Imagine your client having to sign a food waiver before eating their hotel food…that’s what happened to an American guest when he ordered a medium-cooked burger at one of the world’s most successful hotel chains in Toronto, Canada.
According to popular Australian news site, news.com.au, the guest staying at the Hilton Airport Hotel (where this writer has stayed and it in no way stands out as something different from the Hilton you would expect) was disconcerted by being asked to sign a waiver form.
He posted on Reddit: “I ordered my burger medium and the waiter took it without comment. She brought it and it looked great! When I had my first bite she brought me a release form and said we always serve our burgers well done, but since you wanted it medium … you should sign this.”
The form stated it would clear the hotel restaurant against any claims for damages related to any foodborne illnesses arising from the medium-cooked burger.
Food release forms are not uncommon in hospitality when the restaurants need to protect themselves from the consequences of donating left-over food where they have no further control of its storage.
But in the case of a freshly prepared meal, the guest could not bring himself to sign a form like that. He paid and left without eating the burger.
Let us know if you have had cases like this in South Africa.