Got a little lecture from a concession stand girl

(Debra Moore) #1

Hi all! New here and new to Keto (less than a month).

I wanted to post because I wanted to share something that bugged me and still kinda does. Last night, I went to a movie. Naturally, they had nothing for me to eat. However, they did have a wrap sandwich that I thought would be pretty cool without the wrap. I asked the lady behind the counter if I could possibly have the wrap ingredients in a bowl, and she said no, they only had plates. That’s fine, I thought.

Then she said “I think that you can eat carbs on this one day.” She acted pretty annoyed by my asking about putting the stuff into a bowl. I thought that what I wanted to eat was none her damned business and if I didn’t want to eat carbs, I didn’t want to eat carbs. Plus, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about, because eating carbs would take me out of my Keto zone.

I know, she’s a busy-body, and I should ignore her, but I think that she’s just going to be one of many people who are going to keep bothering me about “just this once.” How do people handle this?"

Thanks!

PS - I ended up getting two carne asada tacos and discarded the shells. So, that’s another thing - why couldn’t this place have something for us low-carbers? Seeing as so many people are doing the low-carb thing, I think that every place should have a little something for us.

(Mike W.) #2

What if it was an allergy? Would she have had the same reaction? Did you tell her why you can’t have it?

(Kellie) #3

As if it’s that hard for her to put the stuff in a bowl :roll_eyes: Where is the customer service geez

#4

Personally, I wouldn’t spend much time thinking about what they should and shouldn’t have available as options - but the concession stand woman… oof, that’s so obnoxious. I’m sure there’s some snappy comeback for next time. I think there are a few threads here with people’s various strategies. Here are some that come to mind right now:

“Really? That’s great. It’s so nice that you folks are trained in metabolic studies. My doctor thinks I should keep my GKI above 1. How much bread do you think I can have and stay above .7? And do you have blood tests here so that I can be sure?”

or just “So interesting that you think that. […silence…] So, could I have them in a bowl?”

(Roy D Rushing Jr ) #5

In that case, I think I would have just taken the wrap as-is and threw away the bread part myself. It’s BS that she wouldn’t do it for you, but whatever. I refuse to waste a second worrying about those kinds of things.

The whole “just this once” thing does get my goat though. The occasions where people tend to say that happen often enough that I’d be out of ketosis more than I was in it if I gave in every time. If it’s some kind of event or family gathering I just say “Don’t worry. I’m going to eat more than anyone on a diet you’ve ever seen. There just won’t be any carbs in it.” More often than not they’ll be staring incredulously at the mountain of food I put away and asking me exactly how this “diet” works. :stuck_out_tongue:

(Laurie) #6

There is such a wide variety of fairly common food issues–people who want organic food, who can’t eat nightshades, who don’t want to combine certain foods–no food place can cover all the options. They just want to sell enough food to make a profit.

Yes, those comments can really bug us, and if they bug us enough, we can even give up the diet. It’s hard enough for us to convince ourselves that we need to continue with this, without trying to convince anyone else.

So I find it’s best if I don’t even tell people why. If you mention low carb, they regard it as an invitation to discuss the topic, so they chime in with whatever. Just stick to your request. You can say a plate is fine. If they say “We have a gluten free option,” you can simply repeat “No wrap.”

It’s safest to always have backup food in your purse, even if it’s just a hunk of cheese–in fact, the simpler the better, so you can just put it back in the fridge if you end up not eating it. Also, be aware that a lot of fast food/takeout places don’t have bowls and such (they might only have paper wrappers), so you might want to bring your own utensils. My boyfriend doesn’t like ice cream cones, so when he goes for an ice cream he always brings his own bowl and spoon!

Most places have heard it all and will try to accommodate you if they are able and if you’re clear about your needs. I’ve ordered meatballs on salad instead of bun from Subway; cheeseburger on salad instead of bun from restaurants; sandwiches with no bread from restaurants; hamburger with no bun from McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King; scrambled eggs with no toast no potatoes from diners–you name it. I’ve never ordered pizza fixings with no crust (in a bowl), but I’ve heard it can be done. Just don’t tell them why.

Good luck!

(Maha) #7

“Just this once” reminds me of my first few weeks of my first pregnancy. I was at ladies evening get together at someone’s house. The hostess offered me wine. I said no thank you, because 1) I didn’t drink often as it was, and 2) I was pregnant but hadn’t yet told anyone. But she kept asking and insisting, to the point I was a little embarrassed that I had to be very stern and raise my voice tell her no thank you, again and again. Finally, someone else read between the lines and stepped in to save me from this assault, because that’s what it felt like (the someone else told me later she’d figured out why I’d declined the wine). Some people are so obnoxious about what they want you to do with your body.

