bars a few times each month. :p

[KillsTheWeak]

Well when you go out to it your relying on trusting what they serve you, what they serve you is mostly there choice, it is there restaraunt :)

[LadyFaile]

nooooo you trust that they're serving you what you ordered, and not serving you what you didn't order.
we don't even sell pasta with chicken in it, it had to have been deliberate, there's no way for cross contamination between pasta and chicken, the sauces are packaged, the pasta is kept individually packaged before being used.. the only kind of non-veg contamination i can see happening by accident is putting meat sauce on instead of tomato sauce.
also, i'm assuming all locations are set up the same way, the chicken is kept in containers next to the salad dressings with a big cover over the whole thing. no pasta stuff under there.
yeah it was deliberate..

but i agree jail is harsh, i'd have just fired the guy. but the restaurant itself should've been charged, not just the waiter, since the management did nothing about it. at our place if that happened the manager would comp the customer's bill

[KillsTheWeak]

ive had chicken in pasta at pizza hut..... :) wasnt very good though, maybe i should i thrown the waiter in jail cause it was a bit cold :)

[Rushabh]

India is dominated by vegetarians and to put a non-vegetarian item in a vegetarian plate is akin to putting human flesh in a plate of spaghetti in a restaurant anywhere in the USA.

In the USA, the waiter or the restaurant owner would probably get arrested and thrown in jail for cannibalism or worse.

In India, you get thrown in jail for putting animal flesh in a vegetarian meal, especially if the person ordering the meal is a strict vegetarian. Remember, meat is the exception, not the norm in India.

[Max Power]

I'm so totallily moving to India.

[Rushabh]

If I remember correctly, you are a fan of beer drinking. If you actually move to India, I would recommend you avoid the state of Gujarat since alcohol is prohibited in that state although it can be had in the black market. On the other hand, Gujarat is the most hard-core veg state in the whole country. You won't find animal flesh anywhere except in 3-5 star hotels and Muslim neighborhoods.

[Seadolphin]

Why is alcohol prohibited there?

[Rushabh]

Originally, it was imposed to meet social norms and public demands in Gujarat which was a highly conservative and orthodox society. But today, it's flouted due to corruption and high demand from the upper classes as well as more liberal social norms.

http://www.rediff.com/election/2002/dec/11guj4.htm

[Max Power]

Originally posted by Rushabh
If I remember correctly, you are a fan of beer drinking.
Max likes :beer:

Max is going to Goa :D

[Tame]

Originally posted by Rushabh
India is dominated by vegetarians and to put a non-vegetarian item in a vegetarian plate is akin to putting human flesh in a plate of spaghetti in a restaurant anywhere in the USA.



Very poor analogy. I presume meat-eating is not illegal (otherwise businesses could not serve it), so it does not compare to placing human flesh in a meal, as cannabilism is illegal.

I'm sorry, but jailing a waiter for what is possibly a mistake is just stupid.

[Rushabh]

Tame,

You need to understand vegetarianism within the context of Indian society. Meat-eating is extremely offensive to a major section of the population. Although meat-eating is not illegal per se, it is often illegal to offend religious sensibilities and social norms by surreptitiously placing non-veg items in a vegetarian dish. This is the kind of action that often leads to religious rioting between two certain sections of the society.

Jailing the waiter may have been an overkill if it turns out to be a honest mistake. But since Pizza Hut is not exactly known for its vegetarian sensibilities, it is natural for anyone to think that it was a deliberate or negligent mistake, rather than a honest mistake. The poor waiter was simply a victim of such paranoia.

[Robert]

Originally posted by Rushabh
But since Pizza Hut is not exactly known for its vegetarian sensibilities

Then, if Pizza Hut is so widely regarded as NOT having veg* sensibilities, wouldn't this be a bit a red flag that mistakes might indeed happen?

ETA: I have some Indian strict vegetarian friends, and I absolutely understand how much they believe in the non-eating of meat. I asked them about this topic and they say, without question, that this was a deliberate and not an accident.

I dunno, it just seems to me that a mistake "could" happen.

[Kreeli]

what confuses me is, waiters don't usually prepare the food at restaurants...they just serve it. unless things are different in india's pizza huts, shouldn't it have been the cook who was charged and jailed?

[VealPrincess]

should maybe no one go to jail for serving a vegetarian a dish with a piece of chicken in it?

it's a pain to have to send stuff back because it doesn't come out the way you ordered it and all, but seriously, does this warrant time in the slammer?

[Kreeli]

we are talking about life in a predominately vegetarian culture, VP, something none of us are familliar with, so it may seem ludicrous to you, but make perfect sense to the devout in india.

[VealPrincess]

of course- cultural relavance- should have thought about it before i posted.

[Tame]

Originally posted by Rushabh
Tame,

You need to understand vegetarianism within the context of Indian society. Meat-eating is extremely offensive to a major section of the population. Although meat-eating is not illegal per se, it is often illegal to offend religious sensibilities and social norms by surreptitiously placing non-veg items in a vegetarian dish. This is the kind of action that often leads to religious rioting between two certain sections of the society.



I do understand, I just don't care what the sensibilities are. Jailing someone for a incorrecty made dish is stupid. If the person involved is offended by eating meat, I would suggest they avoid restaurants that serve it in the future.
I also find that it is illegal to offend religious sensibilities stupid, and that goes for similar laws in the US.
Ditto for religious rioting.

[majake]

"I also find that it is illegal to offend religious sensibilities stupid, and that goes for similar laws in the US."

but Tame, it was done maliciously. ;)

[Tame]

Allegedly done maliciously. Sounds to me like some sissy was mad because they didn't kiss his ass apologizing.

Even if it was done maliciously, jailing someone for non-violently offending religious "sensibilities is well...stupid.