Ghaziabad:
His complaint is a 'meaty' one, but no one is paying any heed to it. On April 21, a businessman Deepak Chandan walked into Indirapuram's Shipra mall to have his lunch. A hardcore vegetarian, Chandan ordered a vegetarian thali at the Millennium 2000 Punjabi Food Outlet in the mall's food court. As he was served his order, he was shocked at its contents.
"As I started eating my lunch, I noticed a piece of meat in my parantha. I took the same to the counter to report the matter and lodge a protest, as I am a Brahmin," said Chandan, showing MiD DAY a copy of the bill.
"I told the counter attendant that by serving me non vegetarian stuff, they had spoiled my dharma since I am a complete vegetarian, and that the error was totally unacceptable. I further demanded to see the in-charge or owner of the outlet to lodge a complaint," he added.
Chandan alleged that the counter attendants refused to cooperate and he was left with no option but to take up the matter with the officials manning the central cash counter at the food court. When he didn't get any positive response from there also, he then approached the mall authorities.
"Instead of a complaint book, I was given a general form that had just an option to record my experience at the food court. When I asked for a receipt of my complaint, I was given a handwritten one on plain paper and told that action will be taken and I would be informed in due course," said Chandan.
He then tried to see the General Manager of Mall but was shown the door by the security guard, who said the GM was unavailable. Still not in the mood to give up, he asked the officials where he could voice his disapproval. "I was guided to see someone in their corporate office. When I went there, they didn't let me meet the Manager In-charge of the food court, I was again told by the guard that he has spoken to the manager and that my complaint will be conveyed to the GM."
It's been more than a week since his ordeal, but Chandan is yet to receive even a simple apology from the authorities for disregarding his faith. While Chandan still hopes that the food joint is taken to task and it does not harass customers like him in future, the restaurant manager (who didn't wish to be named) felt he was overreacting. "We are conducting an investigation and if we find our employee at fault, we will take proper action and also compensate the customer," said he.