You don’t have to explain why you eat or don’t eat something unless you want to, especially to a stranger. People feel it’s perfectly okay to give their opinion on your life with incredibly little information. I had it happen to me when I went clothes shopping after losing this weight. I spent a good sum of money and the cashier commented on how much I was spending. It was a dampener at the time because I’d had a blast shopping for my new body, and why should anyone judge how I choose to spend my hard earned money on something they have no clue about? How do they know that my clothes didn’t burn in a fire? Maybe I was shopping for the needy? They simply don’t know the facts and it’s none of their business.

We have to learn to ignore these comments and the people who make them.

#8

I would have said bread gives me diarrhea, can I get a diaper with the wrap please

(Chris) #9

She’s a jerk, making assumptions like that.

But once you get used to keto, you don’t need the movie food habit anymore. Time to break that chain!

(Ethan) #10

You should tell the manager. Workers shouldn’t be telling you what you can eat and she should lose her job

(Chris) #11

I think that’s extreme. That’s not something to fire someone for, it’s a training problem. If she gets retrained and it continues, then fire her by all means. No sense in ruining someone’s financials because they offended you slightly.

(Ethan) #12

It’s not really extreme. Attitude is an attribute. Attributes are hard to retrain. This is an entry-level position, and you do not have time to waste training attributes. Fire quickly and get somebody with a better attitude. It’s possible this is a management issue in that the leadership has not set the right example, is not hiring properly, or is not setting the standards before and after hiring.

(karen) #13

Just This Once. Ugh.

I try to chalk JTW up to positive motivations - “I created this situation because I wanted to be kind and nice to you and I’m disappointed that you aren’t participating in that.” “I want you to enjoy yourself.” “This is the best / only thing I have to offer you.” “I want you to have this because it’s awesome and I love you”. (It’s still a control thing, but with a wish for good.)

Unfortunately I’d find it pretty difficult to be quite so zen with a concession stand cashier, but maybe I could pretend - if nothing else, it might make me laugh. :yum:

(Can you just imagine: “Wow, I can see how much you want me to have this wrap, you must really love me a lot!”

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #14

As Miss Manners puts it, “What part of ‘No, thank you,’ do you not understand?”

(Maha) #15

Apparently the “no” part.

(Jane) #16

:rofl:

(R L) #17

Just this once… That mantra leads to morbid obesity!

#18

I have a coworker that constantly wants to share her snacks. I refuse every time and she says I have an eating disorder. #omadlivesmatter

(Ron) #19
#20

Sadly, there are lots of stressed folks who get away with behaving disrespectfully in this cold, late stage of a very meaningless industrial culture. :frowning:

Plus, concessions (apart from some rare old fashioned mom n’ pop stands of yesteryear) hasn’t ever really been known for customer service, or thoughtfulness. The exception would be the few movie theaters that are independent, like the Alamo Drafthouse chain, that have actual servers that go down special server rows between the seat rows, taking down personal orders and special requests (and knowing that they’ll be tipped!!!)

But - what’s always worked for me, when I want my food preferences heard and cared about is to sincerely confide to the counter person or server that “due to medical issues/doctor’s orders I can’t have ______________ and was wondering if this dish contained that, or if I could have the dish without that etc.”

LOL, so many people perk up and are so willing to attune when the words “medical” or “doctor” are used! Followed by kindness and care! Even if the place has a ‘no substitutions’ policy, they’ll often try to create a workaround!

I did this as a vegetarian, and also during my veg low carb phase, whenever needing to be sure I was being told the truth and could get an alternative - or when I just needed to get something more substantial than what’s often considered ‘vegetarian’ entrees at weddings or holiday parties - ie, some version of minimal protein fare like celery sticks and ranch dressing :weary: What worked like a charm though was “I’m on a special medical diet and need some extra protein, is it possible to order a side of nuts/goat cheese/peanut butter with that?” and I’d usually get a briefly concerned OH, yes ma’am, indeed, happy to, we’ll take care of that (Queen)!!!

In recent years since starting to eat meat and then going LCHF/keto, I’ve had great success doing the same slapstick act to request lettuce wraps or bunless things and have max chance of customer service. :rofl: Otherwise - yes - there’s a risk of strange looks, offended staff tainting the food, or odd muttering or lectures, for sure. And who needs that???