A compensation commensurate with the damage?
A 56-year-old Alsatian obtained a commercial gesture of around ten euros from the fast-food brand Burger King at the beginning of March, after he found a black pencil in a cheeseburger at the restaurant last December. from Altkirch (Haut-Rhin), relate the Latest News from Alsace, and as he tells it to Le Parisien.
Compensation obtained after intense negotiations.
On December 10, the man, who was having lunch in the American brand with his daughter, began his sandwich with gusto.
“During the second bite, I said to myself,
Hey, there’s a bone in there…
”, he recalled to the Parisian.
“The felt was well camouflaged, nothing protruded from the paper.
Fortunately I started it on the side, and not in the direction of the pencil,” continues the fifty-year-old in an amused tone.
Surprised by this astonishing discovery, the professional computer scientist goes to the restaurant counter to return the pencil and the cheeseburger, the value of which is 2.90 euros.
The management of the franchise informs him that this pencil is in reality a felt-tip pen intended for children, who use it to play in the dedicated area.
Apologies from the brand
“A little kid comes and says to me
If that can reassure you, our pencils are edible
!
», he relates, specifying that at the time he had “nothing to do” with this line of humor.
At the time, the man receives a new cheeseburger as compensation.
A manager also tells him that he will be entitled to a free menu during his next visit.
“Gift” that he has still not honored at the time of writing these lines.
But the Alsatian does not intend to stop there.
The next day, he sent an e-mail to Burger King France's consumer service, attaching an invoice and photos of his meal to support his complaint.
A few exchanges ensue, in which the brand notably asks for details on the incriminated burger.
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Burger King ended up sending an apology letter to the dissatisfied customer four months later.
“Please be aware that any suspicion of foreign bodies found in our products is treated with the utmost seriousness,” indicates the brand in this letter dated March 1, 2024, which we were able to consult.
Customer service specifies that the complaint was transmitted to the teams concerned as well as to the manager, “so that this does not happen again”.
To make up for it, Burger King also sends the IT specialist a voucher for a medium menu, the value of which is therefore between approximately 8 and 12 euros.
According to him, this compensation is “a little ridiculous” given the damage suffered in his cheeseburger.
DR
“I was expecting at least a big menu, or even a membership card for six months... I don't think I would have ruined them, it's impossible to eat fast food every day!
», laughs the computer scientist.
“My colleagues told me that in the United States, I could have sued them to win thousands of dollars,” a legal practice relatively widespread across the Atlantic.
The man tells us that he has also sent two letters to the health authorities, which have so far remained unanswered.