Insensitive Denny’s Store Manager Pokes Fun At Choking Customer

If you are a choking customer in a Denny’s restaurant and think someone will come running to your aid, you may want to think again. This was the case for Sarah Saba’s elderly mother, who stopped at her local Denny’s in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, to get a bite to eat. Saba’s mom had recently been through a few surgeries to repair her esophagus. The note she received from the manager of the store, Bob Quigley, left Saba very angry, and she let all of Facebook know about it.

“As you all know my mom has had a few surgeries recently on her esophogus. She has trouble eating, swallowing and even keeping things down. She chokes when she eats and eating any meal is a process to her. To have a little normalcy in her day, she went to Denny’s in Brooklyn Park, to try to eat on Monday afternoon. This is what the Manager, yes the Manager wrote on her bill! ‘Add $15 for Life Alert Button’ I cannot begin to describe the disgust and the rage I am feeling. I’m so very sorry mom!!”

The Daily Meal attempted to contact Bob Quigley, who refused to comment on the incident. They then spoke with Sarah Saba, who said the owner of the Denny’s restaurant did reach out to her via telephone to discuss the situation. The owner of the Denny’s offered the family reimbursement and a free meal in the future. The owner also said the manager would be “written up,” but due to Quigley’s long tenure, that is the only action that would be taken.

This did not sit well with Saba. She explained what her mother has had to go through in the last few weeks, and it is easy to understand the outrage that the note of “Add $15 for Life Alert Button” has caused in her.

“My mom is sick and hasn’t eaten in five weeks. My sister has to blend her food. When she finally got the clear from her doctors to eat, she chose Denny’s, and that’s how she was treated?”

Sarah’s sister, Caroline Spiekers, who was with her mother at the time, was also contacted by the owner of the Denny’s. His story changed when talking to Caroline. He claimed Quigley was talking about the 60-year-old waitress who was waiting on the two patrons. The Denny’s owner claimed he was suggesting the waitress be careful “not to break a hip.”

Regardless of who Quigley was talking about, his sense of humor clearly falls into the area of either tacky, insensitive, or both. Is Sarah Saba blowing this completely out of proportion, or does further action needed to be taken against this Denny’s manager?

[Photo on Facebook]