Outback Steakhouse
I got sick from eating their cheese fries and they refused to pay my medical bills

A friend of mine took me to Outback Steakhouse for my birthday. I don't usually eat there becaus it is expensive, but have been there before and I though it was a little over-rated. Nonetheless, we ordered our food, and since I was very hungry, ordered cheese fries for an appetizer and a salad.

We both ate the cheese fries (I ate most of them) and the food was delicious and the service good. However, later that night I began experiencing stomach cramps and diarhhea and so did my friend, though not as bad as me. (That meal was the only thing we ate that day as both of us had been very busy with a computer-related project we were working on).

I was very sick all night long and the next two days I had to take off work. I called the doctor and made an appointment to be looked at. I felt better but still was suffering from bouts of diarhhea. The doctor gave me a colonoscopy (this procedure is VERY unpleasant). He couldn't find anything, and I told him I got sick after eating at Outback.

He said he wasn't sure because whatever it was, it was gone. When I received the medical bills, which totalled about $400, I called Outback and talked to the owner, Rich CALLAHAN. He said no one else got sick which is unusual for food poisoning because usually there are numerous people reporting getting sick at once.

I told him both me and my friend ate the same thing and had stomach cramps and diarhhea. He said he would call his insurance, Wachovia. I spoke to an investigator at Wachovia, and she was said I had to submit medical reports which I did. I went to a lot of trouble getting these and mailed them to the investigatore.

When I called her about it, I discovered that she had done virtually no investigating, had not even spoken to my friend to verify the facts, and was even rude to me, stating that there was no proof I got sick from Outback, and they were not paying a dime. I told them I was going to sue them and informed Mr. CALLAHAN that if I had to sue, I would make sure their name got dragged through the mud, but he didn't seem to care.

I got the impression that, because I did not call them immediately after I got sick, that he thought I was making up the whole incident, and kept repeating that no one had ever gotten sick at his restaurant before and that they were very clean.

I was very disgusted at the way I was treated, and planned to file a suit in small claims court. However, since I work a full-time job and two side jobs to pay the bills, I have very little free time, and when I finally had some time off, I discovered that I had forgotten to make a Xerox copy of the medical records and frankly didn't want to go through the trouble of obtaining them again in order to file a lawsuit.

The whole experience has made me sick all over again. I was sick for at least a week or two and unable to eat, and all they did was insinuate that I did not get sick from the food at Outback. BALONEY!!! I don't know how much more proof I need. Since my friend only ate a little of the cheese fries, he did not get as sick as I did (I ate almost the whole plate). I was treated like a con artist trying to get a free meal by both Outback and Wachovia.

I will NEVER eat there again, and it makes me sick every time I drive past there (I live 2 blocks away). I am telling all of my friends and family not to eat there and will continue to badmouth them whenever I can because of how I was treated. I have gotten sick before at reataurants and just dealt with it because it usually went away in a few hours. But let me tell you, this was the worst experience I ever had and would not wish it on anyone.

I was sick in bed for at least 2 or 3 days, I could barely move, let alone pick up a telephone and complain. I even told Mr. CALLAHAN that I was not going to even file a complaint until I started receiving my medical bills and thought to myself, "Why the hell should I have to pay for these medical bills? Outback should be paying for them, I got sick from THEIR food. My mistake was not calling them immediately afterwards - because I waited too long, they did not believe me.

This whole experience has made me ill, and I can't even listen to their commercials on the radio without feeling nauseous and change the channel immediately. OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE should be ashamed of the way they treat their customers. I have never ever been treated this poorly by a restaurant before and I have always treated both wait people and staff with courtesy when I eat out.

Although I have had bad experiences before, I just shrug them off or don't return. But this particular experience is bad P.R. For such a huge multimillion dollar company who spends thousands of dollars on advertising but yet treats their customers so poorly. Shame on them... I will NEVER eat there again.

Company: Outback Steakhouse
Country: USA
State: Illinois
City: Chicago
Address: 8101 W. Higgins
Phone: 7733800818

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